Ralph is charged with spearheading plans to expand this UAE-based company and brand, regionally and globally. Previously, he was the Director General of Schools for England between 2006 and 2009 and worked at the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) between 1997 and 2009. He was responsible for advising the Secretary of State on all aspects of education policy affecting more than 22,000 schools and managed a budget of £34 billion per year. He is retained as professional adviser to the UK’s business and education task force.

Before becoming Director General, Ralph was the Chief Executive of the Teacher Training Agency (TTA) for six years. There, he was responsible for turning round teacher recruitment, which was at critically low levels in England in 2000. He pioneered new routes into teaching and, by working with providers in higher education and schools, he led the drive to raise the quality of initial teacher training. In 2004, OFSTED reported that the TTA was delivering the “best teachers ever” to schools. By 2005, TTA had raised teacher recruitment from approximately 28,000 new teachers a year to nearly 40,000.