Emal Dusst

Emal Dusst is a senior investment professional at Sterling Partners, a global private equity firm based in the US. Emal is also on the founding team of Cintana Education, which was formed in partnership with Arizona State University, to connect universities around the world with the world-class resources needed to develop and scale high-quality academic programs. 

Prior to Sterling Partners, he was Head of Strategy and Chief of Staff to the CEO/Chairman of Laureate Education, the largest international network of degree-granting higher education institutions which at its peak at its height, operated in 25 countries and educated over a million students worldwide. 

Emal serves or has served as a board member or observer on several education companies/institutions, including Coursera, Lecturio Medical (Germany), the American University of Afghanistan as Board Vice Chair (US government funded), the World Affairs Council in DC and ReCoded, a United Nations-funded non-profit coding school for refugees. Additionally, he is a member of the Education Leadership Council at the Brookings Institution, a Term Member at the Council on Foreign Relations, and a National Security Fellow at the Truman National Security Project. Emal holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics with a minor in German from UCLA and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. 

Emal has been on the Governing Body of Escape Studios since June 2023.