Brett Wigdortz
Brett Wigdortz | |
|---|---|
| Born | Brett Harris Wigdortz Template:Birth year and age Ocean Township, New Jersey, United States |
| Occupation(s) | Social entrepreneur, founder and honorary president of Teach First |
| Years active | 2002–present |
| Known for | Founder and former CEO of Teach First; co-founder of Teach For All; chairman of National Citizen Service Trust |
| Notable work | Success Against the Odds – Five lessons in how to achieve the impossible |
Brett Harris Wigdortz OBE (born 1973) is the Founder and Honorary President of Teach First,[1] an educational charity dedicated to addressing the correlation between low household income and underachievement in England and Wales. He held the position of CEO from the organisation’s inception in 2002 until October 2017.[2] Originally from Ocean Township, New Jersey, he possesses dual citizenship in both the United States and the United Kingdom.
Wigdortz was a co-founder, Deputy CEO, and trustee for twelve years at Teach For All,[3] a global network established alongside Wendy Kopp to support social entrepreneurs in launching comparable education initiatives internationally.
He played a foundational role as a trustee at Ada, the National College for Digital Skills and initiated the Fair Education Alliance in 2012, continuing to serve on its board following its separation from Teach First in 2019.[4] In 2018, he co-established Bite Back 2030 with Jamie Oliver, an organisation centred on youth-driven health advocacy.[5]
Education and career
Raised in Ocean Township, New Jersey,[6] Wigdortz completed an Honours bachelor's degree specialising in Economics and International Studies at the University of Richmond in 1995,[7] followed by a master's degree in Economics from the University of Hawaiʻi,[8] and earned a Masters Certificate in Asian Studies from the East–West Center in 1997.
During his time at the University of Hawaiʻi, he conducted research on energy and economic development across Southeast Asia and Pacific Islands at the East-West Centre, co-authoring a publication on energy flows within Asia.[9]
In 1998, Wigdortz worked as a journalist based in Indonesia and Hong Kong, reporting on the Asian financial crisis and political developments. The following year, he developed Southeast Asia policy programs for the Asia Society in New York City. He joined McKinsey & Company in 2000,[10] where he consulted on retail banking, organisational efficiency, and microfinance across Indonesia, Singapore, and the Philippines.
In August 2001, Wigdortz moved to McKinsey's London office and led a pro bono analysis commissioned by London First and Business in the Community focused on enhancing London's schools. This engagement inspired him to draft Teach First’s initial business plan and take a six-month sabbatical starting February 2002 to garner support for the project.[11]
Founding Teach First
Teach First was established in July 2002 in Canary Wharf, beginning with a team of 11 staff members and led by Stephen O'Brien CBE and George Iacobescu CBE as joint chairs of the Board of Trustees. Following the launch, Wigdortz remained in his role as CEO.
Wigdortz’s leadership earned him several accolades, such as the 2007 UK Ernst & Young Social Entrepreneur of the Year, the 2011 CASE European Leadership Award, and the Charity Principal of the Year at the Charity Times Awards in 2012, recognized for his dedication to social impact. The Evening Standard included him among London's top 1,000 influential personalities. In 2013, he was honored with an OBE for his contributions to education and was listed in the "Debrett's 500" as one of the UK’s most influential individuals in 2015. He also received Honorary Doctorates from the University of Warwick (2016), Birmingham City University (2017), and the Open University (2019).
From 2013 through 2023, Teach First grew to become one of the largest graduate employers in the UK, recruiting more than 1,400 new participants each year.
National Citizen Service Trust
In July 2018, Wigdortz took on the role of chairman at the National Citizen Service (NCS) Trust, a UK public organization overseeing the government’s National Citizen Service program after its transition to a Royal Charter Body. He was reappointed for a further two-year period in July 2021.
By 2022, NCS had expanded its reach to over 100,000 participants and underwent a major organisational transformation to align with a refreshed strategic vision. Wigdortz concluded his second term on 11 July 2023, with Harris Bokhari OBE succeeding him.
Personal life
Residing in North London with his wife and three children, Wigdortz has traveled extensively, visiting more than 70 countries over an 18-year span. He authored Success Against the Odds – Five lessons in how to achieve the impossible; the story of Teach First, a business manual inspired by Teach First’s first ten years. The book was selected as WHSmith's Business Book of the Month in September 2012.
- ↑ Teach First."Teach First official website" Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
- ↑ "Brett Wigdortz to leave Teach First". 27 January 2017.
- ↑ Teach For All."Teach For All official website" Archived 2012-07-23 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 29 October 2012
- ↑ "Board". Fair Education Alliance. Retrieved 2023-07-28.
- ↑ "Our People | Bite Back 2030". www.biteback2030.com. Retrieved 2023-07-28.
- ↑ Lovegrove, Nick. The Mosaic Principle: The Six Dimensions of a Remarkable Life and Career, page 53. PublicAffairs, 2016. ISBN 9781610395571. Accessed May 16, 2017.
- ↑ University of Richmond."University of Richmond official website" Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 29 October 2012
- ↑ Department of Economics Newsletter, Winter 2003. "Economic Currents" Archived 2013-11-04 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 24 October 2012
- ↑ JAMES P. DORIAN, BRETT H. WIGDORTZ, DRU C. GLADNEY (May 1997), No.31 "China and Central Asia’s Volatile Mix: Energy, Trade, and Ethnic Relations" The AsiaPacific Issues. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
- ↑ EducationState [file://tf-filesvr01.teachfirst.org.uk/public/External%20Relations/Press%20and%20Public%20Affairs/Press/Press%20coverage/2011/March/EducationState%20-%20McKinsey%20On%20Trial%20Where%20Now%20For%20Gove,%20Barber%20&%20Teach%20First.htm "McKinsey On Trial: Where Now For Gove, Barber & Teach First?"]. Retrieved 29 October 2012
- ↑ Jenny Knight (10 July 2012) "Where only the very best will do". The Times. Retrieved 24 October 2012