Team

Creator and Author of Thinking into Character, CEO and Co-Founder Regent Group

Dr Selva Pankaj is the author of the Thinking into Character book and creator of the digital platform. Having fled from his home country, Sri Lanka, as a result of civil war, Selva came to the UK where, as a qualified accountant, he developed a career in the financial investment and merchant banking sector where he spent 16 years from 1994 to 2009. His career in the investment sector involved work at a wide variety of firms, many of them high-profile, and global firms which include Pricoa, Rockspring, Fortress with a Joint Venture relationship with Goldman Sachs and Prudential Financial Inc amongst others. Some of his major achievements include involvement in major capital raises of over $1.5 billion of capital, tax restructuring and the co-ordination of IPOs. In the late 1990s, Selva was trying to earn a little extra to support his family and starting offering A-Level accountancy tuition to local students at £20 per hour. This inspired him to set up Regent Independent College, the very first business in what has now become Regent Group, and in 2009 he left his City career to become Regent Group’s CEO and began its transformation.

He has been inspired in the development of Thinking into Character by living legends, Prof. Clay Christensen from Harvard, with whom he spent 2 weeks on an executive education course – Disruptive Innovation – and Bob Proctor, America’s famous prosperity teacher. He has also attended an Essentials of Leadership programme at the London Business School and spent years learning about the science of success, with principles underpinned by Andrew Carnegie, Napoleon Hill, Stephen Covey, Stephen Hawkins and Wallace. D Wattles to name but a few.

In autumn 2019, Selva attended the Leading Change and Organizational Renewal course at the Stanford Graduate School of Business where he learnt how to combat the inertial forces that plague big organisations in order to design a company that can generate streams of innovation. Whilst there, he also attended a private coaching session with Prof Carol Dweck, author of best-seller Mindset, famously used by CEO, Satya Nadella, to turn around the fortunes of Microsoft

Global Managing Director

Tharshiny Pankaj is a graduate of Brunel University where she studied Computer Sciences. In 1998 she took the post of ICT & Computing Teacher at a sixth form college. In 2000 she played a large part in the founding of Regent Independent College and has been deeply involved in the day to day running of the various businesses and been intrinsic in the growth of the Group.

Chief Commercial Officer

Alka joined Regent Group when the business was initially incorporated, in 2000. During her tenure she has delivered in a number of vital roles that have been key to the Group growing into the diversified organisation it is today. Alka has a special interest in client care, she supports the Director in building new business relationships with clients, both in the UK and abroad. Alka uses her experience and passion for helping others in reaching their full potential, to off­er valuable advice to team members as key decisions are being made.

Director of Research, Publications and Enrichment

Dr Chris Wood joined Regent Group in November 2020, having spent two decades in the civil service, local government and education. Prior to joining Regent, he was an independent research consultant working with private, public and third sector organisations. He was also lead assessor for the Queen’s Award for Industry Promoting Opportunity Prize.

A former adviser to the Chief Inspector for Education and Principal Officer for research publications, Chris drafted ministerial advice notes, authored influential survey reports, contributed to parliamentary inquiries and was a keynote speaker at national and international conferences.

Chris has a doctorate and a master’s degree in education. He has a passion for all things Italian and loves a great espresso. He is married with two children.

Chief Financial Officer

Paras joined Regent Group in 2008 as a Finance Manager and since then she has managed all financial aspects of the Group’s businesses. She has an ACCA Qualification, an MBA in Finance and an Engineering degree and previously worked in the real estate sector.

Student Wellbeing Co-ordinator

Tanya Tanna is the Student Wellbeing Co-ordinator. She joined Regent College London in February 2019. Tanya is a believer in promoting a positive work environment and is passionate about raising mental health awareness among students and staff. She has more than 20 years’ experience of working in the Higher Education sector including a number of private colleges and universities, such as City University of London and University of Westminster. Tanya has a proven track record of successful project management including the initiation and implementation of Individual Support Action Plans for students with special personal circumstances and the mental health support project Mind Connect.

Head of Academic Operations

Victor Joined Regent College in March 2019, having previously obtained a degree in Design and Marketing at Central Saint Martins and worked for three years in the fashion design industry.
He started Regent College as Academic Administration but evolved into his current position in Resource Planning in October 2020.
His responsibilities include compiling reports to support the planning and smooth running of College activities. He reports to the Academic Dean, but works closely with multiple stakeholders across the organisation.