British Council Hong Kong appoints new Director of English Language Services
British Council Hong Kong today announced the appointment of Mhairi-Anne González as the Director of English Language Services with immediate effect. With nearly two decades of experience in English teaching and teacher development, Mhairi-Anne will lead the organisation in fostering cultural relations through English, one of the UK’s great cultural assets.
British Council is the world’s expert in English language teaching, and an organisation which builds engagement and trust for the UK through the exchange of knowledge and ideas between people worldwide. With more than 35 years of teaching experience in Hong Kong, the British Council offers a wide and flexible programme of study for young learners in pre-school, kindergarten, primary, and secondary school, as well as adult learners, with experienced and internationally qualified teachers.
In her role, Mhairi-Anne is responsible for devising strategic direction and managing sales and marketing operations for the British Council’s teaching centre business, and at the same time establishing strategic partnerships in the local community to maximise the reach and impact of English Language Services in Hong Kong.
Mhairi-Anne has a proven track record in developing English learning programmes for young learners and designing teacher training courses across four continents. She joined the British Council in 1999 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and has since then held various senior management positions in the organisation’s offices in Madrid, Spain, and Bogota, Colombia within their teaching centres, managing their operations and introducing young learner programmes. Prior to moving to Hong Kong, she was the Country Director of British Council Venezuela, where she led the organisation in developing innovative English services to reach broader audiences across the country, supporting English curriculum reform and strengthening the quality of English language teaching and English academic programmes through partnering with local schools and universities.
Mhairi-Anne said, ‘The British Council has a good reputation in Hong Kong for the quality and variety of its English courses, as shown by the successful launches of myClass, our new approach to adult English learning, and Stay and Play for very young learners last year. I am excited and proud to lead the British Council to promote English in Hong Kong. I look forward to working in this exciting location with such an excellent team and partnering with enthusiastic organisations and professionals in the education sector to build strong cultural relations ties between Hong Kong and the UK.’
Mhairi-Anne’s appointment follows the departure of Kevin McLaven, formerly Director of English Language Services of British Council Hong Kong, who has taken up the position of Director Punjab at the British Council in Pakistan.