Those of us who were fortunate enough to work closely with George will always remember his humanitarian approach to education, his kindness, his respect for others, his lively intellect, his energy, his humour, his leadership qualities, and his striving to make international education, particularly IB programmes, more available to those who, for whatever reason, could not access them. As DG he made a very significant contribution to the development of the IB and to the literature on international education. His many speeches before audiences of educators across the globe were highly motivating. George had a gift of making complexity simple, of distilling the essence from what might appear problematic or confusing. 

I was privileged to be in the office next to him in Geneva as DDG during his time as DG of the IB. After we both retired, we continued to regularly share recommended lists of books to read right up until George’s recent hospitalisation. 

His inspiration and influence will continue to reverberate amongst current and future international educators around the planet for a very long time to come. 

My heartfelt condolences to his family.