Zoubir Yazid

Managing Director

 Based at the ETS Global BV headquarters in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Zoubir manages the global subsidiary offices of ETS in Asia Pacific; Europe, Middle East and Africa; and Canada.  

Before being appointed as MD of ETS Global, Zoubir worked in ETS Princeton for almost 4 years, in a variety of roles, as Director, Learning & Development; Director, SWS Project Management; and Executive-Director, Client Relations.  Prior to ETS, he was part of the New York office of Accenture. He  has also worked in the non-profit sector on international programmes, has taught university courses in the field of International Relations & International Business, and has also worked in a governmental organisation.

Zoubir's achievements in the professional arena include a host of competencies and certifications, including the International Organizational & Systems Development Certification (2006), the Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification (2005), the Northeastern University Advanced Project Management Certification (2005) and Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Society for Collegiate Schools of Business (1996 to present).

Additionally, Zoubir is a member of the United States Tennis Association, and is a certified tennis instructor.

Zoubir has a BA in International Relations, an MA in Strategic Studies, an MBA in Organizational Behavior and International Management, and a PhD in Political Science.

Gerben van Lent

Executive Director, Business Development

 Gerben van Lent's primary responsibility is to direct the development, conversion and growth of new business in parallel with ETS Global's standard testing programmes. With his team, he culls new business opportunities using market information, conceptualises solutions, and leads the implementation of projects. These projects can cover all or a subset ETS' core areas of expertise: test design and development, test delivery and scoring, test analysis and reporting, or research and development. Often starting with consultancy and technical assistance, the activities are aimed at establishing long-term relationships for the development and delivery of large scale assessment solutions. Gerben represents ETS Global and ETS in dealing with potential clients, government officials, other external organisations and agencies, and at professional meetings.

Before his appointment as Executive Director, Gerben van Lent was Director of Business Development of ETS EMEA in 2007, and of ETS Europe from 2004 to 2006, with similar responsibilities but geographically specific. 

Gerben and his team have coordinated pilot projects on automatic scoring of essays in India, research on age independent testing in England, e-marking in the UK, non cognitive admission aspects for higher education in the Netherlands and linking English language test results to ECTS credits, amongst other such projects. He has presented or conducted workshops at international conferences in the UK, Germany, France, Portugal, at IAEA conferences and AEA Europe conferences, and for the European Commission; on quality assurance, large scale assessments and assessment and technology issues. He has contributed articles to journals in the field of education and measurement. He is an external member of the Research Committee of AQA in the UK and a board member of ACETS, the Arabic Centre for Educational Testing Services, a joint initiative of ETS Global and the Amman Arab University for Graduate Studies.

Prior to his role at ETS, Gerben was Senior Advisor of the International Department of CITO (National Institute of Educational Measurement) in the Netherlands. Here, he was responsible for business development and project management, leading amongst others, 3 educational reform projects in Eastern Europe and developing policy papers for educational reform. He also coordinated test- and item development programmes for national mathematics exams in the Netherlands and for PISA mathematical literacy.

He started his career as a teacher and teacher trainer in the Netherlands and Africa.

Gerben holds a Masters Degree from Leiden University, The Netherlands, with a major in Mathematics and minors in Economics and Teaching). He has taken courses in general management, educational management, financial management, management styles in different cultures and total quality management and capture management.

Fiona Ellis

Finance Director

 Fiona Ellis joined ETS Global BV in August 2006. Based in the Paris office, her responsibilities include financial reporting for ETS Global, ensuring the accuracy of intercompany reporting and ensuring effective cash management. Fiona develops and administers the financial policies of ETS Global, and also develops reporting procedures in support of business growth and expansion plans.

Fiona has over 12 years experience in international finance, also covering treasury, taxation and business review. After qualifying as a Chartered Accountant in the UK with KPMG in London, Fiona moved swiftly into the business arena first with Emap PLC and then IIR in The Netherlands, where she was handling and managing financial issues for all companies worldwide. Here she contributed to building a sold financial reporting base ensuring transparency and control and also improving the profitability in line with corporate objectives. Prior to ETS Global, she was with NPD, a global marketing information company based in Paris, where her drive and motivation ensured the swift implementation of the financial reporting system so that business performance could be managed effectively.

In the companies that she has worked in, Fiona has successfully developed financial models for internal and external reporting.

Fiona is a Chartered Accountant (ACA) from KPMG, London. She has graduated with a BA (Hons) in Accounting, and Finance and Economics from Essex University.

Annette Pettman

Human Resources Director

 Annette is responsible for developing the Human Resources function in ETS Global. With accountability for relatively small numbers of people that are geographically dispersed across Europe, Asia, Canada and the Middle East, Annette’s role is to put in place the people, policies and processes to support international expansion.

Prior to joining ETS, Annette was Group HR Director for Promethean Ltd, a global leader in interactive whiteboards and assessment technologies.  She has also worked as Group HR Manager for IKANO, a company related to IKEA, and was HR Manager for Coca-Cola GB and Colgate-Palmolive UK. Annette started her career representing employers at Employment Tribunals.

Annette’s achievements include helping companies to realise their ambitions by aligning people and their skills with the needs of the business.

Annette is a Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development and has a Higher National Diploma in Business.