Dr Steffen Sommer has over 25 years of experience in senior roles in Europe and the Middle East. He has a deep knowledge of the international K-12 sector and expertise in High Performance Learning (HPL). Dr Steffen joined Misk Schools in August 2022 from Doha College, where he had been Principal since 2015. Under his leadership, the College was the first school in the world to become an ‘HPL World Class School’ and grew to be one of the leading schools in the region. It also won the School Sustainability Initiative at the Qatar Sustainability Awards 2018 and was the first school in Qatar to be accredited under the new COBIS Patron’s Accreditation and Compliance scheme. Born in Germany, Dr Steffen gained his first degree in Language and Linguistics at Leipzig University. After military service and teacher training, he worked in France with Peugeot and studied for a PhD in Translation Studies at University of Birmingham, UK, before finding his vocation in teaching. Fluent in six languages, Dr Steffen has a strong affinity for the Middle East and its culture, as well as for Arabic language. He has led top schools in The Hague, Paris, Champittet Switzerland and Doha and has experience of British boarding life having been Head of Languages and Housemaster at Rugby School, one of the UK’s top independent boarding schools. Dr Steffen is a board member of Outstanding Schools Middle East, Vice Chair COBIS, a co-founder of the international division of HMC and a Fellow of HPL.