A Tribute to our Chairman Nick Kuenssberg

There is still a sense, one week on from the shock of hearing that Nick had passed away, that I will wake up tomorrow and find one of his many messages of encouragement in my inbox.

Nick has been with us steadfastly over the last thirteen years of our lives as a fledging Scottish Edtech company, newly emerged from an RSE Fellowship. To describe us then as pre-revenue, would be an understatement. We were pre- product, pre –staff, pre almost everything except a passion for education and technology’s potential to transform the language learning process.

It is one measure of the man, that Nick spotted something in that – agreed to back us as the Gabriel Syndicate’s first investment and became our first and only Chairman. It is a source of some comfort to me that we had the distinction of being the last company that Nick chaired and that in the final months and weeks of his life, we brought him some joy and distraction from the round of medical appointments and hospital visits.

Over the years, he shared so many lows and highs with us. He steered us through difficult times, brought the weight of his knowledge and expertise to bear on our problems, offered wise counsel, practical help, challenged us but always walked alongside us as our friend.

As my understanding of the business and investment world increased, so did my realisation that Nick was quite simply a unique figure in that world where egos and self-aggrandisement can often prevail.

He got to know us as individuals. He brought warmth as well as focus to our Board meetings and just days before he passed away, he was advising us about the future.

He is quite simply irreplaceable, not just in our lives but the lives of all he came into contact with. We can only imagine how his loss will be felt by his family.

Thanks to his unfailing commitment however, Klik2learn is now reaping the rewards. We have established a reputation as an innovator in our English language sector with an unrivalled combination of products and services for both UK and international markets. We’re developing our own AI applications to keep us at the forefront of personalised learning and our new healthcare program is directly impacting the lives of doctors and nurses who have migrated to the UK.  Our desire to take our learners beyond competence in English has resulted in us forging exciting new partnerships with global recruitment agencies and international employers keen to work with our ‘undiscovered talent.’ That adds up to a legacy Nick would be proud of.

 

– Ann Attridge  CEO Kilk2learn