About SimTutor
The future of technology in education is exciting. Online learning and virtual simulations are an integral part of a future-proof education system.
Our education solutions have been proven in the demanding medical education field and now support any industry sector's needs for procedural and scenario-based training. Our products are designed to improve training outcomes, bridge the gap between theory and real life, and keep people prepared to perform important everyday tasks as well as in mission-critical moments.
SimTutor Inc. offers powerful simulation eLearning solutions — from concept to deployment — to elevate an organization’s training with two unique and compelling products:
SimTutor Author is a content authoring platform designed for administrators to develop their own courses and learning objects.
SIMTICS is an extensive library of over 200 healthcare simulation modules used by hundreds of education institutions and many thousands of students every day.
Meet the Team
Our carefully assembled team boasts a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences. From seasoned IT and SaaS development to healthcare and education technology, we have extensive expertise in the medical and general simulation space.
Doug has been helping grow education content and technology companies for the past two decades, dedicated to helping students and professionals find their mission in life and then acquire the skills, certifications and competence required to advance in their careers. He has turned around and grown a number of larger edtech companies such as LexisNexis and Ascend Learning, as well as launched and exited two startups dedicated to improving how users access and leverage meaningful training and content.
Most recently, Doug has focused on helping private equity owned companies and their Boards enhance their growth strategies, refine their go to market approach and support management teams. Doug is bilingual in Japanese and spends his off hour times volunteering in an ambulance as a EMT.
Allan Meese has more than 30 years of extraordinary success in a series of high-level Finance and Operations roles at top tier companies that include Scholastic Education, Macmillan Publishers, and Pearson Education.
Some of Allan’s previous roles include : Senior Vice President Finance Scholastic Education, a global education company focused on the development of robust literacy skills that allows children to thrive in school and in life; VP Finance at Macmillan Publishers where he oversaw the finance function for the Higher Education Group; CFO of Macmillan New Ventures a new company at Macmillan Publishers dedicated to becoming the premier source of enterprise solutions for the Higher Education market; SVP & COO of Pearson Achievement Solutions, a division of Pearson focused on the transition from a product-based model to a customer-centric framework by marketing solutions featuring bundled products and services in the Pearson portfolio.
Outside of the office, Allan likes spending time enjoying the South Carolina beaches, restaurants, and music scene.
Cherry joined the original New Zealand company in 2008 to help it scale in order to address the US education market. With her team she established the SIMTICS product as a well-recognized and highly respected simulation solution in the post-secondary and K12 education sectors, winning major customers in the US and beyond. She also spent significant time in the US, getting to know customers and showcasing our products at conferences.
After SimTutor established its US operation in 2020, Cherry took on the mantle of Customer Success. She says this is the best job in the company since she gets to interact with our customers so much, both for SIMTICS and SimTutor Author, and across both sales and customer support.
In her earlier career, Cherry worked in large multi-national IT companies in education, sales support, project management, and senior executive roles.
Outside of work, Cherry relaxes on her 60-foot steel boat with her husband and their two ship's cats, provides free business mentoring through a NZ government agency, and volunteers at Coastguard Communications.
Jamil is a talented software architect and developer with extensive knowledge of cloud-first app development and 3D computer graphics. He has been working with the SIMTICS and SimTutor products for the past 15 years, designing the architecture, overseeing the development of the technology platforms and ongoing enhancements, and working with customers around the globe to deliver effective learning solutions.
With more than 20 years of experience in software development, he has also delivered technology solutions for some of the world’s largest brands.
If Jamil’s not working, he’s probably playing with his young children or out walking his dog.
Outside of work, Nelson enjoys spending time with his family, expanding his photography skills, and strength training.
Ryan is an award-winning product manager with deep experience in customer-oriented product development, customer on-boarding and training, strategic partnerships and value proposition design.
Known as a fearless networker who builds confidence and trust with diverse stakeholders, Ryan has proven expertise in leading functional goal-oriented teams while motivating change and innovation.
Outside of the office, Ryan enjoys all four seasons in the mountains near his home in Boulder Colorado.
As Vice President of Sales, Tom is responsible for all aspects of sales with a primary focus on increasing our market share into new schools and enterprises. Tom is responsible for defining and implementing sales strategies, driving customer acquisition, and supporting customer and partner relationships. Tom has extensive experience with Software as a Service (SaaS) products for individuals and enterprises to use and increase their efficiency and productivity.
Tom has over 20 years of sales and marketing experience. Before SimTutor, he worked as the VP of Business Development, VP of Sales, as well as Director of Marketing in the EdTech industry serving a variety of industries from healthcare to the trades, always focused on helping ensure individuals and employers have the critical skills when they need them. Tom has been able to obtain a deep understanding of the industry that allows him and his team to deliver market-leading support and services to SimTutor’s customers.
Tom holds a BS in Marketing and Sales from The University of Akron.
Anthony has 15 years' experience in edtech, SAAS and healthcare education. Anthony is a consultant, educator and lifelong student specializing in state of the art solutions for higher education and K-12 partners.
Shelly is an innovative and solution-oriented sales executive with a wide range of experience in allied health, higher education, and edtech that affords her a unique understanding of customer situations and needs. She brings over 25 years of expertise as a medical professional and has been involved in oversight of start-up higher education programs, company start-up divisions and hospital-based education programs. She has experience in business partnerships, compliance, online higher education, course development, and curriculum review and design. Her skill-set includes curriculum delivery through classroom-based instruction and workshops, blended learning, web-based simulations, interactive e-learning and employee trainings. In her personal time, Shelly enjoys painting and spending time with her family and dogs.
