Hobsons Global Management Team
Craig Heldman – Chief Executive Officer
Michigan State University
Craig Heldman's tenure with Hobsons began in 1995, with his appointment as national sales director. During this time, Craig directed the restructuring and expansion of the sales organization for Hobsons. In 1998, Craig was promoted to vice president of new business development, where he oversaw the expansion of Hobsons' product offerings and established strategic partnerships that solidified Hobsons' leadership position within the industry. Craig was promoted to president of Hobsons U.S. in 2002 and to his current position as CEO of Hobsons in 2008. He is responsible for all facets of day-to-day operations and Hobsons' global strategic planning.
Prior to joining Hobsons, Craig held a variety of sales management positions with Procter & Gamble USA. Craig is an active participant in a number of industry organizations, including the American Association of College Registrars and Admissions Officers, National Association for College Admission Counseling, NAFSA: Association of International Educators, and Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, where he holds a position on the Corporate & Philanthropic Council. Craig holds a bachelor's degree in finance and marketing from Michigan State University.
Jeremy Cooper – President, IMS
University of Leeds
Jeremy Cooper joined the Hobsons U.S. office in May 2007 and in September 2008, he became the president of the Integrated Marketing Solutions division, overseeing the domestic, international, and graduate marketing businesses for Hobsons. He quickly infused new marketing solutions into the student recruitment business, including the GRE Search Service and International Counselor Network, a first-to-market network of thoroughly trained education counselors. Finally, he has also launched the Service Center model within the United States, mirroring this successful inquiry management solution from the UK and Australian offices.
He came to the U.S. office from Hobsons UK, where he previously served as deputy managing director. Since 1994, his long and varied Hobsons career has seen him work in sales, marketing, distribution, and operations.
Jeremy holds a degree in media, as well as a master's degree from the University of Leeds in the UK.
David Harrington – Managing Director, Australia
University of Sheffield
David began his career in the UK office as a fresh-faced graduate in the advertising/sales department, working on graduate recruitment titles. A successful 12 years in the Hobsons UK office followed. Eventually, he decided to explore the world, and in 1999, he moved to Australia to set up Hobsons Australia as its new managing director. Over then, David has enjoyed working with an excellent team to turn a bunch of well-thought-out ideas into a large-scale recruit business.
David has enjoyed getting to understand Australian working culture and the “let's get a coffee” attitude to Australian business meetings, where the focus is as much upon building good relationships as it is about discussing business. In such a small market, genuine relationships are important and reputation is everything.
Looking to the future, David is excited about the development of the Web and expanding on new technologies to advance student recruitment techniques and improve Hobsons Australia's understanding of the student decision-making process. He also wants to focus on working more closely with colleagues across the world to create a truly global business.
Kathy Ovens – Vice President, Organizational Effectiveness
Gettysburg College
Kathy Ovens is vice president of organizational effectiveness for Hobsons' global business. Kathy is directly responsible for all HR and business support functions in the United States, with strategic global responsibility for talent management and organizational effectiveness. Kathy joined Hobsons in October 2008 as senior director of human resources and assumed additional responsibilities for all U.S. facilities and administrative support in January of 2010. Prior to joining Hobsons, Kathy spent 20 years at Chiquita Brands International, ultimately serving as HR Business Partner for the North American business unit. During her time at Chiquita, Kathy had the opportunity to live in several cities in the United States, and also had assignments in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic and Antwerp, Belgium.
Kathy holds a bachelor's degree in psychology with a certification in elementary education from Gettysburg College.
Stephen Smith – President, Naviance
Cornell University
Stephen Smith is president and co-founder of Naviance, a Hobsons company. Prior to Naviance, he led e-learning client engagements for major corporate clients including OgilvyOne Worldwide, IBM, Pfizer, Nestlé, and others.
Previously, Stephen was vice president of digital product development at Peterson's, then a division of The Thomson Corporation, where he played a key role in transforming a traditional print publishing business into the premier online services company in the field of education information and admissions. Prior to joining Peterson's, Stephen worked with the Thomson Technology Services Group as a founding member of its Internet consulting practice. Stephen has also served as a practitioner faculty member at The Johns Hopkins University where he taught graduate level coursework in marketing and technology.
Stephen earned a bachelor's degree in history, cum laude, and an MBA from Cornell University.
Adam Webster – Chief Financial Officer
Cambridge University
Adam Webster is Hobsons' global CFO, a position he has held since August 2004, having joined Hobsons in 2001 as European financial controller. During his time at Hobsons, Adam has been heavily involved in the acquisition of Apply Yourself, Naviance, Chat University, Ecctis, and Academic Engine. He also played a prominent role in the process of re-focusing Hobsons' global business away from graduate recruitment and towards the education sector. Adam oversees Hobsons' global finance and IT services teams.
Prior to joining Hobsons, Adam worked as a business analyst at Psion, having qualified with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales while working for Ernst & Young UK. He also spent a year teaching in a rural school in Zimbabwe. Adam holds a first-class bachelor's degree, Foundation Scholarship and master's degree in economics from Cambridge University.
