ISP’s new CEO, Tomas Chalupnik, answers a few questions about what he sees in the future of the company and how these unprecedented few months have been managed by the team.

First things first, congratulations on your new role as CEO, how do you feel about taking on this position?

Well, I’m honoured and extremely proud to be given this opportunity to take ISP into the future with some really exciting things coming up. I’ve been here for just over 16 years now and as you know, I started as an intern way back in 2004 while I was still studying at university. So it’s been a huge part of my life, I’ve done just about every role at the company over these years from founding the finance department, pretending to be the in-house IT pro, running some big developmental projects for the company, to most recently starting the ISP Digital section. I even met my wife Bara at ISP! But one thing’s for sure, I wouldn't be handed this position if it wasn’t for the people who have been around me over the years. I cannot thank enough my colleagues, the ISP family, partners, and clients for their years of trust and support.

These current days are testing for many industries and of course the travel sector, how has this affected ISP and your own strategic plans going forward?

Testing is one way to put it. The crisis caused by COVID-19 has no doubt been one of the most challenging times for us all. But in this struggle, everyone’s worked tirelessly so we can continue, in some way, to deliver our clients the outstanding service that has kept us together for the past two decades. One thing I’d like to mention is how inspirational my peers and the ISP family have been throughout this time. The team has crafted some incredible initiatives that will ensure these experiences are upheld in some way, even if travel continues to be disrupted. It’s also amazing to see how our partners and clients have strengthened and stayed agile during these months. In particular, our long-term partner Rodney Alsup has just opened his MBA News Digest Academy. Rodney’s been working with us for years and to see him launch something of this scale during these difficult days is inspiring to us at ISP.

Can you tell us a little more about these initiatives you have developed at ISP?

Sure. It’s something that we have had in our minds for a few years now and this current crisis has accelerated the speed in which we start to implement it. We’ve been considering adding digital elements to our programs anyway, with our partners and speakers worldwide we know it would be an enriching way to bring a global reach to our programs from all over. Our study trips now have more flexibility, so for those clients who want to book a study abroad program for the future, there are more options for manoeuvring if there was a global travel issue again. We´ll automatically prepare both an offline and online option, so there is always that content guarantee if we get interrupted again.

Then of course, we now offer 100% online educational formats, programs designed with that global reach I was talking about which offer groups incredible chances to experience global business and culture through interactive online sessions, virtual tours and digital sessions.

You recently launched into the corporate sector, how did that come to fruition?

Again, it’s something that’s been on our minds for a few years now. It seemed like a no-brainer to connect our network of business students and graduates with the corporate sector as mutually they could bring so much to one another. The launch of The Global Exec. happened in June and even though we’ve had to navigate through the crisis, there has been a great response to it.

We’re working with partners like QED, Sociomapping, Agorize and Ceehacks to design global hackathons that connect businesses with university students all over the world. I really like that we can help corporations solve some hot challenges in a fast and effective manner. For the participants it is an exciting way to learn new skills and meet interesting people from abroad. And when travel returns, we plan to deliver immersive L&D Journeys to our corporate clients. Many of our MBA students mentioned that such a trip was a life changing experience and we want to bring these opportunities to those outside the academic sphere.

And once more, I just want to extend my thanks to all those who worked extensivelyhard on The Global Exec. I’m incredibly proud to have been a part of the journey!

Lastly, any final thoughts or visions about the future of ISP and your tenure as CEO?

As soon as we’ve navigated through the current choppy waters of the industry we will start to see our travel programs flourish again, but for now and going forward our digital platforms offer up exciting new opportunities for our clients and partners alike. As for our future vision?

Looking ahead we all see diversification as the key to the longevity of the business and the new corporate branch we’ve created. Nothing has, or will, change regarding our goal to inspire and educate, even with every new path that we follow.

Download the ‘ISP Appoints Tomas Chalupnik as CEO’ press release here

A Few Questions with ISP’s New CEO Tomas Chalupnik

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