Update from the Director General: The Global Story

Audience: Primary Years Programme
Audience: Middle Years Programme
Audience: Diploma Programme
Audience: Research
Audience: General Interest
Session: Block 1: Friday 11:15 to 12:30, Room: Bayview Room A

When the IB began in 1968, even the most optimistic of its founders might have scoffed at the notion that 2500 schools would be offering IB programs by our fortieth anniversary. But that is only the start - in the next dozen years, the IB is expected to quadruple in size. Since he became the IB's sixth Director General in January 2006, Jeff Beard has set his sights on preparing the organization for this reality. If we mean what we say in our mission, the goal is simple: to make an IB education available to a much larger number of students from much more diverse backgrounds, while maintaining or improving the qualities that make IB unique. This past year has marked some major milestones in this process, including significant changes to the way IB is organized and the way in which services will be delivered in the future. The Director General will share this progress, and also give us a glimpse in to the future. Along the way, he will share his evolving theory of the IB as an education "fit for purpose" in the 21st century.


Jeffrey Beard, Director General, International Baccalaureate

"Jeffrey Beard is the Director General of the IB. Previous to this post, Mr Beard was the Division President and Chief Operating Officer for one of the major operating divisions of Syngenta AG, a world-leading agribusiness based in Basel, Switzerland. Mr Beard graduated from the US Naval Academy in 1972 with a bachelor of science in analytical management, and has two graduate degrees, including an MBA from the University of Wisconsin. Mr Beard has a great personal interest in education. He served as president and member of the West Des Moines school board in Iowa for five years. His two children graduated with IB diplomas from the Vienna International School in the 1990s.
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