Leadership Team

Guiding Minds
Shaping Leaders

Elsamma thomas

Co-Founder and Sr. Vice President

Elsamma Thomas

Mrs. Elsamma Thomas is the Co-Founder and Senior Vice President of Good Shepherd International School. She was married to the late Dr. PC Thomas for almost 50 years and together they dreamed of and started Good Shepherd Public School (GSPS) in 1977 in Ootacamund. They grew the school from 54 students in the first year to over 850 students in the years to come…
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PRESIDENT

Jacob Thomas

Jacob Thomas is the President of Good Shepherd International School (GSIS) and the son of Dr. P.C. Thomas and Mrs. Elsamma Thomas, who are the co-founders of GSIS in Ootacamund. Jacob spent his childhood in Ooty and completed Grade 10 at GSIS. He then went on to complete Grade 12 at the Lawrence School in Lovedale. Jacob is a dynamic and optimistic leader committed to excellence in education.
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Jacob Thomas
Sara Jacob 1

Sr. Vice President of Student & Staff Welfare

Sara Jacob

Sara Jacob joined Good Shepherd International School in 2020 as the Sr. Vice President of Student & Staff Welfare. With over 17 years of experience in various fields of law, Sara brings her legal and communication expertise to her role at GSIS. As a member of the Senior Management Team, Sara’s  primary focus is the overall welfare of the students and staff at GSIS – from their social, emotional, physical, and academic well-being to their safety, happiness, and nurturing when they are here at GSIS and beyond.
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Our Team

Dr. Madhav Deo Saraswat

Dr. Madhav Deo Saraswat

Principal & Director
Suresh T

Suresh Thangarajan

Higher Secondary School & IBDP
Coordinator (Grade 11 & 12)
Deepa Suresh

Deepa Suresh

Middle & High School Coordinator –
IGCSE & ICSE (Grades 6 – 10)
Rita Chandran

Rita Chandran

Middle Years Program Coordinator
Dominic Jude Hurst

Dominic Jude Hurst

Director of Activities
Bonbon Chakravartee

Bonbon Chakravartee

Primary Year Program &
Special Projects Coordinator

Welcome note
from the principal

The school is currently led by Dr. MADHAV DEO SARASWAT, who is a remarkable leader and a seasoned educator, Dr. Madhav Deo Saraswat brings with him a wealth of expertise, with over three decades of experience in Teaching, Academic administration, Team building, and Community Development Programs.

"I feel deeply honored and privileged to have been appointed as the Principal and Director of Good Shepherd International School. We are a school that takes immense pride in being an extraordinary community where people matter, performance counts, and where a passion for excellence drives all endeavors. As the Head of this inspired, pragmatic and progressive institution, I am fully committed to continuing the legacy of success through teamwork, collaboration, and a strong community partnership..."

