Andre Nudelman, Entrepreneur in Residence
Andre Nudelman played a pivotal role in the development of Maple Bear in Brazil since its inception and had a decisive role in the creation of the system in Canada, including creating the brand and all initial manuals for the schools, as part of the franchising model developed by him for CEC Network at the time. Then, a joint-venture was formed between Nudelman and CEC Network, and as the president of Maple Bear Latin America, Nudelman was responsible for overseeing the growth and expansion of Maple Bear in Brazil, as well as other countries in the region.
One of the key contributions that Nudelman made to Maple Bear's success in Brazil was his deep understanding of the local market, and culture. He recognized that the demand for bilingual education was high in Brazil, but that there were few options available that met the quality standards of Canadian education. Nudelman saw an opportunity to fill this gap by bringing Maple Bear to Brazil, where it could provide a high-quality bilingual education to Brazilian students.
Nudelman was also instrumental in adapting the Maple Bear curriculum to meet the needs of Brazilian students. He recognized that the Canadian education system, while excellent, was not a perfect fit for the Brazilian context, and that the curriculum needed to be modified to ensure that it met the needs of local students. With this in mind, Nudelman worked closely with Canadian and Brazilian educators to adapt the Maple Bear curriculum to the local context, ensuring that it provided an excellent education to Brazilian students while maintaining the high standards of Canadian education and complying with Brazilian regulations.
In addition to his work on the curriculum, Nudelman was also responsible for building the Maple Bear brand in Brazil. He recognized the importance of establishing Maple Bear as a trusted and respected brand in the Brazilian education market, and worked hard to build a strong reputation for the school system. This included developing partnerships with local institutions and international organizations, as well as building a strong network of Maple Bear schools across the country. The system offered full scholarships for low income students to attend its schools, beside contributing to The Bear Hug Project developed in conjunction with UNICEF..
Overall, Andre Nudelman played a critical role in the success of Maple Bear in Brazil, helping to develop a high-quality bilingual education system that has become the largest K-12 bilingual school chain in the country. His deep understanding of the local market, his work on adapting the curriculum, his strategic market penetration strategy, and his efforts to build the Maple Bear brand have all contributed to the success of the school system in Brazil.
Andre Nudelman is the Managing Partner of Addquire Private Equity focused on education and the Entrepreneur in Residence at Stanford Graduate School of Education and at the Lemann Center at Stanford.
