Alistair Starling
Alistair Starling
Strategic Development Head, Europe & North Africa
Alistair is based in Germany and leads the business-to-government efforts on the ground across Europe and North Africa in close liaison with the international Projects team in Cambridge. He was previously the Regional Director of Northern Europe in Berlin’s office. He works closely with Directors in other regions and colleagues in Cambridge in formulating and implementing global strategies.
Before joining in November 2013, Alistair was the Higher Executive Officer in the British Diplomatic Service at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. He also headed and managed positions at a variety of multinational and governmental entities such as Inward Investment Team for UK Trade & Investment in Italy for 4 years, following 10 years in the private sector in the UK and Italy, culminating in heading up Marketing for a multinational software company based in Milan. Alistair is passionate about language learning, taught English in Italy for 2 years, and learnt German, Italian and French by working overseas most of his adult life.
Alistair’s work experience includes developing relationships with global key education actors, delivering international and strategic business-to-government projects, cost control, strategic planning, team development, business plan innovation, eCRM, volunteer management, and government-to-business revenue generation. Alistair is a confident public speaker, has presented numerous times on TV, and fosters active communities of contacts across Europe and participates in conferences in many countries around the world.
Alistair worked in the founding teams of start-ups in the recruitment sector (The Cambridge Hub), internet design sector (IconMedialab), and therefore understands the pace and focus on the commercial sector. Alistair has two Masters Degrees (one from the University of Cambridge), and an Undergraduate Degree in the creative industries.