Executive Director

Richard McDonald

The Executive Director is the overall head of Aiglon College and is responsible for strategic planning, income-generation, external partnerships and major, special projects.

Richard was Aiglon’s Head Master from 1994 to 2000 and since 2009, now taking up this new role in 2019. Before Aiglon, Richard taught for 10 years in the UK, seven years at Charterhouse and three years at Christ’s Hospital as a housemaster. He has served as European Regional Director for Round Square and Chair of the Swiss Group of International Schools.

Head of School

Nicola Sparrow

Aiglon’s Head of School is responsible for the daily functioning of the school and oversees all educational aspects of school life - academic, pastoral and co-curricular.

Nicola joined the Aiglon community in 2012 after spending 13 years as Director of Studies at Harrow International School, Bangkok. Her career in teaching and international education spans three continents featuring a wide range of both classroom and administrative experience. Nicola lives on campus with her family

Bursar

Patricia Bremner Gadotti

The Bursar is responsible for managing Aiglon’s personnel, finances and operation. The Bursar oversees all of Aiglon’s behind-the-scenes functions.

Patricia worked for Marks & Spencer in finance before moving into education as a School Business Manager. She was then Bursar of two HMC boarding schools in the UK before moving to Aiglon in 2008. Although she spends much of her time poring over spreadsheets, she is a keen traveller, enjoying trips to Italy and in Scotland with her family.

Deputy Head

Chris Chalcraft

The Deputy Head is responsible for Aiglon’s student life in the form of boarding, student wellbeing as well as various activities, expeditions and trips.

Chris relishes the truly international nature of Aiglon and the chance to provide so many opportunities for education out of doors. Chris’ teaching background is in geography, sports science and physical education. When not encouraging students in the mountains, he can be found on his skateboard – his favourite form of transport.

Director of Admissions

Valerie Scullion

The Director of Admissions & Marketing is responsible for inviting new students into Aiglon’s community and managing the school’s marketing and communication.

Valerie grew up in Canada, Saudi Arabia and Malaysia. With over fifteen years of experience as a school leader in Europe and North America, she is happy to have found a school both with Aiglon’s vision and international perspective. Valerie loves the opportunity to meet new Aiglonians and enjoys living in a boarding house with her family.

Director of Learning

Tomas Duckling

The Director of Learning is responsible for working with the Head of School and various departments to oversee the life and development of Aiglon’s academics and curriculum.

Tom joined Aiglon together with his wife in 2017 coming most recently from Jerudong International School in Brunei. He believes in the crazy idea that education can change the world and he enjoys his ability to support students and teachers to this end. He enjoys living in a boarding house with his family and notorious dog.

Head of Junior School

Stuart Hamilton

Aiglon’s Head of Junior School is responsible for the running and management of Aiglon’s dedicated junior school programmes and student life.

Stuart trained as a geography teacher and has worked all over the world. He and his family joined Aiglon in 2013 from Harrow International School, Bangkok. He especially enjoys the sense of challenge Aiglon seeks to instill in its students, from expeditions to new academic initiatives. He enjoys living on campus with his family as La Baita’s houseparent.

Tony Jhangiani-Jashanmal

Tony is the Chair of the ACSSA as well as an alumnus from 1965 and alumni parent. He is the President and member of the Board of Directors of the Jashanmal Group, a retail and wholesale distributor in the Arabian Gulf region. He has a Master’s degree in Economics from Hamburg University, Germany. Tony was born in Kuwait and lives between Kuwait and Dubai.

Dr Nicholas Tate CBE

Nicholas is Vice Chair of the ACSSA. He has served as Headmaster of Winchester College, Director-General of the International School of Geneva and a governor of the IB. He was educated at Oxford, Bristol and Liverpool and holds a doctorate in history. He has also served as chief advisor to England’s Secretary of State for Education. He was appointed CBE in 2001. Nicholas lives in London.

Elizabeth Cairncross

Elizabeth is the Principal of Wells Cathedral School, a leading British independent school. She studied English at Bedford College, London University. She has worked previously at King Edward’s School Witley, Kingston Grammer School and as Deputy Head at Christ’s Hosptial. She has served as a trustee for CASE Europe, the Bulkeley Evans charity and the Choir Schools Association. Elizabeth lives in England.

John Cheesmond

John is an Aiglon alumni parent. His career includes being Global Head Finance at Ciba-Geigy Ltd., CEO of Inolex Philadelphia, Partner at Deloitte, Partner at Schroder Venture Lifesciences and CEO of an African NGO. He holds an MSc. from London University Graduate School of Business. John is British born in South Africa and living in Basel since 1988.

Ingrid Christophersen MBE

Ingrid joined Aiglon in 1980 teaching geography, skiing and working in expeditions. She skied for the British Team between 1963 and 1968. She is a notable linguist and has translated seven books from Norwegian to English. She was awarded the MBE in 2007 for her services to skiing. Ingrid was raised in Norway and lives currently in England.

Alessandro Corsini

Alessandro is an alumnus from 1975 and is the president of the global Alumni Eagle Association (ACAEA). He is managing director of the LONSIN GLobal Credit Fund in London and has served as president of the board of the John Q Aymar Corporation. He holds a BS in Communications and Marketing from Boston University. Sandro is American/Italian living between Rome and New York.

Koome Gikunda

Koome graduated from Aiglon in 1999. He is currently a director at Actis, a leading emerging markets private equity fund. He graduated from Stanford University with a degree in Management Science and Engineering, where he was a Ford Foundation Scholar. He also received an MBA with Distinction from the University of Oxford’s Said Business School as a Wafic Said Scholar. Koome lives in Nairobi.

Elisabeth van de Grampel

Elisabeth graduated from Aiglon in 1980; she is a current parent as well as president of the FOAC EU. She works internationally in S&P and Dow Jones companies in controlling, six sigma and accounting. She holds a degree in business administration from the University of Innsbruck. Elisabeth is Austrian and currently lives in Munich, Germany.

Professor Sir Tejinder Virdee FRS

Tejinder is an alumni parent. He works as an experimental particle physicist and professor of physics at Imperial College London; he is most noted for his contributions leading to the discovery of the Higgs boson in July 2012 at CERN. He is the recipient of numerous physics awards and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 2014 for his services to science. Tejinder and his wife live in Geneva.