Meet The Team.

Bill Zuckerman

Founder and CEO

He began his working life, in education, as an academic, focused on international relations. He worked with a variety of leading think tanks in the US, Germany and the UK. He holds an M.A.L.D. from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and wrote his thesis on Richard Wagner and Anti-Semitism. He has published on German politics in International Affairs and the costs of aerospace manufacturing in Germany in Interavia.

He spent 17 years as a strategy consultant working with a number of leading firms, mostly for Fortune 500 clients in Europe, Asia and the US. He was a Global Client Consulting Partner with Ernst & Young (now EY) and, after EY were sold to Cap Gemini, he was looking for a nursery for his eldest daughter. In 2002 he established his own group of nurseries because he believed that existing nurseries did not provide the kind of care and educational stimulation he wanted for his own daughter.

Bill’s nurseries were initially funded through his own capital; he subsequently raised investment capital to expand. For his first group of nurseries he designed a new, innovative curriculum, working with leading child development and education specialists, and launched a number of features that have gradually become more widely adopted by other practitioners in early years education. As far as he is aware, he is still the only person to have organised 170 3 – 5 year olds composing and performing their own opera. His objective has always been to create nurseries that he, as a parent, would want his own children to attend.

He ran and grew his group to 9 nurseries in the space of 7 years. He sold his interest during 2012/13 after resigning over a difference of opinion on leadership and quality with non-executive directors he had brought in, and founded The Muswell Hill
Preschool.

Every member of Bill’s family holds at least two passports. His youngest daughter attended his nursery, his eldest missed out by a few months. His focus is his family and the early years education provided in his nurseries. In his spare time Bill’s passions are opera, Lieder, playing the piano and harpsichord, scuba diving, art, architecture, films, politics, cosmology and history. His favourite holidays have been to the most remote corners of the jungle, climbing pyramids and observing Orang Utans in their natural habitat.

Anne Sheldon

Chief Operations Officer

Originally from South Africa, Anne Sheldon has over thirty five years experience in early years education. Anne too has had two strands to her career, one in the retail sector and the other in Early Years Education. She is a qualified Early Years Teacher and holds a Master’s Degree in Education. Anne worked her way up from being a nursery nurse to holding senior positions in both large and small childcare companies. She has previously been Operations Director of a large UK provider of day care. In addition Anne has held a Senior Post at a Further Education College where she was involved in training nursery staff. She set up and managed an NVQ Assessment Centre that was responsible for training and supporting staff in the work place to gain qualifications in both the Early Years and Care Sectors. This gave her a real understanding of the importance of the role of staff training and motivation to the success of any nursery.

Anne has first- hand experience of all levels of working in a nursery and knows how demanding it is to be responsible to care for, and educate, preschool children. She understands the importance of children learning in environments where they feel secure and through activities that are age appropriate, challenging, stimulating, fun and exciting.

She was a qualified Ofsted Inspector before she first went to work with Bill in 2012 and is focused on meeting and exceeding regulatory requirements in the nurseries.

Anne is a mother of two grown up daughters who both have been successful in their own fields. Anne opened and managed a nursery which her younger daughter attended and has detailed experience, like Bill, of having preschool children in education. She is now a grandmother of a one year old, who has just started attending a full day care nursery and so is living through the experience again by proxy. She has always been committed to providing the highest possible quality of care and education in her nurseries; the same care and education she wanted for her own daughters, and now her grand- daughter.

Anne has always placed children at the centre of all her decisions. She is motivated by seeing children grow, develop, learn and thrive in the nurseries she has run and supported. Anne is committed to providing quality, innovative childcare to those families who choose The Muswell Hill Preschool, allowing parents to leave their children in our care with the peace of mind that they will be well cared for in a warm, intellectually stimulating and loving environment. She is excited about working for The Muswell Hill Preschool and having the opportunity to help set up and work with nurseries that are at the cutting edge of the sector.

Anne lives in Hertfordshire and is a keen gardener in her leisure time and enjoys walking, taking holidays that involve exploring the countryside on foot. She loves going to the ballet, visiting art exhibitions, going to the theatre and spending precious time with her friends and family.