GIIS Tokyo strengthens its multi-curricula leadership with the appointment of Gustav Helman, a veteran international educator with 30 years of experience and a proven track record in IB PYP, MYP, and Diploma Programme authorization, alongside broad accreditation and school leadership expertise across seven countries.

Tokyo, Japan — Global Indian International School (GIIS) Tokyo is pleased to announce the appointment of Gustav Helman as Principal, International Wing, effective September 1, 2026. Mr. Helman brings three decades of international school leadership across Japan, South Korea, Brazil, Malaysia, Indonesia, Zambia, and China, with a career built on the kind of cross-functional strengths a multi-curricula school like GIIS Tokyo depends on: curriculum development, programme authorization, financial and strategic management, and stakeholder engagement, developed across a wide range of academic systems and school contexts.
 

Across his career, Mr. Helman has led schools through successful IB programme authorization spanning PYP, MYP, DP, and CP including serving as IB Workshop Leader, IB Examiner, and IB Consultant internationally while also holding subject and language leadership roles including IGCSE-level teaching, steering schools through WASC, CIS, and NEASC accreditation, and overseeing strategic and financial management, curriculum development, and teacher training across new and established schools alike. This combination of deep IB expertise and cross-curricula, cross-functional leadership is exactly what a multi-curricula school like GIIS Tokyo aims to offer its students. He holds an MBA in Educational Leadership from the University of Cumbria, UK, and is known for his multilingual approach to building strong parent and community engagement across the schools he has led. Most recently, he served as Head of School at Capital Tokyo International School, where he led the school's IB PYP/MYP candidacy and authorization journey from the ground up, building standardized curricula, teacher training systems, and family engagement frameworks that improved student outcomes and retention.
 

“When we partner dedicated teachers with an inclusive and supportive community, we create more than a school; we build a safe harbor where resilient, lifelong learners can truly thrive,” said Mr. Gustav Helman, Principal, International Wing, GIIS Tokyo
 

"Mr. Gustav's appointment reflects our commitment to academic excellence across every pathway we offer," said Mr. Sumit Mishra, Country Director. "What stands out about Mr. Gustav isn't experience in one system,  it's his ability to build strong curriculum, governance, and family engagement structures across very different academic frameworks. That adaptability is exactly what a true multi-curricula school like ours needs at the helm of its International Wing."
 

About GIIS Tokyo

Global Indian International School (GIIS) Tokyo is one of Japan's leading international schools, offering Montessori to Grade 12 education across four campuses in Edogawa-ku. With over 20 years in Japan, GIIS Tokyo delivers globally recognized curricula: Global Montessori Plus, IB PYP, Cambridge, IB Diploma Programme, and CBSE anchored in its award-winning 9GEMS™ framework for holistic student development. Students consistently achieve strong academic results and go on to leading universities in Japan and around the world, including the University of Tokyo, Keio, Oxford, Cambridge, and UC Berkeley. GIIS Tokyo is the world's first educational institution to receive the Deming Prize, Japan's highest honor for Total Quality Management, and is part of the Global Schools Group, a network of 64 campuses across 11 countries.