Meet the von Bülow Education team
Alexandra von Bülow - Steinbeis - Founder
Alexandra von Bülow - Steinbeis founded von Bülow Education and has made the company what it is today. She has been advising families for over 25 years, helping them choose the perfect boarding schools for their children. Clients value Alexandra's amazing insider knowledge on the top UK boarding schools, her emapthy and her great sense of humour.
30 years ago Alexandra von Bülow - Steinbeis was a searching parent herself: her eldest son Alexander close to flunking the 10th grade at his school in Germany. Getting rather desperate for a better solution she started looking for alternative schools.
In doing so, she came across renowned boarding school Sevenoaks School. She made contact and through a miracle and a few pleading words Alexander was accepted. He never looked back. The three siblings Ferdinand, Nikolaus and Caroline followed. All four children had a transformative experience there. Sevenoaks was a eureka-moment for Alexandra. She saw how her children flourished there and decided that she wanted to help other children have similar educational experiences. And so, von Bülow Education was born.
Things started small, as they tend to. Alexandra, at the time living with her English husband Dan in the idyllic English countryside, converted her garden shed into an office and started advising families. Soon the phone didn't stop ringing...
In September 2015 Alexandra von Bülow - Steinbeis handed over the reigns to her second son Ferdinand. She still advises families on and off from her flat in Berlin Momsenstrasse, accompanied by boxer Paula.
Ferdinand Steinbeis - Managing Director
Ferdinand Steinbeis has been the Managing Director of von Bülow Education since September 2015.
He sees himself as a "product" of the English education system. After completing his International Baccalaureate in Sevenoaks, Ferdinand Steinbeis studied Economics and Philosophy at the London School of Economics. This was followed by career-related forays into the music industry and management consultancy. After completing an MBA at the elite business school INSEAD in France, Ferdinand Steinbeis took the helm at von Bülow.
Ferdinand Steinbeis firmly believes in the value of a residential school stay in Great Britain. As a teenager, he was able to attend Sevenoaks, despite having very mediocre grades. He left school with excellent A-levels, a healthy dose of self-confidence and an international circle of friends that he cherishes to this day. Ferdinand Steinbeis is certain – without the transformative experiences he had at Sevenoaks, he would not be where he is today.
For the past eight years, Ferdinand Steinbeis has been living in London with his wife Barbara, daughter Klara and son Felix. He loves England, the English, the culture, the music, the literature and the humour.
Ferdinand Steinbeis is always happy to advise families, both in London and at regular advisory days in Germany.
Susanne Bahlsen - Educational Consultant
Susanne Bahlsen has been an essential part of the advisory team for five years and supports von Bülow Education from her office in Germany.
Susanne Bahlsen is another member of the team who had children in boarding school. Both of her daughters graduated from Oakham School with an International Baccalaureate. She also describes that as a life -changing experience, along with her daughters.
When Susanne Bahlsen is not meeting families in Hanover, Berlin, Hamburg or Düsseldorf, she travels around the UK visiting our partner schools and pupils there.
Dorothee Hawkins - Educational Consultant
Dorothee Hawkins is an education expert par excellence. She studied pedagogy and was a tutor of German and English pupils for many years. This makes her our 'go-to' person in the team for all issues related to education, including learning difficulties such as dyslexia and dyscalculia.
Dorothee Hawkins regularly gets on a plane in London and meets our families all over Germany.
On weekends, Dorothee Hawkins can regularly be found at equestrian events across England. She is a keen competition rider.
Barbara Weber - Educational Consultant
Barbara Weber lives on beautiful Lake Constance and, as an experienced consultant, usually meets families in southern Germany.
As a trained journalist, she is also responsible for topics related to communication in addition to advising and supporting our families. No official text leaves von Bülow's office without Barbara Weber having ch ecked it over first.
Dr. Julia Sattler - Educational Consultant
Dr. Julia Sattler advises families from our Richmond office. Her passion for mediating between people and countries comes from her many years of working at the Goethe Institut, including positions in Damascus, Addis Ababa and London.
Julia Sattler is familiar with both International Baccalaureate and A-level courses. As a trained teacher of German as a Foreign Language, she supported students at the International School of Tangan yika in Dar es Salaam in obtaining their International Baccalaureate and used to be a tutor for A-level German in London.
Julia Sattler, her British husband and their four children are a quintessentially British-German family with roots and connections in both countries. She is therefore happy to advise families on the transition from one cultural environment and school system to the other.
Marita Butterfield - Head of Schools
Marita Butterfield has been with von Bülow Education for over 10 years. She is in daily contact with our partner schools and introduces them to our pupils. Marita not only knows everyone at the schools, she also knows everything about the schools! She is the company's fountain of knowledge. In addition, Marita Butterfield manages the company's finances.
Sevil Hincal - School Coordinator specialising in the organisation of school trips
Sevil Hincal is mainly responsible for the planning of our families' school trips. Her job is to put together compact, enjoyable and realistic travel plans. She tries out the best routes herself when travelling with her family and is happy to share her insider recommendations.
Furthermore, Sevil Hincal is very familiar with the various school application procedures and accompanies our families through the placement process in a seamless and relaxed manner.
Leslie Epking-Crane - Content Management, Visa & Summer School Expert
Leslie Epking-Crane keeps the school profiles on our website up-to-date and therefore knows all of the schools in detail. Her biggest project at the moment is the development of our family portal, a digital companion in the process of finding the right boarding school, which compiles the most important benchmarks in an up-to-date, tailor-made and clear manner.
With her organizational skills, Leslie Epking-Crane also keeps track of all visa applications and ensures that no deadline is missed.
As our summer school expert, she arranges short stays at top boarding schools every summer.
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