About Us > Our Team > Leadership Team

Leadership Team

Fred Swaniker, Founder
Fred brings deep experience launching and managing private educational institutions of excellence in Africa. He is the founder of Summer Academy at Cape Town (now Global Leadership Adventures) and is a director of Mount Pleasant English Medium School, one of the top-performing private elementary schools in Botswana. He has also worked as a consultant with McKinsey and Company and on the founding team of Synexa Life Sciences. Fred has lived or worked in eight African countries. He has a BA from Macalester College and an MBA from Stanford University.
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Chris Bradford, Founder
Chris brings a unique hybrid background in education and business to ALA. An experienced teacher, Chris spent two years as a Teaching Fellow at Oundle School in the United Kingdom. Chris also worked in brand management with the Procter and Gamble Company and as a consultant with the Boston Consulting Group. In Africa, Chris helped launch the Summer Academy at Cape Town and later directed the program. Chris has a BA degree from Yale University, an MA in Education Administration from Stanford University, and an MBA from Stanford University.
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Chris Khaemba, Inaugural Dean
Chris was previously Principal of Alliance Boys’ High School in Kenya, the highest performing school on Kenya’s secondary school examinations. A former military officer and physics teacher, Chris has served as a school leader for 12 years. Chris has received the Distinguished Service Medal from the President of Kenya for his excellence as a Principal and was named one of the “100 most influential Kenyans” in 2007. Chris holds diplomas from the Kenya Science Teachers’ Training College and the Military Defence College, and he has an MBA from the Kenyatta University School of Business.
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Alex Hernandez, Executive Director
Alex graduated magna cum laude from Claremont McKenna College and later attended Stanford University where he received his MBA and MA in Education Administration. Before joining African Leadership Academy, Alex was an Area Superintendent for Aspire Public Schools, a nationally-recognized charter school operator, where he managed eleven public charter schools and a total budget of $25 million. During this time, Aspire's Central Valley schools increased their standardized test scores by 3x the California state average. The region expanded from seven to eleven schools while sustaining quality results - student achievement grew in every school.
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