Ian joins Ascenti from Cognita, a global education business, where he was responsible for the operational performance of 60 schools across the UK, Europe and North America in his role as Chief Operating Officer. He brings with him significant experience of driving transformational change and growth across multiple industry sectors, cultures, and countries, and has worked in senior strategic roles at Centrica, IKEA and Accenture.
He takes over from Stephanie Dobrikova who has been CEO of Ascenti since January 2018, during which time she has overseen the business as it launched revolutionary virtual healthcare services, navigated the Covid-19 pandemic, expanded rapidly into new markets including Private Medical Insurance (PMI), and more than doubled in size. Stephanie will remain involved in the group and is taking up a new position on the Board as Non-Executive Director.
Ian commented: “I am delighted to be joining Ascenti and driving this next phase of growth, building on the strong foundations laid by Stephanie and the wider team. I have tried to manoeuvre my career to work with businesses and colleagues who are driven by purpose, who take pride in what they do, and who have a growth mindset. I see all these things at Ascenti, and am looking forward to meeting many of the team in person.”
Also joining the Board is Stuart Rolland, who is taking over as Chairman from David Johnston. Both are Operating Partners at bd-capital, who partnered with Ascenti in April 2021.
Stuart Rolland, Chairman
Stuart has worked in senior operating roles within tech-enabled services sectors for over 30 years, with significant expertise across several functional areas including business transformation, process design, identification and nurturing of top talent, culture development and strategic planning.
He has held positions at British Gas, Simply Conveyancing and Intelligent Engineering Group, and more recently as Chief Executive of Europe at Cognita which saw him work directly with Ian for more than four years.
Stuart commented: “It’s clear to me that Ascenti is run by an exceptional team and is on a very exciting journey. Working alongside Ian and the wider Executive Team, I look forward to learning more about the business and contributing to the company’s next phase of growth and evolution.”
