Amit Baveja: A Seasoned Business Leader With A Sharp Eye For Ethics & Excellence
Amit Baveja
Chief Business Officer
The global organization brings with it more than 40 years of experience in ELT and prides itself on integrating state-of-the-art technology and 21st century skills into its content and training portfolio. By bringing all of the expertise but none of the centralization associated with a global business to its national operations, Burlington is able to tailor its offer to suit the market. The content available in India, for example, contains language support for 12 major Indian languages. Working with millions of schools, teachers and students all over the world, Burlington is set to become a major force to reckon with in the India education technology sector.
In an exclusive interview with CEO Insights, Amit shares some insights from his career and tells us what’s so unique about Burlington English.
Can you tell us about your business background?
I’ve got more than 20 years of experience in a variety of different sectors in both Indian and international organizations. Sectors I’ve worked in include finance, FMCG, telecoms, media, education, educational publishing, and education technology. I’ve also had quite a lot of different job titles business leadership, sales, marketing, risk management, and others. Before joining Burlington English, I was Senior Vice President and Business Head at Cambridge University Press and Assessment. I think these years of varied experience have made me a versatile leader who can adapt to a range of operating environments. It has also helped me to understand the best ways to accelerate market growth and how to develop products and services that delight customers.
Working with international organizations has exposed me to different cultures and given me an understanding of how to collaborate effectively with people from a diverse range of backgrounds. I should add that fluent English is a pre-requisite for cross cultural communication in international business, something I’m very proud that Burlington English is so vocally promoting. Throughout my career
I’ve put great value on simple, creative solutions to often complex business problems and on finding innovative ways to drive growth and inspire sales and marketing teams. This, combined with my dogged determination has helped me to consistently deliver results for the businesses I’ve worked with.
What motivates you? What pushes you to perform?
At Burlington English, there’s a new challenge every day, whether it’s securing a training contract or transforming a school. I’m constantly looking for better ways to provide our customers with innovate English language teaching and learning solutions This mantra of continuous improvement, of learning from mistakes is so important to me. This is what keeps me motivated, there’s always a better way!
Can you tell us some more about Burlington English?
Burlington English is very tech-driven. We’re world leaders in digital and online content, there’s a constant process of innovation. Our global business success is built around three driving forces content creation, technology, and training. Just as important are our people we’re creating a culture in India based on ethics, employee well-being, and flexible working. It’s these things that make the difference and help us to leverage our 40-year legacy. Our English language learning solutions use a modern, blended learning approach which combine in-class lessons lead by Burlington tutors with self study AI-driven learning material which students and teachers can access anytime, anywhere and on any device. We want to change the face of English language learning in India with the best available technology and easiest possible access.
What’s unique about Burlington English? What makes it stand out from the competition?
Burlington English is the complete package. We have a world-class content creation team, we are at the cutting edge of language learning AI (artificial intelligence), and we work with expert English language teachers, teacher trainers, and educational consultants. There’s no other organization operating in India that covers all these bases our competitors’ expertise tends to be limited to technology only, or publishing only, or teaching only. This makes us something of a one-stop-shop. We are in a position to tailor the solution to the client and the needs of the market. We don’t offer one-size-fits all solutions, we offer bespoke programmes tailored to our clients’ needs.
With English already established as the language of choice for international business, technology, academia, and social communication, Burlington English is here to level up English language learning and teaching
What motivates you? What pushes you to perform?
At Burlington English, there’s a new challenge every day, whether it’s securing a training contract or transforming a school. I’m constantly looking for better ways to provide our customers with innovate English language teaching and learning solutions This mantra of continuous improvement, of learning from mistakes is so important to me. This is what keeps me motivated, there’s always a better way!
Can you tell us some more about Burlington English?
Burlington English is very tech-driven. We’re world leaders in digital and online content, there’s a constant process of innovation. Our global business success is built around three driving forces content creation, technology, and training. Just as important are our people we’re creating a culture in India based on ethics, employee well-being, and flexible working. It’s these things that make the difference and help us to leverage our 40-year legacy. Our English language learning solutions use a modern, blended learning approach which combine in-class lessons lead by Burlington tutors with self study AI-driven learning material which students and teachers can access anytime, anywhere and on any device. We want to change the face of English language learning in India with the best available technology and easiest possible access.
What’s unique about Burlington English? What makes it stand out from the competition?
