About

Official Bio

Joysy John MBE is an entrepreneur, Edtech advisor and global speaker. She is the former Strategy & Digital Transformation Director at Trinity College London, one of the leading examination boards for music, drama and English language. She is passionate about education, technology and inclusion. She was appointed by the Department of Education to the Edtech Leadership Group and by the Welsh Government to the expert panel on Schooling Reimagined. Previously she was CEO of 01 Founders, tuition-free coding school to improve diversity in tech, the Director of Education at Nesta, UK’s innovation foundation and CIO of Ada, the National College for Digital Skills.

She helped launch three non-profits focused on education. She founded Founders Fit to help startup leaders find the right cofounders. She is the founder of the London chapter of the Startup Leadership Program, a global initiative (3600+ Fellows in 28 cities worldwide have gone on to raise over $2.4B). Joysy has over a decade of experience in technology, business management, strategy and sales roles with JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley in Singapore, US and UK. She was the youngest person selected into the Future Leader Development Programme at JP Morgan Chase. 

She has worked across different sectors spanning education, technology, banking and entrepreneurship across Singapore, US and UK. She was nominated to the Financial Times top 100 Black Asian Minority Ethnic leaders influencing tech in 2019 and Finalist for Woman of the Year at the 16th Asian Achievers Award in 2016. She holds a Computer Engineering (Honours) degree from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore and an MBA with Distinction from London Business School where she was the President of the Women in Business Club and a Forte Scholar. She is on the Education Committee of The Royal Society, Advisory Council of Foundation for Education Development, Global Advisory Committee of Intrinsic Labs and Founder of Startup Leadership Program in UK.

My family

I was born in Kerala, India and grew up in Uttar Pradesh. My mum was a teacher who instilled a growth mindset in me. My dad helped build a strong work ethic. I am the eldest of three siblings and the first person in my family to study computer engineering, to go abroad and to do a masters degree. Now I live in London with my husband and two daughters.

My education

I studied computer programming in the early 90s in India. Thanks to my school St Mary’s Convent High School, I learnt to code at the age of 12. My Computer Science teacher inspired me to become a software engineer and nurtured my love for algorithms and problem-solving . I was fortunate to get a scholarship from the Ministry of Education in Singapore for my undergraduate studies. I graduated with a Computer Engineering Honours degree from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore in 2000. I got a Forte Foundation scholarship for my masters. Graduated with an MBA with Distinction from London Business School in 2008.

Debating and public speaking changed my life. I have represented my university in Singapore, Malaysia and Australia. I continue to learn and hope that someday I’ll go back to university for my post-doctoral studies.

My career

I have over two decades of work experience across technology, banking, education entrepreneurship and charity leadership. I have worked across corporates (JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, EF Education First), charities (Ada College, Nesta, Startup Leadership) and startups (Founders Fit, Emerge, Flow, Stir Education). I have been a computer engineer, business analyst, banker, angel investor, entrepreneur, non-profit leader and strategy consultant at various phases of my career. I have lived and worked across Asia, US and Europe.

My passion

I am passionate about technology education, entrepreneurship and women’s empowerment. Professionally I am on an adventure to transform the education system in the UK, close the digital skills gap and address the gender gap in tech. I am excited about the opportunity to transform education and empower more women to innovate, create and shape technologies in the future.

This is my way of sharing the joy of technology and inspiring young people to learn digital skills so they can solve big challenges and have an impact on the world.

Outside of work, I love to paint, travel, read and meditate.

Lessons learnt

  1. Build a diverse network
  2. Seek out opportunities
  3. Our life is what our thoughts make it
  4. Magic happens when you go beyond your comfort zone
  5. Count your blessings, not your troubles

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