A short introduction to LIBF
For more than 140 years, we’ve been providing outstanding education and thinking, tailored to the needs of individuals, businesses and society. Our goal is to make industries more accessible, inclusive and sustainable, by delivering career-focused education to ambitious students all around the world.
Designed with the modern world in mind, our courses and programmes are led by individuals who've not only mastered their field in theory but have also lived it.
Executive team
Steve Hill
Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive Officer
Steve joined LIBF as our Vice-Chancellor and CEO on 22 July 2024, bringing with him a passion for leveraging technology and digitalisation in education.
Beginning his career in the international banking and finance industry, Steve later transitioned to executive leadership roles in higher education, serving as CEO of Open University Worldwide and Chair of FutureLearn. Beyond these roles, Steve has also founded several edtech organisations, partnering with universities to expand digital education access. His ethos of making education universally accessible aligns seamlessly with LIBF's commitment to making learning available to all.
Alex Fraser
Executive Director
Alex joined LIBF as Chief Executive in March 2015 from Cass Business School, City University London, where he was Chief Operating Officer for six years.
His career has encompassed management roles in the private, public and voluntary sectors. He spent ten years working for a number of investment banks in a variety of operational roles; his last such post was as Head of Operations at Schroders in the late 1990s. Alex was appointed Logistics Director at HM Customs and Excise in 2000 and subsequently worked for a number of organisations in the not-for-profit sector prior to joining Cass in 2009. Since July 2024, Alex serves as an Executive Director on our Board of Directors.
Dr Rachel Banfield
Academic Dean
As Academic Dean, Rachel has oversight of LIBF faculty and associated teaching, learning and assessment activities across LIBF Higher Education programmes. Rachel also leads the scholarly, research and educational activities of the department, including planning curricula in collaboration with faculty members.
Karen Pichlmann
Registrar
Karen’s role revolves around crafting and maintaining frameworks that ensure ongoing compliance within our educational programs. She works closely with the Chief Executive and regulatory bodies to guarantee adherence to standards set by external regulators such as the Office for Students, ESFA, Ofsted, Ofqual, Qualifications Wales, and CCEA. Karen oversees academic governance, higher education data returns, and leads the Quality, Policy, and Regulation team. With a focus on safeguarding academic quality and standards, she champions best practices and external benchmarking, helping to ensure we meet or exceed the standards that students expect from their education.
Ehsan Razavizadeh
Managing Director MENA and Asia
Ehsan Razavizadeh joined LIBF in December 2023, bringing over twenty years of experience in management, strategy consulting, policymaking, new venture creation and capacity building. Some of organisations that Ehsan has worked with include London Business School, Bayes Business School (formerly Cass), the DIFC Authority, Catapult Satellite Application and City, University of London.
Ehsan is currently a Court Assistant in the Worshipful Company of World Traders and a Governor of Grey Coat Hospital. He also served on the advisory boards of City University of London, Capital Club, and the Financial Times, as well as on committees for the techUK and UKTI’s Higher Education in the UAE and the UK – UAE Financial & Professional Services. He is Fellows of the RSA and City, University of London.
Introducing your academic faculty
Our academic faculty consists of accomplished individuals excelling in their respective fields. They will be your mentors, guiding you through the rewarding journey of carving out your own path in the modern professional world.
Academic Staff
Anna Hiller
Specialises in Organizational Psychology, Collaborative Work, Communication, Project- and Product Management, and has worked for ten years in the industry as team leader product management and as head of corporate communications. In addition, she works as a freelancer and provides advanced trainings and workshops for specialists and managers in various industry sectors.
Thorsten Zippan
An entrepreneur in the eSports industry with over two decades of experience. He has organised multiple world championships and founded several eSports and gaming enterprises.
As an academic lecturer, he is dedicated to delivering motivational and comprehensible lessons in mathematics, ensuring that complex concepts are accessible and engaging for all students.
Elen Mary Machado
In Brazil Elen concluded her philology studies, MBA in Marketing and in Germany her post-graduation in Intercultural Business Communication. In the USA she took specialization courses on topics around Globalization. Before engaging LIBF, she headed for 30 years her own Intercultural Management Company, training and consulting people and companies, mostly in the German automotive branch, worldwide.
Musharaf Doger
With a degree in computer science, he has delved into advanced studies in algorithms, data structures, programming, and databases. These foundational areas form the bedrock of his expertise, empowering him to solve intricate problems and create robust solutions. While his academic journey has equipped him with a strong understanding of these core concepts, his focus on data science and machine learning represents his aspirations for the future. As he strives to stay at the forefront of innovation in the IT field, he is eager to further explore these emerging technologies and their potential applications. With over seven years of experience as a trainer and coach in the IT industry, he has honed his skills in imparting knowledge and fostering growth.
Dr Corinna Heipcke
Corinna specialises in international management, intercultural communication, and marketing. She has worked and taught at universities and companies in the UK, Germany, Denmark, and France.
In her free time, she’s an enthusiastic scuba diver and avid reader. Causes she is passionate about include equal access to education, human rights, and protection of the environment.
Dr Yan Zhu
Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Bielefeld, with a diverse research background spanning Germany, Spain, and Finland. My expertise lies in unraveling the intricacies of strong interaction, complemented by hands-on experience in data management and model construction. As a dedicated specialist in Data Science, I'm eager to bring my interdisciplinary skills to the forefront of academic and scientific exploration.
Dr Glory Aigbedion
Glory is an experienced Public Health Researcher and academic passionate about advancing health equity. With an interdisciplinary PhD in Public Health Nutrition and Microbiology, she brings a wealth of knowledge into the classroom, motivating students to achieve their goals. Glory aims to nurture future public health experts and leaders, bridging the gap between scientific research and practical solutions to improve health outcomes in underserved communities.
Hassan Baajour
Specialises in software engineering, data management, and data analytics, with 20 years of experience in roles such as software engineer, author, SME, lecturer, module leader, and program leader. Hassan has taught foundation, undergraduate, postgraduate, and professional courses, and possesses expertise in systems analysis, database modelling, data visualization, data mining, software engineering principles, web engineering, and object-oriented programming.
Paul Kong
Mr Paul Kong is a lecturer in the academic community at LIBF. He graduated from Hong Kong Metropolitan University in accounting and has a Master's degree from the University of Warwick in the UK. Mr Kong is also a fellow member of the ACCA and AAT, a certified anti-money laundering specialist, and a global sanctions specialist for the ACAMS. Before becoming a lecturer, Mr Kong worked for an international bank as an anti-money laundering investigator, financial accounting system accountant, and trainer for a corporate airline company.
Kokab Jabeen
With a MEng in IT and diverse experience, she blends academic and industry expertise. She is skilled and qualified to approach technical problems from multi- and interdisciplinary perspectives, applying IT principles to solve complex issues. Her background, spanning academic and industrial roles, allows her to deliver industry-relevant education. Proficient in programming, communication, and data analysis.
Get to know our professional academic community: academics and industry professionals who develop and deliver impactful thought leadership, innovative education and training of banking and finance subjects.
Meet our professional academic community
Contact us about our online degrees
If you have any queries about how to apply for our online degrees, or anything else, please contact our Study Advisors.
Our office is open Monday to Friday from 8.00am to 6.00pm UK time.
Call us
You’ll find everything you need to know about studying an online degree with us in our digital prospectus. To receive your personalised prospectus, please fill out the form below with a valid email address.
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