Dr. Kanat Kozhakhmet is an experienced academic leader with a PhD in Informatics, Computer Engineering from Kazakh British Technical University. Since June 2024, he has served as President of Narxoz University in Almaty, driving strategic direction, academic standards, financial sustainability, and international collaboration. Previously, Kanat was Rector of OpenU Online University (2020-2022), Astana IT University (2019-2020), and Suleyman Demirel University (2017-2019), managing financial administration, strategic development, and organizational restructuring across these leading institutions.

An experienced leader in business education, with expertise in executive education, strategic program development, and corporate partnerships, Marina is dedicated to fostering innovation in business learning. Currently the Business School Director and Executive Education Director at Narxoz University, Kazakhstan (2024-present), Marina is leading the growth of Narxoz Business School, overseeing executive programs, and working to build global partnerships. With over 15 years in the field, Marina is passionate about empowering leaders, and aims to create a world-class business school ecosystem for Central Asia through impactful training, industry collaborations, and international accreditation.

Born in Scotland and with over 20 years of Central Asian experience in higher education leadership across business, digital technologies, and environmental sciences, Dr Simpson has held senior management roles, including Vice President, Dean, and Executive Director at KIMEP, KBTU and Narxoz University. His leadership is built on a foundation of rigorous research training and consulting expertise gained at the University of Glasgow, where he served as a Research Fellow for over a decade (1993–2004). Ewan has a commitment to total integrity, quality assurance, and innovative problem-solving. Currently he is focused on building NBS, how to adapt to AI, the development of the creative economy and sustainable city futures in Central Asia.