I sat down with Salmaan, the newest leader at Quallege, to discuss his journey from an electrical engineer in India to a global education strategist.
After eight years at Northeastern University, where he scaled enrollment from double digits to over 22,000, Salmaan has joined the Quallege team to build something from the ground up. Our conversation revealed a leader who isn’t afraid to “get to the zero-foot level” to understand what students and parents truly need.
The Journey to Education
Salmaan’s path wasn’t linear. “I’m an electrical engineer who tried engineering for a few years,” he explained, but he soon realized his passion lay in business. After earning his MBA in the U.S., a chance meeting on a flight back to India led him to the international education sector.
As he puts it, “I never thought in my wildest dreams that I would be in education, but I think somewhere earning my MBA in the states and being exposed to the US education system helped me get into this.” His background as an engineer proved to be a secret weapon in recruitment: “Many people from India who go abroad are actually engineers… I was really well positioned to help them understand how you can succeed.”
Why Quallege?
Despite his success at a massive institution like Northeastern, Salmaan felt the pull of the startup world. “I love to build something from scratch… I don’t want to get comfortable,” he noted.
He was particularly drawn to the leadership and the vision of a more agile, personalized recruitment model. “If Ken, Max, JZ and Salmaan did this. I’m not saying I was one of the people in the crowd. I was instrumental in leading the crowd.”
A Leadership Style Rooted in Empathy
Salmaan describes his leadership as a blend of high-level strategy and hands-on mentorship. “I’ve worked as a counselor; I’ve been at a desk. I know what to sell,” he said. Rather than just managing numbers, he believes in “getting to the person’s level, helping them out, and getting that person to grow.”
Salmaan is ready to hit the ground running, telling his team, “the next year will be incredibly challenging and exciting, we are going to build something great and know I am available for anything and everything you and your students need”
Welcome to the team, Salmaan! We are thrilled to have your global expertise guiding our next chapter.