Jones to succeed Sangeet Chowfla as head of the global association representing leading graduate business schools
RESTON, Va. (August 8, 2022) – The Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), a global association of leading graduate business schools, today announced the appointment of Joy Jones as the organization’s CEO-Elect. Jones currently serves as GMAC’s chief product officer and general manager of assessments, a role she has held since July 2017. The announcement came after current CEO Sangeet Chowfla announced his intention to step down from the position earlier this year, and an extensive search executed by a global executive recruiting firm. The GMAC board of directors unanimously voted to elect Jones, who will become GMAC’s fourth CEO as of October 1, 2022.
“With more than a hundred interested candidates from around the world, the Board conducted extensive interviews and thorough evaluations over the past months and was thrilled to find the best person to lead the organization from within,” said Jon Erickson, chairman of the GMAC board of directors and former president of education and career services at ACT. “Besides her proven success with growing GMAC products and services and deep understanding of the graduate management education industry we represent, we were especially impressed by Ms. Jones’s vision, intellect, composure, and ability to relate to people.”
Jones joined GMAC five years ago with the responsibility for holistically managing the Council’s assessments and preparation portfolio, which includes the Graduate Management Admission Test™ (GMAT™) exam – the most widely used assessment by business schools worldwide and relied on by more than 7,500 business school programs, the NMAT by GMAC™ exam, Executive Assessment, and associated assessment preparation materials. She was instrumental in navigating through challenging times during the COVID-19 pandemic with a rapid launch of the online delivery of all GMAC assessment solutions. Earlier this year, under her stewardship, GMAC debuted Business Fundamentals Powered by Kaplan, a new GMAC product line of “micro” courses in statistics, accounting, and finance to help prepare business school aspirants and admitted students for success in their graduate programs.
“It is a great honor for me to be chosen to lead a long-standing and highly regarded organization like GMAC, with an outstanding 70-year history of connecting talent with opportunity through higher education,” said Jones. “As the organization enters into a new chapter in an ever-evolving global business environment, focused on innovation and growth as well as diversity and inclusion, I look forward to continuing to work alongside my dedicated colleagues at GMAC and in the business school community to advance graduate management education and ensure that talented people have the opportunity to improve the world we live in.”
Throughout her career, Jones has been a transformational leader in a variety of roles spanning strategy, product, sales, business development, and operations, with expertise in leveraging new technologies to create innovative solutions for global markets. Prior to joining GMAC, Jones had a 13-year tenure at the Associated Press (AP) which culminated as their Vice President of Global Products, overseeing all product portfolio and distribution platform management across the company’s multimedia content licensing, advertising, and content service businesses. Prior to AP, Jones worked at Cap Gemini Ernst & Young, where she was an executive with the Strategic Advisory Services and Telecom Media Networks consulting practices. She earned her MBA at Stanford University and holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and applied sciences from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where she graduated with honors.
Jones will succeed Sangeet Chowfla, who has chosen to step down for a new phase of his life after nearly a decade at the helm of GMAC. Chowfla joined GMAC in 2013 and served as President and CEO since 2014. During his tenure, Chowfla drove an extraordinary period of transformation and diversification for GMAC, including establishing regional offices in China, India, and the U.K., and oversaw three acquisitions of complementary products and services designed to help foster connections with candidates and schools, namely NMAT by GMAC, BusinessBecause, and The MBA Tour. He also helped redefine the GMAC brand in renewing focus on serving member schools and uniting the industry to solve common problems and created additional value for schools through expanding our research programs, conferences, and events. Chowfla will continue as an advisor through the end of the year to be available for a smooth and orderly transition.
“Sangeet Chowfla joined the organization during a period of disruption in the industry that only intensified with the advent of the pandemic and global geopolitical challenges,” said Erickson. “We are grateful for his service and the extraordinary growth and evolution that has enabled us to build long-term strategies and position our association for the future to continue serving schools and candidates.”
“It has been an honor and privilege to lead this great organization in a time of change,” said Chowfla. “GMAC’s mission, its people, and the connections that it fosters are truly unique. I look back with some satisfaction that we have built a stronger and more resilient GMAC that is leaner, more diversified in its service offerings, and more global in its outlook. Joy and I have worked closely over the years, and I leave secure in knowing that she has the vision and capability to lead the organization and take it forward.”
About GMAC
The Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) is a mission-driven association of leading graduate business schools worldwide. Founded in 1953, GMAC provides world-class research, industry conferences, recruiting tools, and assessments for the graduate management education industry, as well as resources, events, and services that help guide candidates through their higher education journey. Owned and administered by GMAC, the Graduate Management Admission Test™ (GMAT™) exam is the most widely used graduate business school assessment.
More than 12 million prospective students a year trust GMAC’s websites, including mba.com, to learn about MBA and business master’s programs, connect with schools around the world, prepare and register for exams and get advice on successfully applying to MBA and business master’s programs. BusinessBecause and The MBA Tour are subsidiaries of GMAC, a global organization with offices in China, India, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
To learn more about our work, please visit www.gmac.com
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