Alyssa is a seasoned sales professional and project manager with a passion for helping scale technology startups. With extensive experience as a consultant in SaaS products, she brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the table.
Her commitment to excellence and her ability to effectively communicate and manage projects have earned her a reputation as a trusted advisor and collaborator. Alyssa's drive and passion for helping others achieve their goals are evident in everything she does.
Alyssa is also a dedicated community volunteer and enjoys giving back to those in need. When she's not working or volunteering, you can find Alyssa camping with her family and enjoying the great outdoors.
Benny's role is to help with technical questions, integration set-up, and proof of concept requirements throughout a customer's journey with SimTutor. He has considerable experience with instructional design, media creation, and an especially high knowledge of the SimTutor Author platform (after working with it for 6+ years) and LMS integration. He is always keen to help with any questions or issues our customers may have.
Outside of work he has a passion for technology - from tech support for friends and family, to PC gaming - and loves listening to and creating music. He also enjoys being active, and plays a lot of soccer.
Jill has over 15 years experience of working with faculty and of coaching and encouraging students to help them achieve their educational goals. Her extensive knowledge of customer service, organizational development, project management, as well as employee development and training, are invaluable in her customer success role.
Prior to joining SimTutor, Jill held positions such as Corporate Director of Student Services, Continuing Education Coordinator and Online Faculty Operations Specialist. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Missouri – St. Louis and has spent most of her career working in higher education.
Dantes is passionate about working with cutting-edge technology and pushing forward the limits, with creativity and innovation, helping to shape and contribute to the future of the business.
With 10 years of experience in software development and two postgraduate in Strategic Management of IT and Applied Business, he has added value to three of Brazil's government institutions and helped a startup to build a solid ground-foundation for software development in New Zealand. His interests reside in AI, software automation and technological trends. When not working he's with his family exploring New Zealand or playing with his kids.
Dave is an experienced software tester and automation engineer with a decade of experience working on applications within the eLearning space.
He has a passion for online learning and the benefits it provides – a passion that started when he first joined SIMTICS in 2009. Now he is back again to continue providing quality products to a new generation of customers.
In his spare time, he can be found riding motorbikes, building Raspberry Pi clusters, and is currently studying for a Bachelor of Information Sciences degree.
Amol is the technical lead for the eLearning content department, with close to a decade of experience in media and quality assurance. He was part of a major content project during the early days at SIMTICS, and returned to the company in 2017 to take charge of developing, integrating and maintaining digital content across the SIMTICS platform, and managing the content system.
He also helps with simulation design and building, provides support for product issues, and assists with long-term planning for SimuTutor's products. Amol's knowledge of the English language and grammar is stellar, so he often acts as a proof-reader - and since joining SimTutor he's added medical terminology to his language knowledge base too!
John and his co-founder, Dr. George Oosthuizen wanted to improve the way that medical students learned procedural skills. It was John's experience of establishing sophisticated medical training centers, and his understanding of the costs, limitations and logistics of running them, that led to the concept of the SIMTICS and SimTutor Author online simulation-based training solutions.
John studied medicine at the University of Otago and later sub-specialized in hepatobiliary, pancreatic and gastro-oesophageal surgery under the tutelage of Sir David Carter in Edinburgh. He became Head of Surgery at the University of Auckland in 2004. His interests in teaching laparoscopic surgery led to the development of the Advanced Skills Training Centre in Auckland, where skills training with appropriate technology is provided in a world-class facility.
John grew up at the foot of the Himalayas, where his father moved to establish a cardiac clinic. This gave John a deep appreciation of the value of education and community, a passion that continues today.
Meet the Board
Collectively, SimTutor’s directors hold decades of international experience in industries ranging from medical devices and healthcare eLearning to property investment and manufacturing. This breadth of industry knowledge is a key factor that enables SimTutor to provide solutions across an enormous range of different companies and needs.
Peter has worked in the medical device industry for over 35 years, and has been the CEO of six medical device companies (public and private) in four countries. From an engineering background, he has 30 issued US patents and has brought many products to the world market. Peter has served on the Board of 12 companies, and is or has been Chairman of five.
Since retiring as a full time CEO in 2017, he has started a third career helping other companies develop, prosper and grow, as an advisor, consultant and board member.
Peter loves renovating houses (six so far), and spending time with his children and grandchildren scattered throughout the world.
Rick is a professional strategist and management consultant leading Stakeholder Strategies. Rick was previously a partner at The Boston Consulting Group, a director of ASB Bank, the director of think tank, The New Zealand Institute and consultant to several technology companies.
In his spare time, Rick is developing a sustainable farm and writing a book on ideas about the environment. He is an avid runner and tries to stay fit.
Danny is an experienced director who currently holds a number of directorships across a range of industries. He has extensive experience in accounting, finance, investment management, and education and is also a Member of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet - China Project, the NZ China Executive Council and the NZ Markets Disciplinary Tribunal.
Danny enjoys traveling and playing badminton.
Doug has been helping grow education content and technology companies for the past two decades, dedicated to helping students and professionals find their mission in life and then acquire the skills, certifications and competence required to advance in their careers. He has turned around and grown a number of larger edtech companies such as LexisNexis and Ascend Learning, as well as launched and exited two startups dedicated to improving how users access and leverage meaningful training and content.
Most recently, Doug has focused on helping private equity owned companies and their Boards enhance their growth strategies, refine their go to market approach and support management teams. Doug is bilingual in Japanese and spends his off hour times volunteering in an ambulance as a EMT.
Craig has extensive directorship, CEO and executive management experience in a broad range of industries including banking, aviation, multi-channel retails and apparel.
Craig also holds several director positions over a number of early-stage businesses lending them his expertise in growth and management strategies.
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