Member Article

Sparx appoints former CEO of Cambridge Assessment Group as Chair of its board

Sparx, a learning technology company that uses AI to help increase attainment in maths for students aged 11-16 has appointed Simon Lebus as Chair of its board. Simon’s appointment comes at a pivotal point for the company which recently welcomed award-winning HegartyMaths into the Sparx family, announced a further £20 million investment and has expanded internationally into three continents. Simon Lebus will play a key role in navigating these developments and helping to guide Sparx on its mission to improve numeracy for over five million learners by 2030.

Prior to taking on the new role, Simon was Chief Executive of Cambridge Assessment Group for 15 years, the not-for-profit organisation responsible for running the University of Cambridge’s exam boards. During his tenure, Cambridge Assessment trebled in size, with exams taken by approximately eight million candidates in 170 different countries each year.

Simon’s experience leading the Group included overseeing its substantial research operation which carries out innovative research on assessment and curriculum worked with governments and education systems around the world to support curriculum reform programmes, complementing Sparx’ evidence-focused ethos.

Simon left Cambridge Assessment in 2018 to develop a portfolio of non-executive and advisory roles in the education space. Simon also brings senior experience from beyond education having worked within investment banking and manufacturing earlier in his career.

Simon has been involved with Sparx since August 2018 when he joined the Sparx Advisory Panel and commented on his new appointment as Chair of the Board saying:

“I passionately believe in the transformative power of both education and technology and when the two meet, it can produce fantastic results. Developing edtech solutions that deliver true impact is an endeavour that requires collaboration, rigorous research and an unerring focus on evidence. Sparx’ dedication to these principles means I am extremely confident in its ambitions and am thrilled to be leading a board of experts on this path.”
Dan Sandhu, CEO at Sparx commented:

“Simon’s combined wealth of experience in education and business is a fantastic asset for Sparx which has ambitious plans to reimagine the way maths is taught and learnt in schools around the world. His dedication to research and evidence-based excellence in education mirrors our own while his insight and expertise have been instrumental in our success over the last year. We are delighted that he will be playing an even greater role within Sparx, one that is critical in supporting us as we grow further.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Sparx .