Author: Todd Maurer

Todd Maurer is an emerging markets specialist, executive, advisor and investor with a focus on human capital, education technology, and productivity ventures. He's currently CEO of iTEP International, a leader in English language assessment and testing with a presence in 60+ countries and hundreds of corporations worldwide. He also owns Versatile PhD, powered by Edunomix Inc., which combines cutting-edge career technology with global advisory expertise to help graduates with highly advanced skills thrive in today's workforce. Throughout my career I have represented and supported a diverse range of clients across four continents, from Fortune 2000 companies to leading universities, start-ups, mid-market firms, and global investment funds, leveraging my expertise in economics, analytics, strategy, and M&A. I hold a Master's in International Affairs from Columbia University, a BA in Economics from UCLA, conducted postgraduate study at Beijing and Nanjing Universities, and hold a Fundamentals of Sustainable Accounting credential from IFRS.

M&A: Coronavirus and Cross-Border Investment

Cross-border M&A activity is accelerating across a range of workforce and education segments, from education and training to career navigation, job search, workforce alignment, AI matching and productivity. This will not be a shock to many observers, although simply transacting across borders can require quarantine for 14 days or conducting endless due diligence meetings via […]

GES 20: Putting the X in Globalization?

There is a cold logic to globalization—especially when it appears to be dying. Can growth be maintained in the world’s leading economies without expanding internationally? Can education start-ups and new ventures rely solely on their local markets? How long will new markets and new consumers in emerging and frontier markets—the world’s engine for future growth—be […]

Human Capital in the Age of Pandemics

The world after Covid-19 will never be the same. What might it look like for the future of learning and work? It is impossible to assess the precise fallout at this point but a few scenarios would be helpful in structuring potential outcomes. Businesses, employers, investors and universities and their stakeholders would be well advised […]

Black Swans and the Future of Learning and Work

China’s coronavirus outbreak–which given its severity and unpredictability should be considered a Black Swan event–is already revealing stark differences in the way schools, universities and workplaces are responding and the extent to which they are prepared for operational continuity and future growth. In fact, the crisis response is making the “future of learning and work” […]

Will the Rest of the World Eat Your Lunch?

As the US trade and technology war with China staggers on, the 2019-nCoV virus shuts down schools, and more people begin to question the sustainability of global integration, I looked at a few charts in search of a reality check. Here’s what I found. First, the overall trend in outbound foreign direct investment (FDI) shows […]

Investing in the Future of (Highly Skilled) Underemployment

Are the world’s best brains gainfully employed? Ask the barista with a PhD. Or the well-qualified international graduate with a Business Analytics Master’s Degree working in a series of unfulfilling part-time internships. Or the engineering graduate who is rejected by an applicant tracking system for a spelling error on her CV. I think we all […]

The Future of Work is in Emerging Markets

For many US and European companies and investors focused developing technologies and training for the future workforce, staying at home seems like a sensible option. After all, the US and Europe both have thriving, sophisticated education and labor markets within a supportive venture capital and private equity environment. But in a world where rising working-age […]

Tracking China’s Global Education Footprint

Is education an instrument of China’s soft power? If so, how can it be measured? After some review, there are four areas which I think warrant a deeper dive: Government-led efforts through Confucius Institutes University branch campuses set up offshore Internationally mobile tertiary students in universities around the world Chinese private investment into schools, education […]

Next in Emerging Markets: Confronting a Jobless Future

What does the concept of a jobless future–a world awash with robots and AI–mean for emerging markets that have yet to reach economic maturity? How will educational achievement in these countries help to shape this future of work? What new business models might emerge to get people employed? These questions are impossible to answer today, […]

Talent, Training and AI: How Asia is (Again) Emerging as the World’s Laboratory

There are three key variables that businesses, investors and educators must understand with respect to Asia’s future rise and its impact on the world’s industries and workers. One, the trajectory of Asia’s educational achievement from K12 through post-graduate education, including English language, STEM and other skills capabilities. As I have noted previously in this blog, […]