Meet The Team
Cyndi McLeod
President
Cyndi McLeod is an international education specialist in building strong brands and strategic relationships across the education sector with an extensive worldwide network encompassing over 100 countries and has numerous awards to her credit. She has an exceptional track record of forging new opportunities for universities and colleges with internal and external stakeholders, with the business and financial acumen to spearhead successful joint ventures and drive unprecedented revenue growth. Her vision and efforts have benefited The World Bank, The Canadian International Development Agency, The Asia Development Bank, and UNESCO, among other leading international institutions.
She has served as the Vice President of Global Advancement, Marketing and Business Development at Royal Roads University for a period of 5 years and provided leadership to nine portfolios including Marketing, Recruitment, Business Development, Advancement, Community Relations, External Relations, and International Education. She led the re-branding of RRU which resulted in the new brand winning numerous awards and developed the office of Global Advancement – including the establishment of recruitment channels and business development strategies with international partners world wide. Cyndi achieved the development of a thriving international contract training division and the establishment of offshore joint ventures in China and established recruitment and business development offices in China, India, Latin America and Korea. Under her leadership, Royal Roads turned the corner with excellent growth in domestic and international enrolments, increasing diversity on the campus and growing the economy of the West Shore communities. She also participated in numerous government trade missions, developed strategic alliances with private partnerships and developed a highly recognized brand for the universities.
She served as the Associate Vice President and CEO of TRU World at Thompson Rivers University for a decade and grew enrolments and revenues from $3.5M to $22M+ in an 8-year timeframe through aggressive worldwide promotion, including the creation of marketing hubs in targeted niche markets. She founded two of the largest and most successful TRU’s joint venture programs in China, now over 10 years old with over 5000 students with dual degrees. She partnered with Indigenous groups from Chile, Bolivia, and Peru with First Nations bands and Native Canadian groups to develop joint training initiatives in tourism and economic development, cultural exchange, and research projects and participated in a Team Canada trade mission to Chile, BC Premier’s trade mission to China and India, and two World Bank missions to Washington, DC. Cydi played an instrumental role in growing the TRU World budget from $3.5M in 1999 to a projected $18M in 2008-2009, resulting in $50M gains for the City of Kamloops. She also launched marketing and contract training offices in Beijing, Oslo, Santiago, Rio de Janeiro, and Kuala Lumpur .
Sanjay Laul
Sanjay is a versatile and highly creative entrepreneur who has spent more than 15 years of operational and managerial experience in the international education sector, while developing and building models through common-sense insights, fostering risk-taking, creating cultures of innovation, and empowering people. Sanjay remains passionate about international education and relishes new opportunities to improve personal and professional strengths.
Sanjay Laul
CEO & Founder
Contact: Sanjay@msquaremedia.com
Shawn Swail
Shawn Swail is the Chief Business Officer at M Square Media, and he is responsible for coordinating with the CEO, finance head, and other leaders of the organization. He helps the team meet strategic and financial goals, ensuring the company meets federal and provincial regulatory standards. He also oversees contracts, human resources, procurement, compliance, and risk management.
Shawn has worked in the legal industry in British Columbia for 22 years. His business acumen and corporate skills in entrepreneurial ventures prove to be a strong addition to the corporate advisory team of Laul Global Ventures, as well as MSM owned and operated brands and institutions. In his free time, Shawn is active in sports and helping the community. He enjoys life with his fiancé and two grown children.
Shawn Swail
CHIEF BUSINESS OFFICER
Contact: cbo@msquare.media
Donna Hooker
Donna has worked in the international education field for 30 years. She has a comprehensive knowledge of policy and practise in the public post-secondary education system in British Columbia, Canada and worldwide. She is a past board chair for the BC Centre for International Education and has held senior management roles at BC Institute for Technology, Vancouver Community College, and most recently at Capilano University.
Donna has demonstrated excellence in leadership with a focus on international education and services marketing, as well as in her role as interim Dean of Business for 3 years at Vancouver Community College. Donna holds an MBA with a strategic focus on Services Marketing and International Education and has facilitated the professional development of others by teaching general business and service marketing in Canada as well as internationally. Donna joined M Square Media as President after having had first hand experience as an MSM client that was excellent.
Donna Hooker
PRESIDENT – MSM Higher Ed
Contact: Donna@msquaremedia.com
Dr. Alex Parnia
Dr. Alex Parnia brings more than 30 years of experience performing a variety of successful roles at elite academic institutions as a faculty member, campus Dean, Vice-President of Marketing and Enrollment, Executive Vice- President, Provost, and President. He specializes in crafting innovative and scalable solutions and matrices to enable exponential revenue increases for academic institutions. His list of commendable triumphs is never-ending and he has also created leadership programs and taught management and business courses at leading institutions. Read More
Dr. Alex Parnia
President – USA
Contact: Alex@msquaremedia.com
Suneetha Qureshi
Suneetha is a results oriented professional with an impeccable track record of successfully launching Asia and Africa operations of many North American and European institutions., Suneetha also has more than a decade of experience in the education sector. She is a motivational speaker, lecturer and entrepreneur and is committed to quality education and exceptional team development in the education sector. She is proficient in six languages; English, Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, Gujarati & Marathi.
Suneetha Qureshi
VICE PRESIDENT- GLOBAL
Contact: Suneetha@msquaremedia.com
Stephen R D Wallis
Stephen R D Wallis
Director
Stephen has over twenty years’ experience in UK Higher Education including as Director of International at both De Montfort University and the University of Kent. He has particular experience in relation to the development of internationalisation strategies and policies, international student recruitment, international partnerships and international alumni development.
Throughout his career he has been committed to emphasising the benefits of education, internationalisation and mobility as a means of development for those involved and as an opportunity for developing international possibilities and partnerships.
Stephen holds a BA in Ancient History and an MA in Ancient Social and Cultural History, both from the University of Reading, UK.
Contact: Stephen@msquaremedia.com