Burlington English is the complete package. We have a world-class content creation team, we are at the cutting edge of language learning AI (artificial intelligence), and we work with expert English language teachers, teacher trainers, and educational consultants. There’s no other organization operating in India that covers all these bases our competitors’ expertise tends to be limited to technology only, or publishing only, or teaching only. This makes us something of a one-stop-shop. We are in a position to tailor the solution to the client and the needs of the market. We don’t offer one-size-fits all solutions, we offer bespoke programmes tailored to our clients’ needs.
We see English language proficiency as a way to cultivate success across business sectors and particularly in international trade and commerce. Burlington’s upskilling programmes provide industry specific English language content along with flexible ways to learn. And it’s not just the knowledge of English that’s important these days, it’s the cognitive, social, and behavioral skills that are all part of excellent communication. Burlington integrates these 21st century power skills into every course, every syllabus. I’ve spoken about Burlington’s commitment to innovation, artificial intelligence, and language learning technology.
Evidence of this can be seen in one of our flagship products the Burlington Speech Trainer. By integrating speech processing technology, sound academic knowledge, and multilingual support, we have created something quite unique in the ELT space in India. Imagine your own personalised speaking and pronunciation course, tailored to your needs, focusing on the difficulties you’re having with sounds, fluency, and vocabulary. It’s truly an amazing piece of tech. Burlington is also moving into the English language assessment space with VTEST– a secure, online English language proficiency test that adapts test content to fit with the test-taker’s English language level. It creates a bespoke test for each user and assesses all four language skills. We’ve customised the version available here for Indian test takers and further customisation is available for different sectors. In order to ensure quality and global relevance, all Burlington content is mapped to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). Our content for schools and teacher training programmes is aligned to the requirements of the National Education Policy 2020, the CBSE English language curriculum, and NCERT learning outcomes for each school year.
What is your success mantra?
Take risks, face challenges head-on, persevere, and be patient. Be ready to adapt that’s very important, and always look for ways to do things better. Never stop learning, aim high and view failures as steppingstones to success. These are the thoughts that keep me at the top of my game and spur me onward.
As a seasoned industry veteran, what advice would you give to budding entrepreneurs?
If you’re just starting out in business, stick to your core values and learn as much as possible and as often as possible. Don’t be afraid to make mistake but learn from those mistakes, don’t make the same mistake twice! Remember that to excel in a leadership role, you need to set an inspiring example for your team. Don’t rely on the authority that comes from the job description, focus on cultivating relationships with your team to promote openness, good communication, and a feedback culture.
Amit Baveja, Chief Business Officer, Burlington English
A flexible, innovative business leader who’s making sure that Burlington English India is ready to face the future.
Evidence of this can be seen in one of our flagship products the Burlington Speech Trainer. By integrating speech processing technology, sound academic knowledge, and multilingual support, we have created something quite unique in the ELT space in India. Imagine your own personalised speaking and pronunciation course, tailored to your needs, focusing on the difficulties you’re having with sounds, fluency, and vocabulary. It’s truly an amazing piece of tech. Burlington is also moving into the English language assessment space with VTEST– a secure, online English language proficiency test that adapts test content to fit with the test-taker’s English language level. It creates a bespoke test for each user and assesses all four language skills. We’ve customised the version available here for Indian test takers and further customisation is available for different sectors. In order to ensure quality and global relevance, all Burlington content is mapped to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). Our content for schools and teacher training programmes is aligned to the requirements of the National Education Policy 2020, the CBSE English language curriculum, and NCERT learning outcomes for each school year.
What is your success mantra?
Take risks, face challenges head-on, persevere, and be patient. Be ready to adapt that’s very important, and always look for ways to do things better. Never stop learning, aim high and view failures as steppingstones to success. These are the thoughts that keep me at the top of my game and spur me onward.
As a seasoned industry veteran, what advice would you give to budding entrepreneurs?
If you’re just starting out in business, stick to your core values and learn as much as possible and as often as possible. Don’t be afraid to make mistake but learn from those mistakes, don’t make the same mistake twice! Remember that to excel in a leadership role, you need to set an inspiring example for your team. Don’t rely on the authority that comes from the job description, focus on cultivating relationships with your team to promote openness, good communication, and a feedback culture.
Amit Baveja, Chief Business Officer, Burlington English
A flexible, innovative business leader who’s making sure that Burlington English India is ready to face the future.