Chinezi Chijioke

Co-Founder & CEO, Nova Pioneer Education Group

Chinezi Chijioke is a Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Nova Pioneer Education Group, a Pan-African independent private school network that builds and operates world class, affordable education, offering students grades from pre-school through secondary school education, using the both the Cambridge and Local Curriculum. Nova Pioneers’ mission is to develop generations of innovators and leaders who will shape the African Century. Chinezi’s Nova Pioneer operates fourteen schools in South Africa and Kenya with the goal of operating 100 great schools. Chinezi was previously the Head of McKinsey & Company’s African Education Practice, where he worked for eight years with over 25 countries’ school systems across the world. Chinezi co-authored McKinsey’s 2010 global education report, “How the World’s Best School Systems Keep Getting Better.”

Chinezi began his career as a mathematics teacher, and holds an MBA and a Masters in Education from Stanford University, B.A. with Honours from Harvard University. Chinezi currently serves on the Imagine Worldwide and Jakes Gerwel Teacher Fellowship boards.  He is also a Fellow of the tenth class of the Africa Leadership Initiative – South Africa and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.