Ashok K Pandey is the Chairperson of the Council for GCED. His professional career as an educator and a school leader has spanned over three decades. He is currently the Director of Ahlcon Group of Schools. Earlier, for 17 years, he had served as the Principal of Ahlcon International School, ranked amongst the best in India.

Ashok Pandey has also served as the Chairperson of National Progressive Schools’ Conference (NPSC), a leading association of progressive schools in India.

Ashok is an active partner to the UN’s Act4SDGs campaign and has been at the forefront of fostering United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals in various schools across India, through his initiative SDG4QEducation.

Ashok is a postgraduate in Physics and Consultancy Management from the Allahabad University and BITS, Pilani respectively. He is the author of several articles, projects and research papers. His first book 'The Pedagogical Life-Essays on Educating India', described by many as an educational travelogue, was published in 2017.

He is the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award (2017) by Ferguson Humanitarian Foundation International, Inc., (FHFI, USA), Advaith Foundation Leadership Award (2017) and President’s Award’ (2012) for his contribution in the field of education. Ashok has a keen interest in the professional development of teachers, and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). He is an active partner to the UN’s Act4SDGs campaign.

Widely traveled, he has led Principals’ delegations to the University of Malta in Europe, the University of Rice in Houston, USA and to the Institute of Leadership, Nottingham, UK. He has also participated in the Australia – India Leadership Dialogue held in Melbourne, Australia.