Dubai: ETS has appointed Don Schmidt as Regional Director for Global Partnerships in the Middle East and North Africa. His career spans almost thirty years across the Middle East, Asia and the United States, where he has worked in education, government, corporate and nonprofit settings.

In his new role, Schmidt will focus on strengthening ETS relationships across the region, including the UAE, and supporting the development of testing, learning and delivery ecosystems that respond to the needs of education systems and employers.

His remit includes working closely with distributors, publishers, integrators and public institutions to expand collaboration around ETS solutions such as TOEIC, PSI services, and YSS and ITP.

ETS spokesperson said: “Don brings a strong understanding of the region and a collaborative approach to partnership building. His experience across diverse markets and sectors will help ETS work more closely with partners in the UAE and across the wider region, with a clear focus on listening and long-term value.”

Don has spent much of his career helping teams and organisations navigate diverse environments. His previous role was with Amideast Saudi Arabia, where he led the field office and managed corporate English language training, test preparation, scholarship and exchange programmes.

In his comments, Don said: “I am pleased to join ETS at a time when education and skills development continue to evolve across the region. There is a strong sense of possibility in the Middle East and North Africa, and I look forward to working with partners who are shaping that progress.”

He also introduced learning models for government, corporate and nonprofit clients and worked with teams delivering programmes across the country. Earlier in his career, he held leadership, development and project management roles that involved activating sales pipelines, overseeing large-scale initiatives and supporting revenue growth in competitive markets.

Based in Riyadh in his new role, Don holds an Ed.M. from Boston University and degrees in anthropology and linguistics from Indiana University. He has also completed advanced training in project management, business strategy and measurement assessment and statistics.