Kevin Frey

MANAGING THREE PARALLEL CAREERS HAS HELPED THE ENTREPRENEUR, EMPLOYEE AND ACADEMIC PREPARE FOR HIS BIGGEST JOB YET: CEO OF RIGHT TO PLAY INTERNATIONAL

1989 TORONTO STAR PAPER-BOY

I worked 364 out of 365 days that year— every day except Christmas. I saved $1,000, which I invested to pay for university, per my parents’ advice. Of course, I invested it very poorly, so when I actually needed it, it was worth much less than $1,000. My parents were nice enough to make up the difference.

2000–2003 UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO MANAGER, INTERNATIONAL SUMMER ENGLISH PROGRAM

The program had been losing money and was set to close. I said, “Give me one year to see if I can fix it.” It grew and grew, and now it’s extraordinarily successful. The experience taught me the value of taking on messy problems, the ones no one else wants. It gives you a story: “This was the situation before I arrived, and this is the story after.”

2004–2010 UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO DIRECTOR, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AND INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMS

The university was sitting on a gold mine during the summer—empty residence buildings, which it would sometimes rent as hostels for $20 a night. We added something the school was really good at: educational programming.

2010–2011 UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO CHIEF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT OFFICER, FACULTY OF ARTS & SCIENCES

2011–PRESENT LEARNKIT CO-FOUNDER

Learnkit is helping organizations develop e-learning. You’d figure universities would be the leaders at this. They’re great at the traditional sage-on-the-stage model [of instruction], but they’re really struggling to adapt to the online world, so they need help plugging the gap.

2012–PRESENT IE BUSINESS SCHOOL DOCTOR OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION CANDIDATE

It’s one of the top schools in the world for entrepreneurship research, which I’m writing my dissertation on. I’m not necessarily proud to admit this, but I work all the time. That’s how I manage three parallel careers: I’m an entrepreneur and a student with a day job.

1995–2000 UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO HONOURS BACHELOR OF ARTS

2003–PRESENT TEACH AWAY INC. FOUNDER AND CHAIRMAN

As I was travelling around the world on behalf of U of T, I was seeing other opportunities, including a big need for outbound teacher recruitment. So Katarina—my girlfriend at the time, now my wife—left her job, and the two of us started the company. I persuaded both of my brothers to join us a few years later as equity partners; today they are co-CEOs.

2009–2010 NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY MBA, KELLOGG SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT

I recommend trying to get into the best business program you can. When I say, “I have an MBA from Kellogg,” right away people recognize it. That matters a lot, especially in the U.S.

2011–2015 UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO MANAGING DIRECTOR, FULL-TIME MBA, ROTMAN SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT

Dean Roger Martin massively expanded the school. He wanted to grow the program by 35%, and we achieved that in three years. I went there for that challenge and to work with two really brilliant people: Martin, and Mihnea Moldoveanu, an absolutely brilliant professor and a serial entrepreneur.

2014–PRESENT SKOOLI CO-FOUNDER

Skooli is an online marketplace and platform that allows tutors to open their own online schoolhouses. The education industry is facing its biggest disruption in 400 years—since the printing press— with the Internet. Teach Away is now one of the world’s largest teacher recruitment agencies, and we invest all its profits in e-learning, including Skooli.

2015–PRESENT RIGHT TO PLAY INTERNATIONAL CEO

It’s an extraordinary organization—it literally changes the lives of over a million disadvantaged kids every week by giving them access to play. This job is also a chance to work with a visionary founder in Johann Olav Koss. He’s a former Olympian [in speedskating] and has built this from a tiny startup into a major non-governmental organization working in more than 20 countries and raising more than $50 million a year.