What is the role of the DIS Board
The DIS Board is dedicated to ensuring that Deira International School is well run by the leadership team and that sustainable outcomes are delivered and maintained.
All governing boards of private school have four core functions:
- Setting strategic direction within the context of a clearly-state vision and ethos
- Holding the senior leadership team accountable for the achievement of strategy and running of the school
- Overseeing the overall educational performance of the school and suggesting ways for improvement
- Overseeing the financial performance of the school, in the case of DIS, as a not-for profit school
Any correspondence for the DIS Board should be addressed to DISboard@disdubai.ae.
DIS Board Members
CHAIRMAN
Mr Fadi Hammadeh
Mr Fadi Hammadeh
Fadi Hammadeh is the General Counsel of Al-Futtaim Group. He has practiced law in the UAE for the past 20 years and held senior positions with Dubai Properties Group, DIFC and Majid Al Futtaim. He also practiced as a litigation and corporate lawyer with international law firms in Paris and Damascus.
Fadi is a published author and holds a LLB in law from Damascus University, three LLMs in Law from Assas, Sorbonne and London universities and an Executive MBA. He recently added an MSc in Psychology & Neuroscience from Kings College, London to his many qualifications.
BOARD MEMBER
Ms Mira Al Futtaim
Ms Mira Al Futtaim
Mira Al Futtaim is the Director of Education Futures at the Al Futtaim Education Foundation (AFEF) and a member of the AFEF Board. In addition, Ms Al Futtaim is the Chair of the Emiratisation Council for the Al-Futtaim Group. In her role at AFEF, Ms Al Futtaim is focused on people, technology and the learning environment.
Working closely with the schools, she is focused on ensuring that excellence in teaching and learning is standard practice and that delivery in the classroom is in keeping with the recent trends in academia, social behaviour and the future readiness of students.
Mira Al Futtaim is invested in establishing partnerships with external providers whose programmes/offerings compliment and augment the aspirations of the Foundation. One of Mira’s main advocacies is for schools to provide a balance between modernity and preservation of local heritage. heritage.
Board Member
Mr Edward Quinlan
Mr Edward Quinlan
Edward Quinlan has lived in the Arabian Gulf for a number of decades. He was UAE managing partner of a Big 4 accountancy firm until his retirement in 2010.
Edward is a chartered accountant and is currently Chairman of the ICAEW Middle East Members' Advisory Board. He is also a non-executive director of one of the largest privately-owned groups in the Middle East and a number of its subsidiaries. He has served on a pro bono basis on boards or audit committees of several not for profit organisations including the Rotary Club of Dubai, Capital Club of Dubai, Cass Business School, Dubai Classical Concert Committee, International Cricket Council and Jersey Finance Middle East.
He is currently on the boards of Al Futtaim Education Foundation, Deira International School and Universal American School, in addition to serving as Chairman of Dubai College, all of which are not-for-profit organisations.
Board Member
Dr Farah Sarraj
Dr Farah Sarraj
Dr Farah Sarraj currently holds the dual role of Acting Managing Director of Al Futtaim Education Foundation and Director of its Centre for Excellence in Arabic. Her advocacies include bilingual education, raising the profile of Arabic as a language for thought and life, global citizenship and openness to new ways of living and thinking that contribute to improving the human condition.
Dr Sarraj held several senior leadership roles in the UK before she moved to the UAE in 2011 to serve on the senior leadership team of a start-up school in the northern emirate of Ajman. She then moved to Ajman University, where she lectured in the College of Education at undergraduate and post-graduate levels. Dr Sarraj holds an MA and PhD in English Literature/Early Women’s Writing from the University of Manchester, a PGCE at Brunel University , London and will soon complete an MSc in Educational Leadership from the University of Portsmouth. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society for Arts.
School DIRECTOR
Mr Simon O'Connor
Mr Simon O'Connor
Simon O’Connor is the Director of Deira International School. Simon has over 25 years of experience in education and joined DIS in August of 2020. Prior to this he was Principal of Jumeirah College, an outstanding school in Dubai, since 2013. Simon is passionate about learning and ensuring all students are challenged in lessons in order for them to achieve their full potential. He strongly believes that if this is to be achieved students should be happy at school, and therefore the wellbeing of our community is a key focus for all.
Simon has a BA in History and Philosophy from Cardiff University where he was a choral scholar at Llandaff Cathedral. He then studied for a PGCE at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he was also a choral scholar. Simon also holds a Master’s Degree in Education Leadership, and a National Professional Qualification for Headship. He is currently studying for an Education Doctorate with the University of Buckingham
PARENT REPRESENTATIVE ON BOARD
Ms Lamia Steward
Ms Lamia Steward
Lamia Salmin Steward was schooled in the UAE and the UK and read International Business in London. Following graduation, she pursued a career in hospitality, international event management and the entertainment industry, working with royalty, world-famous international brands and other prestigious and exclusive clients both in the UK and the UAE.
Following the birth of her children, Lamia decided on a career change and is a company director specializing in Prop Tech and a strategic advisor for a Fin Tech startup based between London and Dubai.
Lamia has actively served on the Deira International School board since 2017 as Parent Representative with direct ties to DIS going back to 2006.
SECRETARY TO AFEF BOARD
Mr Chandy Jacob
Mr Chandy Jacob
Chandy Jacob has an MBA from one of India’s premium business schools and worked for over 20 years in multinationals Philips and Citizen in senior positions in India, before moving to the middle east, where he had over 10 years of experience in the auto industry, and exposure to several international markets and customers. He has been with the Al Futtaim group since 2012.
In his career he has worked in accounting, sales and marketing positions before becoming a generalist.
SAFEGUARDING AND CHILD PROTECTION GOVERNOR
Ms Kerry Ross
Ms Kerry Ross
Kerry has over 30 years of versatile experience in business transformation, customer service, strategic leadership, and business development across the Pacific, Australia, and the Middle East. Kerry moved to Dubai in 2005, where she moved into education, focusing primarily on the customer experience and business development (growing existing and launching new schools) across the UAE.
Currently, Director of Enrolments and Operations for Al Futtaim Education Foundation, Kerry has held several senior positions with GEMS Education, including VP Enrolments, executive positions at MLC and National Australia Bank, and served in the Royal New Zealand Airforce.
Kerry completed the Harvard Business School General Management Program and is currently on the Board for Deira International School and Universal American School, serving as the Safeguarding and Child Protection Governor. Kerry holds a Level 3 Safeguarding qualification.
Inclusion Governor
Dr Sarah Benson MA, PhD
Dr Sarah Benson MA, PhD
Dr Sarah Benson is a lecturer on inclusion and disabilities in the Department of Disability, Inclusion and Special Needs at the University of Birmingham, Dubai. She is the programme lead for the Inclusion and Special Education Needs PGCert and Masters’ in the UK and Dubai.
Dr Benson has published articles and book chapters on inclusive policy in the Middle East. Her interests lie in not only inclusive policy, but new teacher development and creating opportunities for students with disabilities. She has also spent time writing and researching inclusive science curriculum for primary grade students.
Her current research interests lay in the Middle East and Gulf where she is inspired to see the rapid growth opportunities for more inclusive communities.
She serves as the Inclusion Governor at Deira International School and Universal American School.