Governance at ISU

Philip Wharton

 An educator in international schools since 2005, Philip has enjoyed roles such as class teacher, Head of Primary and Headteacher in British-curriculum settings. As Headteacher, Philip led his school as it was recognised and accredited as exemplary for its care for staff and young people´s wellbeing. Stepping into a new role in 2022, Philip works as an Educational Consultant with a leading European learning company. Always with children and young people´s progress and wellbeing at heart, Philip is lucky enough to travel to schools as an accreditor and to contribute to the wider community as an elected board member at ISU. Philip lives with his husband and their dog in Munich. 

Nina van der Wees

Born in Germany, married to a husband with Dutch background and having lived in several European and African countries during my studies and early professional years before emigrating to Australia, I deeply value the diverse community ISU represents. Our family with two children in lower and middle school re-spectively, has been part of the ISU family since moving to Ulm in 2018. With a professional background in Marketing – currently working as Head of Global Marketing & Training at ZEISS Vision Care - I am looking forward to be bringing my passion for communication and community connection to the role as a board member.

Dr. Jan Nygaard Jensen

Currently serving as Global Head of Computational Biology and Digital Sciences, SVP at Boehringer-Ingelheim. I manage a Global organization across multiple sites Vienna (Austria), Ridgefield (United States) and Biberach (Germany). I have been in the pharmaceutical industry for 20+ years and have seen innovation grow to benefit patients. I have been lucky to work with top Universities like Yale, Oxford and now Tübingen. I am humble towards education and learned through many years of experience the power of solid education. I will represent Boehringer-Ingelheim as well as my passion for education - I hope to support the future development of the ISU. 
Privately, I live in Pfuhl and both of my kids are in the ISU.

Gerd Stiefel

Having started my professional life as an apprentice in a bank, accumulating some practice as a regular employee with the same bank, I joined my father‘s business after National Service at the Bundeswehr.
I moved in 1995 to Kuala Lumpur/Malaysia as an independent sale representative for German and Italian manufacturers. I was responsible for South East Asia, China and Australia.
In 2000 I moved to Melbourne, Australia to set up a joint venture and in 2004 I returned to Germany and took over the position of General Manager of the Stiefel GmbH in Neu Ulm.  
My wife and I have two children. Our son is in EYP 1 since this summer and our daughter of 1 year will join ISU as soon as she qualifies and is accepted.
I was elected to the Board of the ISU last month. As an active member of the PTG I like to help both very important institutions to communicate with each other about the most pressing and fitting issues.
For the business community, ISU is a very important part of attracting global talent and corporations. It can-not be valued high enough.
I am happy and glad to  be able to be part of this and support Mrs Annette Austin and everybody involved in the best possible way.

Dr. Marc Hense

I am a scientist by training and currently work as Head of eCommerce at Teva Germany. Before our family settled in Neu‑Ulm, we lived in Frankfurt, London, and Geneva, where British and international schools played a central role in our children’s education. Both of our children graduated from ISU with an IB, which makes the school’s mission especially meaningful to me.

I have been actively involved in the ISU community for many years—first as a PTG member and co‑president, and since 2019 as a member of the Board. I currently serve as Board co‑chair and represent Teva as an ISU shareholder.

Serving on the Board is a true honour for me. I am committed to supporting the school’s governance and contributing to its strategic development as ISU continues to grow and strengthen its role in our region’s international community.

Dr. Ilai Schwartz

Dr. Schwartz studied Physics and Cognitive Science at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and obtained his doctorate at the University of Ulm. He is well recognized and connected to both the academic as well as the start-up community of our region.

His professional experience includes a range of positions across multiple regions and fields. Dr Schwartz is the co-founder and CTO of NVision Imaging Technologies.

Jessica Kulitz

After my IB Diploma, I did an apprenticeship at Seeberger GmbH (Kff Groß und Außenhandel), I hold a Degree in Business Economics (Uni Witten/Herdecke) and finished an Executive Master for Family Entre-preneurship (Zeppelin University), Experience as a member (CDU) of the City Council of Ulm (2009-2014) before leaving to the US for 5 years. I returned in 2020 and am currently Shareholder of ESTA Apparatebau GmbH & Co. KG, President ESTA Extraction USA as well as Member of the General Assembly of the IHK Ulm. I was appointed to the Board in November 2020 and represent as a shareholder of the school our family business ESTA.

Philipp Walter

Mr Walter studied Business Administration at the Universities of Augsburg and Biberach. Boasting an impressive career across various regions and functions within the Liebherr Group, he is now the managing director of Liebherr-Aerospace Lindenberg GmbH. His vast experience in general management and finance is a valued addition to the Board’s overall profile.