Meet the leadership team guiding our vision and driving innovation. With diverse expertise and a shared commitment to excellence, our executives are dedicated to leading Cambridge Education Group in the ever-evolving global academic landscape.
David Johnston
CEO
David Johnston
CEO
Industry experience: Over 10 years
MBA Qualified, David joined Cambridge Education Group initially as a consultant COO in September 2017 before joining on a permanent basis in May 2018 and was also appointed to the Board. David has recently been appointed as joint CEO in November 2019.
Prior to Cambridge Education Group David has held significant positions within BAA (MD Stansted, Edinburgh airports, Procurement Director BAA Group).
David also has private equity experience through his CEO and COO roles at the University of Law from 2013 -2015. The business was acquired by Montagu PE and successfully sold to a trade buyer.
Brendan Webb
CEO – Commercial
Brendan Webb
CEO – Commercial
Industry experience: 20 years
Brendan has a degree in Materials Engineering from the University of Cape Town. He spent the first 10 years of his working career in the Chemical and Gas industries where he held several senior commercial roles including Business Director for A-Gas.
He then joined NCC Education as Regional Director for Africa & the Caribbean where he was instrumental in significantly growing the African/Caribbean business to account for half of their global revenue. He was appointed to the NCC Education Board as Strategic Business Director where he was responsible for the global commercial operations and strategic direction of the company.
Brendan joined Study Group in 2009 as Sales and Marketing Director responsible for their High School, Pathway and Online Higher Education businesses.
In 2014 Brendan joined Cambridge Education Group as Managing Director for OnCampus UK & Europe. In January 2016 he took on the role of Executive Director, Global Recruitment & Marketing across CEG and was appointed to the Cambridge Education Group Board in August 2016. He has overseen strong double-digit revenue and student growth during this time.
Brendan was appointed as joint CEO for Cambridge Education Group in November 2019.
Mike Goodwin
Group COO
Mike Goodwin
Group COO
Industry experience: 16 years
Mike has spent the last 16 years working in operational roles within the professional training and education sectors, of which the last 10 have been at the Executive level.
Mike worked firstly with Kaplan UK, then the University of Law, UK, and QA Higher Education before joining CEG in September 2020 as Group Chief Operating Officer. Mike has worked with over 25 institutions during his career, setting up numerous partnerships and operating centres that have delivered significant enrolment volumes (most in the thousands), strong financial returns and high-quality student outcomes.
Mike brings a demonstrable track record of operational excellence and has experience managing operations both in and outside of the UK. A regular member of both internal and external boards, Mike is a key figure of CEGs governance structure and is responsible for ensuring compliance with all regulatory matters applicable to OnCampus. Mike brings a wealth of experience across a broad range of business areas anchored in commercial partnership working. Since joining CEG Mike has played significant roles in the establishment and growth of over 10 new university partnership initiatives, including our newly launched managed campuses in London, UK.
Adrian Booth
Group CIO
Adrian Booth
Group CIO
Industry experience: 25+ years IT (5 years International education)
Adrian started his IT career gaining experience in numerous different vertical markets prior to spending 7 years within IT in the building materials industry where he gained experience in performing post-merger systems integration.
For the next 19 years, Adrian worked exclusively within the Financial Services and Payments industries where he gained expertise in IT transformation and outsourcing. During this period he was appointed by a major global services provider as their Practice Partner for IT Transformation.
Adrian joined Cambridge Education Group as the Group CIO in March 2019 where he has led the delivery of several transformational initiatives and also been recognised as one of the top 100 most influential IT Leaders in the UK by the Computing magazine.
Rebecca Patterson
Rebecca Patterson
Rebecca has over 20 years’ experience in senior leadership roles in the education sector in public and private, national and international, face-to-face and online environments. She has specialised in global education sales and marketing and international student recruitment recruiting 30,000+ students in her career to date.
In August 2024, Rebecca became the Managing Director of iheed, overseeing a team of 50+ full-time and 400+ part-time staff. She is also a Company Director, board member, and a member of the CEG Executive. With a strategic mindset, she has consistently delivered exceptional revenues and outcomes in complex and challenging environments.
James Bayley
Group CFO
James Bayley
Group CFO
James is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales, and holds degree in Economics & Finance from the University of York.
He joined Cambridge Education Group in 2018 as a Commercial Finance Director, before taking on the role of Group CFO in 2019.
Prior to joining CEG, James most recently held senior finance roles with several large, listed entities in the commercial aviation sector.
Liam Flynn
People Director
Liam Flynn
People Director
Liam has been with Cambridge Education Group since 2018. As People Director he leads the company’s people strategy and People Team with a focus on talent management, employee engagement and organisational development.
Liam is a chartered member of the CIPD and is deeply committed to promoting a positive and inclusive workplace culture. He holds a Master’s degree in Human Resource Management and brings over 15 years of HR experience, helping to drive both personal and organisational growth across the business.