Rodney Briggs, President, Maple Bear Global Schools Ltd.

Mr. Briggs graduated from the University of Manitoba with a B.A. and M.A. (International Relations). He was the recipient of the J.W. Dafoe scholarship for studies in International Relations.

In 1981, he joined the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade and served abroad at Canada's Permanent Mission to the United Nations, in the Kingdom of Thailand, studied Mandarin Chinese in Taiwan, worked at the Canadian Embassy in the People's Republic of China, and concluded his distinguished diplomatic career in the Republic of Korea. He also served as President of the Professional Association of Foreign Service Officers. In addition to Mandarin Chinese, he also speaks French.

In 1996, Mr. Briggs joined the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada as the Vice-President responsible for the Canadian Education Centre Network project and in 1997 became the first President of the newly-formed non-profit company, the Canadian Education Centre Network. In this capacity he was responsible for building the network from three centres in the Asia-Pacific region into an entity with a presence in 17 countries spanning the globe.

He also oversaw the establishment of the CEC Network's subsidiary CECN Global Schools Ltd. and conceived the Maple Bear education system. In March, 2007 he resigned as President of the CEC Network and purchased CECN Global Schools Ltd from the CEC Network.