Fathima Dada joins OUP as Oxford Education MD

We are pleased to announce we have appointed Fathima Dada, currently Global MD for English and Schools at Pearson, as the new Managing Director of Oxford Education. Fathima will succeed the outgoing Managing Director, Kate Harris, who is retiring.

Fathima was born and educated in South Africa, and began her career there as a teacher in the apartheid era. She joined Pearson’s South African business, Maskew Miller Longman, in 1988 as a trainee editor. She later took on ever-larger South African regional and global roles, including Chair and CEO of Pearson’s Southern, East, and Central African businesses.

Fathima has also taken time out of her publishing career to work with governments and not-for-profit organizations in many countries, including designing the primary and senior secondary curricula for the South African Education Ministry in the early 2000s.

Speaking about her appointment, Chief Executive Nigel Portwood said: ‘I am delighted that Fathima will be joining our senior team at OUP. She is an experienced and accomplished publishing executive with an excellent track-record and she understands what it takes to grow businesses in international markets. She is also committed to improving educational standards and knows how digital technology can be used to support that aim. I am certain that she will be successful in both furthering OUP’s progress and in improving educational outcomes in our markets.’

Fathima added: ‘I am delighted to join OUP, to be working alongside talented people who are as passionate about education as I am. I look forward to taking on this new challenge, helping to strengthen links across OUP’s education businesses, and ultimately continuing to make a positive impact on teachers and learners.’

Fathima will start her new role later this year.