The MSF Advisory Board supports the Director and the School Leadership Team in strategy, quality assurance and school development. The Advisory Board includes three experienced school directors with decades of local and international school leadership experience, a lawyer and tax consultant and both elected and nominated parent representatives.
Daniel Schmitz (Board Chair) An IB Diploma graduate of the International School of Düsseldorf, Mr. Schmitz has 30 years of experience in financial services as Managing Director of Goldman, Sachs & Co., Partner of CVC Capital Partners and as an independent investor and entrepreneur. From 2010 to 2017, Mr Schmitz was a seed investor and Director of Wichtel Akademie München GmbH, a group of kindergartens and childcare centres. Mr Schmitz is the father of three MSF students; his family has been part of the MSF community since 2010.
Cathie Mullen (Vice Chairperson) has been the Director of Education at the International School Augsburg (an IB World School) since 2005. Her prior experience includes the position of Lower School Principal at the International School of Stuttgart, as well as teaching posts in Ireland and the Bahamas. She has also served as a board member of the Association of German International Schools.
Thomas Braun has 20 years of experience as a teacher and school leader in Germany. He is currently Co-Director of BBS Neuwied, the largest private vocational training school in the state of Rhineland Palatinate (Rheinland Pfalz). His responsibilities on the Board include personnel, curriculum, organisational matters, school legal issues and the coordination of the MSF Scholarship Programme.
Vera Pütz joined the MSF Board in 2021 after fulfilling the role of Head parent rep a number of times over the past years at MSF. After graduating in International Business and Marketing studies in Germany and South Africa, Mrs Pütz worked both in finance and marketing in Chicago and Germany. She has one son who graduated from MSF in 2022 and three sons in Secondary – all of them started at MSF in kindergarten.
Wolfgang Sietzy joined the MSF Board with more than 20 years of experience as a tax, accounting and legal expert (StB, Wp, RA). Following his early years with Arthur Andersen, Mr Sietzy started his own consulting business in Bad Soden, advising on mid-sized (“Mittelstand”) clients and private educational institutions on tax, accounting and legal matters. Since his retirement, Mr. Sietzy serves on the board on the Taunus Sparkasse and is active in local politics.
Jutta Petznick, holding a Master’s in Education Science, has an extensive background in language education and international coaching. Her time in Shanghai was marked by teaching German and a deep commitment to supporting children with special needs. Now in Frankfurt, she leads a language coaching business. Jutta has navigated various roles within international school environments and currently serves as the Deputy Head Parent Representative. She is also a parent with a daughter in grade 11 at MSF.
Aslihan Ece Irtis is the Deputy Head Parent Representative. She holds a masters degree in Decision Sciences from LSE. She’s a seasoned treasury and strategic planning professional with vast experience. She has also actively contributed to fundraising initiatives for various NGOs, applying her financial expertise to support charitable causes. She is also a parent with a son in grade 8 at MSF.
Tim Kelley, Director of International School Stuttgart for the past 16 years and from 2016 – 2021 Chairman of AGIS, the Association of German International Schools. Tim has been an educator for over 30 years, having worked in Germany, the US and Switzerland. He is currently Chairman of the Board of the Educational Collaborative for International Schools (ECIS). In addition to being a recipient of a Klingenstein Fellowship for Educational Leadership, he has been a speaker and presenter for TAISI (India), AAIE and AGIS conferences.
