Recruitment Partner
John Zhang
Founder and Director, ACIC
John Zhang is the Founder and Director of ACIC. Established in Sydney in 1988, ACIC is a world-class education and migration consulting firm that specialises in providing Australian education and migration advice and services to international students.
ACIC has been working with Navitas since 1997 when they started working with our SIBT college in Sydney. Twenty-seven years later, our partnership has expanded and strengthened.
“The way Navitas has maintained its core values for all these years has inspired me to stay true to my own philosophy, which is to always support our students and their education first, and the business second.”
Hear John's full story
Transcript
We have been partners for 27 years. No matter the good or bad times of our industry, we have always been there to support each other.
Can you tell us when and how you came to partner with Navitas?
I have been working with Navitas since 1997 when I start working with SIBT. And I remember I approached the SIBT director at that time because I heard about the model that Rod had established and I thought it was a very good business concept and the program was going to be very good for international students.
After partnering with SIBT, I started promoting more and more Navitas colleges as they expanded. I was certain that it would become a very successful model. ACIC has worked together with Navitas through all these years and I’m very happy to see the powerhouse that Navitas has become today.
What is one of your favourite memories from working with Navitas?
I have many good memories with Navitas and one of them was from the Navitas Partners conference in Dubai, I think in 2014. Navitas had organised a dinner for us in the desert. After when we were all sitting down, Rod Jones and Tony Cullen entered together, riding the same camel and wearing traditional clothes while music from Lawrence of Arabia was playing. It was amazing, like a Hollywood movie. It showed how strong the relationship between Rod and Tony is, and that they can be both serious and very confident business people, but also fun people.
How has partnering with Navitas made an impact on your work and the lives of the students you have helped?
Rod always says that our business is about relationships. Relationships with agents, relationships with students and the relationships with the schools. I admire how he and Scott have stuck to this philosophy over so many years. This philosophy has also enabled Navitas to fill itself with people of the best calibre, such as Tony Cullen and many others. And, it has been key to Navitas maintaining high standards for such a long time.
It has also ensured they have kept their human touch when they became a corporate giant, which is not always the case with other businesses. The way Navitas has maintained its core value for all these years has inspired me to stay true to my own philosophy, which is to always support our students and their education first, and the business second. Our mutual support of each other to the highest degree has resulted in us delivering opportunities and access to world class higher education and English education for thousand students.
What key achievements come to mind during your partnership with Navitas?
The ACIC celebrated its 36th anniversary last year and this year Navitas celebrates its 30th. We have been partners for 27 years. No matter the good or bad times of our industry, we have always been there to support each other.
After 27 years, together we have achieved over 5000 enrolments to Navitas and we have also helped many of these students achieve their dream of getting into Australian higher education. I’m proud of our achievements together with Navitas and I wish them great success for the future.