director
focus
Inspirational leader Perhaps it’s not surprising that Mustafa Erdem has enjoyed a successful career designing schools and colleges. His grandfather was a respected philanthropist who was the driving force behind the development of a school for 1,000 children in Turkey. This family link with education and Mustafa’s natural talent for drawing and design goes some way towards explaining his career path. Initially, Mustafa studied landscape architecture at Ankara University but after moving to Germany in the early 90s he studied (building) architecture at Technische Universität Braunschweig. This was an incredible time to be studying and working as a designer, as he explains.
“It was just after the reunification of East and West Germany and this period provided huge opportunities for young architects like myself. I worked for an urban design company that was redesigning East German towns. This meant taking account of cultural and social considerations with the aim of designing something both useful and creative - I gained invaluable experience” After marrying in Germany, Mustafa moved to London where he studied for a masters degree in urban design at UCL. It was in London that he joined a company specialising in designing schools and community centres. He has not looked back since. He now works as a director for E&E Education using his extensive knowledge of the education sector to support the development of UK as well as
overseas private schools and universities – helping them reach their maximum potential. Amongst the many projects he has been involved with over the years, he is particularly proud of the West London Free School which opened its doors for the first time in 2011. It was a proud moment when his daughter and then his son went through the gates of the school he helped found and develop. Most recently Mustafa has cofounded an independent SEN (autism) school, Easy Steps Education In Ealing - which had its full complement of pupils from day one. He believes the school makes a real difference to the provision of care and learning in West London and is confident of delivering two or three more similar schools in the coming years.
Providing inspiration Hounslow Chamber of Commerce has been able to draw on Mustafa’s insight and inspiration for almost 10 years now – he was Chairman of the Board from 2013 -2015.
“I am one of the longest serving members now, and I have always felt that I am part of this community – and Hounslow is a wonderfully diverse community. My aim as a board member has always been to ‘add value’ where I can.” And one of the specific areas he could add value when invited to join the board back in 2012 was in procurement. Mustafa was appointed Lead Member of the Procurement and Sustainable Supply Chain Forum.
I am one of the longest serving members now, and I have always felt that I am part of this community – and Hounslow is a wonderfully diverse community. My aim as a board member has always been to ‘add value’ where I can.
“There is often a lot of red tape hindering SME firms’ efforts to take part in government funded projects. I drafted a supply chain document for Hounslow Chamber of Commerce. The intention was to provide more information to people on how to approach procurement and to increase the visibility of SMEs in Hounslow”. He adds that over the last 10 years he has met hundreds of creative and innovative SMEs in the borough and likes to think he has played a part in helping them secure both local council and public sector contracts.
let’s talkbusiness
7
