Tone Thomas Vaduthala

Profile

Tone Thomas, our Senior Director of Executive Programmes, brings more than 20 years of global experience to Leeds University Business School.  

During his prolific career, he has helped craft functional and managerial learning interventions across multiple sectors and industries. His previous clients have included organisations such as Microsoft, Accenture, Deloitte, Ernst and Young, MetLife, Motorola and Walt Disney Company.   

After joining the business school in 2016, Tone has expanded the school’s executive education offer from the UK into countries such as Hong Kong, India, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Ghana, Austria and Malta. Before joining Leeds, Tone managed executive education functions at the SP Jain School of Global Management and the Indian School of Business.  

Tone has extensive experience in senior leadership positions. Prior to joining academia, he worked at senior leadership roles in the corporate sector, primarily focussing on managing the development of bespoke award-winning e-learning solutions for organisations such as Chrysler, Oracle and Proctor and Gamble. He was also instrumental in the setting up of new business streams around learning advisory and training business process outsourcing services. Examples include an aviation training academy, language learning centre and an e-learning service provider.  

Tone is passionate about child education and development in emerging economies. This led to him leading a team of over a thousand strong to design and develop the first version of the multiple award winning LearnNext and TeachNext – products that are currently transforming the lives of more than 12 million students across Asia. A Chartered Fellow with the Chartered Management Institute and a Fellow of the Learning and Performance Institute, Tone is also a frequent judge for leadership development awards such as the Brandon Hall Leadership Excellence awards and the Chief Learning Officer Learning in Practice awards.   

With decades of experience in executive education, Tone can help take your business to the next level. Whether you're an SME business owner, or in a senior leadership position developing your professional skills and searching for development opportunities, we can provide the learning that you need. Join us and access the expertise upon which our Executive Education programme has been built. 

Qualifications

• Master of Science (Senior Leadership)
• Post Graduate Diploma in Instructional Design
• Post Graduate Diploma in Software Engineering and Management
• Bachelor of Science (Mathematics)

Professional memberships

• Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute (FCMI)
• Fellow of Learning and Professional Institute (FLPI)
• Certified Management and Business Educator (CMBE)
• Chartered Manager (CMgr)
• CIPD Leaders in Learning
• National Human Resource Development Network - Lifetime Member

Research groups and institutes

• Executive education
• Centre for Executive and Professional Education