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Elsamma thomas
Mrs. Thomas is the quiet driving force behind the dynamic and extraordinary vision of her late husband and has worked by his side for the last 44 years.
Elsamma Thomas holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Science (Zoology) from the BCM College in Kottayam and an MBA from Mumbai University.
Over the years Elsamma Thomas has worked tirelessly at the school and in several local and international charitable organisations. She was the Charter President of the Rotary Club of Nilgiris West in 2003 and the Assistant Governor of Rotary in the Nilgiris District. She is blessed with two children and four grand children – Jacob Thomas, who has now taken over as the President of Good Shepherd International School, and Julie Pradeesh, who works beside her husband in his family business.
Jacob Thomas
Jacob pursued undergraduate studies in Business Administration at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. He gained extensive experience in the IT sector, including significant roles at NetApp Inc., a Fortune 500 data management company. Since 2020, Jacob has been steering GSIS towards becoming one of the top 10 residential schools globally, focusing on cutting-edge infrastructure and modern pedagogical practices.
Sara Jacob 1
Sara also brings her consulting skills to the Marketing and Admissions teams at GSIS, to put GSIS on the map as the best international school in the world.
Sara did her schooling at Sishya, in Chennai, and went on to earn her B.A. LLB. at the Dr. Ambedkar Government Law College in Chennai. She spent the last 20 years studying and working in Canada and the USA and has now returned home to India to work at the school. She is married to Jacob Thomas (President of GSIS) and they have two children – Rhea and Zackary, the latter being a current student at GSIS.
Dr. Madhav Deo Saraswat
A remarkable leader and a seasoned educator, Dr. Madhav Deo Saraswat brings with him a wealth of expertise, with over three decades of experience in teaching, academic administration, team building, and community development programs. He has served as the CEO of the Sapkal Knowledge Hub and Founder-Principal of the Orchid International School in Nashik. Additionally, Dr. Saraswat spent 16 years as a teacher and housemaster at The Doon School (1989-2005) in Dehradun, as the principal at Scindia School, Gwalior (2015-2022), and most recently, as the principal of Hyderabad Public School. Dr. Saraswat succeeds Mrs. Sheila Alexander, who has retired after 37 years of dedicated service. The appointment of Dr. Saraswat as the new principal and director is a significant milestone for GSIS.
At The Doon School, Dr. Saraswat led various curricular and extracurricular activities, initiating service projects, infrastructure development, and fostering inclusivity and compassion among students and staff. He is a proponent of ‘Leadership through Service’ and promotes a culture of excellence and meritocracy in all school activities. Dr. Saraswat holds a postgraduate degree in English, Hindi, and Sanskrit, and a doctorate in Hindi Literature.
As the principal of the school, he would be responsible for all aspects of administration and management of the school, including implementation, evaluation, and development of academic programs, various co-curricular and leadership programs, and overall development of staff and other school personnel. He would also engage extensively with the GSIS alumni across the world.
Suresh T
Suresh Thangarajan currently serves as the school’s IBDP and HSS Coordinator. He has over 26 years of teaching experience at GSIS and is responsible for the operation of the IBDP curriculum at the school. In addition to his IBDP responsibilities, he teaches IBDP Mathematics Applications and Interpretations HL to Grade 12.
Prior to the above designations, Suresh was the Coordinator for Curriculum and Professional development from 2013 to 2019 in GSIS. He also holds a range of IB certifications for AFL/ATTL/CAS/EE/TOK. He is a member of the DP Mathematics Curriculum review team and has been an honorary participant twice in meetings held in The Hague, Netherlands. He recently presented PD sessions in Incheon, South Korea and Abu Dhabi. He also presented virtually in the IB India Manthan 2021. Suresh is a certified Concept-Based Curriculum & Instruction Trainer.
Deepa Suresh
Deepa Suresh joined Good Shepherd International School in 1997 and currently serves as the coordinator for Middle School. She has teaching experience of 12 years and has been teaching History for ICSE (Grade X) and AICE A levels (Grade XII).
Deepa is a trained coordinator for the Cambridge Primary program of the Cambridge Assessment International Education. During her 26 years at GSIS, she has been responsible for different roles: Coordinator (Middle School), Coordinator (Primary School), and Vice-Principal (Fernhill Campus), along with overseeing the entire administration of the Fernhill Campus in addition to her academic leadership in the Primary School.
Rita Chandran
Ms. Rita Chandran has over 30 years of experience in the field of education. She started her career as a teacher in a CBSE school in Jamshedpur and then taught the IBDP and IGCSE curriculum in Jakarta, Indonesia.
During this tenure, she has been the Head of the Department for Humanities and also been the Principal of a CBSE school. She joined the Good Shepherd International school and quickly rose to the position of the Head of the Department for Humanities and has now taken up the mantle of the IB MYP Program Coordinator.
She continues to teach Business Management and Economics to the IBDP students. She is an examiner for IBDP Economics EE, Internal Assessments and for Paper 2 of the board examinations. She has been trained by IB for AFL/ATTL/CAS/EE/TOK.
Dominic Jude Hurst
Dominic Jude Hurst joined Good Shepherd International School in 2011 and started handling English for the High School. He served as the Middle School Co-ordinator from 2013 – 2019. With the support of the Founder Principal, he initiated the DEAR reading program. Before becoming a part of the GSIS community, Dominic served different schools in Kolkata for ten years as an English teacher and in the UAE as the Activity Coordinator in the GEMS group for 8 years.
In his capacity as the Director of Activities at GSIS, he constantly explores new avenues to enhance the holistic development of students through the various co-curricular activities, state-of-the-art infrastructure, and facilities provided by the school.
Bonbon Chakravartee
An academic by passion for the last two decades, Bonbon entirely believes in a saying by the Canadian self-help author and lecturer Bob Proctor that a true mentor is “someone who sees more talent and ability within you, than you see in yourself, and helps bring it out of you.” — Bonbon is currently leading the PYP section in school as the PYP coordinator . She strongly believes that the highest purpose of education is to transform every young learner into an integrated individual who is capable of dealing with life as a whole. She invests herself completely in supporting every child to develop the joy of learning and encourage them to become good storytellers and to dream big about life.
Before joining GSIS, Bonbon was the Dean at the Good Shepherd Finishing School where she led the 18-year-old institute, grooming and coaching young women and helping them achieve their highest potential through life skills.
Bonbon has worked at The Assam Valley School Tezpur, Delhi Public School Agra and various other schools across India as a teacher and a tutor. Bonbon is a graduate in English Literature and a post graduate in Human Resource Management.