Committee members

BESIG is run by a group of volunteers who take on various jobs during the year. Key amongst these are the seven members of the BESIG committee, elected at the AGM. Three members of the BESIG committee have recently joined the committee - Ian McMaster, JoAnn Salvisberg and Duncan Baker. Thank you very much for taking on your positions, and welcome to the committee!

Ian McMaster (Joint coordinator)

As a BESIG member since the mid-1990s, I am very happy to join the committee as joint co-ordinator together with Eric Baber.

Despite my Scottish first name and Irish family name, I am English and lived in Bath and London until I moved to Munich, Germany in 1989. My background is in economics and journalism, but I became involved in ELT in 1990 when I took my teaching certificate in Budapest. I also hold the CertTEB qualification.

Since 1992, I have been working for Spotlight Verlag, a Munich-based publisher of ELT magazines for German-speakers. I was editor-in-chief of their monthly English magazine Spotlight from 1995-2003, and again from the start of 2006.

Since 2001, I have also been editor-in-chief of Business Spotlight, a bi-monthly business English magazine. In recent years, I have helped Spotlight and Business Spotlight set up local editions in Bulgaria, China, the Czech Republic, Greece, Italy and Ukraine.

I would very much like to see BESIG increase its membership and influence worldwide, and hope that my international experience and contacts can help the organization.

Eric Baber (Joint coordinator, website coordinator)

Having been on the BESIG committee as website coordinator since 2002 I am delighted to take on the position of joint coordinator with Ian.

Having been involved in TEFL since the 1990s I founded NetLearn Languages, an online language school specialising in teaching languages for business, in 1998. Since then I have also worked for the University of London as online course designer; for the Open University as Associate Lecturer on courses including Innovations in E-Learning, Exploring the English Language and Learning in the Connected Economy; for the Institute of Education as online tutor on the course in Online Education and Training, as well as freelance trainer and consultant for organisations such as the British Council, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge ESOL and a range of educational institutions. I have written a number of books and articles on Business English and technology-related issues and currently write a variety of materials for the CUP Professional English Online website. I hope to put my experience in education as well as business to good use in helping BESIG grow in size and reach over the next few years.

Duncan Baker (Treasurer)

I started my professional life in the Royal Navy. I went to Dartmouth and then spent 4 years navigating diesel submarines. I left the Navy in 1975 and joined the Diplomatic Service. I served in London and Nairobi before learning Arabic and then serving in Sana'a as 1st Secretary and, for a short while, Chargé d'Affaires. My interest in language learning was kindled during my Arabic course - there had to be a better way! My wife, Rita, and I founded Lydbury English Centre in 1985. Rita's professional life has been devoted to language learning and language teaching so she is the guiding light behind the whole enterprise.

I have been a member of BESIG since its inception and have served on the committee in the past and as coordinator. I have been a member of the committee launching and nurturing BusinessEnglishUK for the past 10 years or so but, now it is on a stable and thriving footing, I have retired from that which enables me to put my time and enthusiasm back into BESIG.

Rita and I have 4 grown up children - two engineers, a prison governor and one still at university reading History and Arabic. In my spare time, I walk the Shropshire countryside, sing in a couple of choirs and play the flute and bassoon. When I can, I turn off my mobile phone, leave my computer behind and sail.

Chris Caridia (Admin and Development)

I began in the 70s as an EFL teacher in Dusseldorf, Germany: full time at a commercial school and with adult classes in the evening. What interested me most, however, was always materials development, and when an editorial position at Cornelsen/OUP came up I went for it.

At around that time ESP, especially business English, was first identified as a relatively homogeneous sector of the huge ELT market, with very specific needs offering new opportunities to teachers and publishers alike. During my years as editor, and then as Publishing Manager, I was able to accompany and, in a small way, support the subsequent exponential growth in Business English in the 90s. (This meant regular attendances at BESIG conferences from its inception.) I was also involved in developing a whole range of coursebooks for this area. Looking back, there was rather a pioneering feel about things in those days – things are much more settled and 'mature’ these days!

I now work as a freelancer, based in Berlin, doing market research, managing publishing projects, working on materials. My clients tend to be German or - to a lesser extent – UK based, but I am keen to extend my range.

Stephen Ferron (BESIG Events)

I started teaching English in 1991 after working in the music business for many years. I've been involved primarily in in-company activities but have also taught English, communications, rhetoric, and academic writing at universities in Germany and France.

I work at Business English Consulting in Bern, Switzerland. I also conduct a handful of executive communications seminars each year, am increasingly involved in corporate communications (especially writing and editing) and lead interculturally-based presentation seminars. I also speak to EFL professionals, particularly on strength-based teaching.

I grew up in the Colorado Rockies and so feel at home in Switzerland with its relaxed lifestyle and its mountain scenery.

Music still plays an active role in my life and I am happy to have the chance to do a certain amount of recording and concert work each year as a bassist/acoustic guitarist.

I have benefited substantially from my membership in BESIG over the years and look forward to this opportunity to give something back to the organization.

Wolfgang Ridder (BESIG Events)

My name is J. Wolfgang H. Ridder; my present position is Director of Studies at the Volkshochschule Bielefeld, Germany. I have been a member of IATEFL for nearly 30 years and in that time have been a member of its Executive Committee, been a member of the ESPSIG and BESIG Committees and have served as Coordinators of the ESP/EAP and Global Issues Special Interest Groups. Besides being a newly elected member of the BESIG Committee I also am just now the Global Issues Joint Events Coordinator. I am a trained comprehensive school teacher for Russian, Polish and English languages. I also have an MA in Oriental Studies and studied Music History at Bonn and Gießen Universities. My present specialisation is “English for Technical Purposes”.

JoAnn Salvisberg (Business Issues Editor)

My membership and active participation in BESIG began in January 2001 after being asked to coordinate registration for the BESIG Conference in Berne in November of that year (remember the Multi-Purpose Badge...). Since then I have been impressed with the BESIG committee members who work so efficiently behind the scenes to keep us informed by email, website and the newsletter, and organize excellent conferences year-after-year. Believing that everyone in an organization needs to take a turn some time to share the load and pay back what they’ve gained, when I heard that Oleg was stepping down I saw a chance to put my love of writing and editorial experience to good use.

My writing career began in the 5th grade, sparked by the enthusiastic comments of my teacher on a free topic paper [Why I Love Eating Pickles], and the writing of my first (and last) book of poems in the 6th Grade. Serving as Associate Editor of The Antler, my high school newspaper, gave me the training and experience in the various aspects of journalism, such as writing feature articles, editing, meeting deadlines, and proofreading. These skills served me well later as editor of the American Women’s Club of Bern Facts and Functions, a monthly newsletter for the local members. I have found them also indispensable in designing materials for ESP classes, writing articles for various publications, as well as the completion of my master’s and doctoral studies (dissertation almost finished!).