About Us
We believe that education has the potential to change lives
and that accreditation is a key ingredient in unlocking that potential
We believe that education has the potential to change lives
and that accreditation is a key ingredient in unlocking that potential
We all know the impact one great teacher can have. But great school management maximises the impact of education across the entire student body.
QED The Accreditation Experts is a higher education consulting firm that provides tailored strategic advice to business school Deans and Executive offices across the globe. Through our unparalleled expertise, we help client business schools choose the accreditation that will benefit their school and help them achieve their aims.
We also help clients manage accreditation processes and we provide tailored support and assistance as required.
We understand the complexity of the different international accreditations and we help to demystify these for all involved. Furthermore, we draw upon our intimate understanding of quality peer review processes to help our clients plan and prepare peer review visits so that they can put their very best foot forward.
This is a small selection of the key team, but we also work with a wider network of deans and experts as required. Many of these are experts in accreditation, with a strong history of working within schools and as volunteers for the various accreditation bodies (AACSB, AMBA and EFMD).
Joanne also has a keen interest in entrepreneurship education and founded The Entrepreneurs Academy (formerly known as QED Training) in 1998, to successfully get people started and staying in business, a company of which she remains a Director. In 2012 she co-authored “Don’t Get A Job, Build A Business,” #1 on the Irish best sellers list in February 2013. In 2018 Joanne founded a national leadership initiative, LIFT Ireland to build authentic leadership across the island of Ireland. She is holder of many accolades including one of the top All-Ireland Business Women, and is cited as a voice of entrepreneurship and authentic leadership in Ireland.
Joanne has a first hand experience of what is required to be a successful business person and she brings this energy, efficiency and professionalism to each client institution she works with.
Joanne is also certified as a DISC Trainer (DISC Personality Profiling) and a Leadership Facilitator. Her leadership philosophy is centred on a core belief that authentic leadership comes from within. She brings that philosophy to QED’s Leadership Portfolio, with a focus on deepening awareness of individuals’ core characteristics and values to raise overall effectiveness and impact.
Joanne is recognised as a skilled communicator and for having the ability to work with committees and teams to identify issues and find practical solutions. She joined QED in 2015, bringing her energy, passion and commitment to the business and its clients.
David qualified as a solicitor in 1992 with one of Ireland’s largest corporate law firms, McCann Fitzgerald. Upon qualification, he joined the tax and legal services division of PricewaterhouseCoopers in Dublin, working with a large number of major national and international corporate clients. David joined QED in 2003, bringing a wealth of research, analytic and advisory experience to the company.
For more than a decade David successfully led Cranfield’s AACSB, EQUIS and AMBA accreditations and served on various EPAS and AMBA panels in Europe and North America. He has also chaired the MBA Redesign group at Cranfield and developed an innovative module, the International Business Assignment that has enabled students to take part in developmental projects in over 30 countries from Mongolia to Malawi.
David holds a Masters degree in English Literature and a Postgraduate Certificate of Education, both from the University of Cambridge. As a former teacher, David believes that schools need to develop an accreditation culture, built around intellectual rigour alongside powerful story-telling. Beyond the world of work, David is a practising Adult and Youth Magistrate (Justice of the Peace), sitting on the Cambridge bench.
We care about our clients and we care about results. We drive for distinctive, lasting and substantial improvements based on recognised, global best-practice. We value integrity, collaboration, continuous learning, self-leadership and relationships. We become personally invested in and celebrate each and every success. Most of all we believe that proven expertise counts and that you can count on us.