A Productive Week of Strategic Planning
Our Board of Directors had an exceptionally busy and productive week, coming together to plan for FY 25-26, reflect on our achievements, and strengthen our connections within the executive education community. The week included strategic planning sessions focused on our organization’s future direction and continued growth.
As part of this productive week, board members had the opportunity to visit three prestigious institutions on the West Coast:
Campus visits provided valuable opportunities for our board members to engage with fellow executive education professionals, share best practices, and strengthen the collaborative relationships that make UNICON such a vital resource for our global community.
2025-26: Looking ahead
And as we wrap up another successful year in UNICON’s journey, we’re excited to share important updates from our Board of Directors following a productive week of strategic planning and campus visits.Leadership Transitions
- Thank you, Jean Choy – We extend our heartfelt gratitude to Jean for completing her board mandate and her outstanding service to our community
- Thank you, Eric Bergemann – Our appreciation to Eric for his exceptional leadership as former Chair
- Congratulations to our new leadership team:
- Shalini Bhatia – New Board Chair
- Aldemir Drummond – New Vice-Chair
- Welcome once again: Nathalie Nawrocki and Alan Chen (read more about our board members)
New Committee Chairs 2025-2026
We’re also excited to announce our new committee co-chairs who will be driving specific areas of the UNICON membership experience:
Committee Leadership
- Benchmarking Committee: Nicholas Hamilton-Archer & Terry Wolfe (Co-chairs)
- Communications Committee: Marta Pimentel & Nathalie Nawrocki (Co-chairs)
- Conference Committee: Jon Kaupla & Shaun Rozyn (Co-chairs)
- Continuity Committee: Shaun Rozyn (Chair)
- Finance Committee: Shalini Bhatia (Chair) & Aldemir Drummond (Vice-Chair)
- Membership Committee: Katarina Hägg & Dennis Lanham (Co-chairs)
- Research Committee: Eric Bergemann & Alan Chen (Co-chairs)
Special Thanks
Jean Choy
UNICON means a great deal to me – it has provided a growth journey, support group, and invaluable connections that advance better learning experiences for my clients as well as theirs. These relationships we build with one another as members of the consortium, take time, effort, and intentionality, but with openness to learning and desire to get involved, it’s a long game that will yield positive rewards. For me, this has manifested in new business opportunities, introductions to key content creators, raising the visibility of our School, and important insights into growth strategies in this space. I started with just attending conferences but as I met others with same goals and struggles, attendance shifted from learning as an individual to a group of allies with empathetic ears who welcomed sharing of ideas. Soon, I was more actively involved in a committee that made impactful decisions. The progression led to joining the Board and as Chair of the Board this year, I am humbled and excited to see such high level of engagement. As members of UNICON, you have an opportunity to create a roadmap for your journey alongside allies in the industry. I encourage you to reach out to me, one another, board members, and other groups to support you in this long game.
Eric Bergemann – Former Co-Chair
It was a great honor to serve as UNICON’s Chair this year. For so many of us in the Executive Education field, UNICON conferences, committees, events and activities are an essential part of our professional lives.
Eric Bergemann is a Managing Director Americas & Industry Programs Executive Education at the MIT Sloan School of Management, where he oversees a portfolio of non-degree executive programs, is active in business development, and is the Executive Education capability development leader in Program & Instructional Design Methodology and Improvement.
Eric joined the UNICON Board of Directors in 2020 and served as co-chair of the UNICON Benchmarking and Research Committees, as well as Board Vice Chair in 2023-2024. He was the off-board co-chair of Research from 2014-2016 and Benchmarking 2016-2020. Eric has been a presenter and facilitator at UNICON Conferences since 2008.
He has extensive experience in business improvement methods, operations, administration, and information systems. He is a graduate of Tufts University.
Congratulations - new board leadership 2025-26
Shalini Bhatia – Board Chair 2025-26
Shalini Bhatia is currently the Director of Program and Business Development at Stanford University Graduate School of Business (GSB) Executive Education where she leads the Program Development team, handles Business Development for Australia, India, and New Zealand and manages a couple programs in the custom and open enrollment portfolios across modalities, allowing her to see our work from end to end. Shalini joined the UNICON Board of Directors in 2020 and served as co-chair of the UNICON Conference Committee. Prior to the board, she was a committee member on the Research Committee. She is the first UNICON Leadership Academy Graduate (2017) to be elected to the board and serve as vice-chair.
Prior to a career in University-based Executive Education, she has had careers in marketing and consulting across various industries and locations across the United States. She holds a M.B.A. from Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University and a B.A. in Economics and Community Health Certificate from Tufts University.
It is an honor and privilege to be this year’s chair. With my esteemed colleagues, I look forward to serving and giving back to our global community while making a difference and having a positive impact on our members and our industry at-large.
Beyond the content, the best conversations I had were on the long bus rides where we had time to get to know each other and talk about our industry. UNICON Conferences allowed me to have deeper conversations and build friendships that are long lasting.
Aldemir Drummond – Vice-Chair 2025-26
As Aldemir transitions into his new role as Vice-Chair, he is wrapping up his previous position as co-chair of the Research Committee, where he has made significant contributions to our research initiatives. We are celebrating a number of exciting developments in our research portfolio, including our new report conducted with Nexed Insight on how HR, L&D and Talent Leaders select learning providers. This valuable research provides crucial insights for our members and the broader executive education community. To explore this report and our full range of research initiatives, visit our research page.
About Aldemir
Aldemir Drummond Junior holds a PhD in Administration from the University of Cambridge, England, and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the Federal University of Minas Gerais. He served as Executive Director of Executive, Faculty and Education Development at Fundação Dom Cabral – FDC from 2016 to 2020. He is a Professor of Strategy and Organizations at FDC, working in the following areas: competitive strategy, strategy implementation, multinational company strategies, and strategies in emerging economies.
At FDC, he served as coordinating professor of the Strategy and International Business Center, technical coordinator of the Strategy & Execution program, and coordinated the BRICs on BRICs program. In customized programs, he has worked with senior executives from companies such as ABB, Arcelor Mittal, British American Tobacco, Bosch, Bunge, EADS, Embraer, Halma, NEC, Novartis, Pirelli, Syngenta, Vale, Votorantim and VW. Aldemir was People Director (2001 – 2004) and Executive MBA Coordinator (1998 – 2001) at FDC.
These leadership transitions reflect UNICON’s commitment to democratic governance and continuous renewal. Our board election process ensures that our organization remains vibrant and representative of our diverse global membership. To learn more about how our board elections work and the process behind these leadership changes, read our comprehensive UNICON Board Election Process Guide.
2025-26: Looking ahead
And as we wrap up another successful year in UNICON’s journey, we’re excited to share important updates from our Board of Directors following a productive week of strategic planning and campus visits.
Leadership Transitions
- Thank you, Jean Choy – We extend our heartfelt gratitude to Jean for completing her board mandate and her outstanding service to our community
- Thank you, Eric Bergemann – Our appreciation to Eric for his exceptional leadership as former Chair
- Congratulations to our new leadership team:
- Shalini Bhatia – New Board Chair
- Aldemir Drummond – New Vice-Chair
- Welcome once again: Nathalie Nawrocki and Alan Chen (read more about our board members)
