QS biographies

Meet our in-house experts

Nunzio Quacquarelli, is founder and managing director of QS Quacquarelli Symonds Ltd, which aims to be the world's foremost provider of independent information on top careers and education.

Nunzio took his MBA at The Wharton School in the USA, where he won the Glockner Prize for Management, after gaining an MA at the University of Cambridge. At Wharton, Nunzio also led the team that won the Moot Corp Business Venture Award in 1990, in competition with teams from all the top US and European business schools. Before starting his own business Nunzio worked in strategy consulting for Mercer Management Consulting and Bain & Company, in the UK and Italy.

A respected journalist on management education and careers, Nunzio has written regularly for The Times of London for the past fifteen years and is also a contributor to other key media around the world such as The Guardian (UK), Handelsblatt (Germany), South China Morning Post (Hong Kong) and Corriere della Sera (Italy). In his journalistic capacity Nunzio has personally interviewed several hundred CEOs, partners and executives of major international corporations.

Nunzio is responsible for the annual Topmba.com Applicant and Recruiter Research, producing several reports including the annual report 'Global 100 Top Business Schools'. He is also Research Director for the annual QS World University Rankings. He is recognized as an authority on the strengths, weaknesses and specialisations of business schools and universities around the world. He regularly is invited to address government education ministers and speak at conferences and seminars on matters of postgraduate education, careers and curriculum development.

Committed to QS setting an example in socially responsible leadership, Nunzio has given this reality by establishing the charitable foundation, QS Education Trust , which provides scholarships for higher education for young people who have already demonstrated socially responsible leadership.

Nunzio is married with four children.

Ben Sowter is Head of Research at QS, leading the QS Intelligence Unit.

Ben has a BSc in Computer Science from the University of Nottingham, where he was also awarded the Union Prize for outstanding contribution to the student union and served as chairman of the Nottingham University Debating Society.

Upon graduation, Ben spent two sabbatical years, working for the UK national office of international student charity, AIESEC, the latter for which he was elected National President and led his team in successfully increasing operational results for the charity, whilst also consolidating their financial security. Soon after joining QS, Ben made research the focus of his work.

Ben is fully responsible for the operational management of all major QS research projects and is actively involved in all the collection, compilation and tabulation of all the data that lead to, amongst others the QS World University Rankings® research in which he has been involved since its initial inception in 2004.

A frequent contributor to the press, Ben’s opinion on global education trends and his expertise is used regularly by major global publications.

Ben has travelled to 45 countries and spoken on his research in over 20. He has personally visited over 40 of the world’s top 100 universities amongst countless others and is also a regular on the conference speech circuit. His lectures, seminars, workshops and opinions are highly sought after. Ben is married and has a child.

John Molony is VP Strategic Planning & Marketing. 

An international educator with 17 years experience in the Higher Education sector, including seven years as Director, Executive Director and Chief Officer International at two leading Australian universities.

John is a highly regarded speaker on a broad range of internationalisation topics at leading Higher Education conferences including the European Association of International Education (EAIE), NAFSA: Association of International Educators, the International Education Association of Australia (IEAA), and the QS Asia Pacific Professional Leaders in Education (APPLE) conference.

By invitation John has coordinated numerous information seminars for organisations including the Australia Education International (AEI), the China Ministry of Education, the Netherlands Organisation for International Cooperation in Higher Education (NUFFIC), Hiroshima University and the University of Queensland.

In 2009 John convened a Special Interest Group in International Learning Mobility at the IEAA.

John has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) and has completed the International Executive Programme at INSEAD.

Zoya Zaitseva is the Global Operations Manager of the QS World MBA Tour, the world’s largest series of international MBA fairs.

Zoya has a Masters in Sociology from the Russian State Social University and over ten years experience in education and career consulting, in both the B2B and B2C arenas. During this time she led the creation of the strongest test preparation and MBA consulting company and web portal in Russia, MBA Consult – now a key QS media partner in Russia -  before moving to London to join the QS team as a Business Development Manager. Zoya’s expertise in university and business school development has been shared with deans and marketing managers from some of the world’s top universities and business schools at seminars and workshops held throughout the Central European and Central Asian regions.

Zoya’s experience in marketing, strategy and business development within the education sector has seen her become a recognized expert on these subjects. Her expertize is highly sought after by universities and business schools in Central Europe and ex-USSR countries, as well as among the international education providers interested in this dynamic region.

Ross Geraghty is Head of MBA Editorial and Video Production at QS.

Ross has a BA in English and an MA in Documentary Film from the London Institute. He has worked in education journalism for over a decade while maintaining a career as a professional musician, and is the Managing Editor of the QS TopMBA Career Guide and TopMBA.com. He was responsible for the introduction of the TopMBA e-Guide and other innovations such as the QS Video Interviews.

Ross is responsible for virtually all of QS MBA editorial output. His opinion is sought out by print and radio journalists worldwide on international MBA topics, and he writes articles that are syndicated around the globe. He manages a team of expert freelance writers on four continents. He also hosts many of the QS World MBA Tour pre-fair admissions panels and seminars and has presented on MBA topics in three continents.
He has visited 35 countries, and not just in transit.