Message from Chairman
Dr. Selva Pankaj
Chairman
Personal Story
At 19, in 1990 with just £100 in his pocket, Selva arrived in the UK from Sri Lanka as a student. He became a refugee due to the Civil War in his home country. Without financial support for university, Selva enrolled in a chartered accountancy course and later worked in globally renowned institutions such as Prudential Financial Inc, Fortress Investment Group, Schroders, and Grosvenor.
In 1999, working full-time but struggling to make ends meet, Selva started giving private tuition for £20 an hour. This first foray into education led to Selva, his life and business partner Tharshiny Pankaj, and Selva’s late father founding Regent Independent College – Regent Group was born. In 2009, Selva left the investment banking sector to become Regent Group’s CEO, a role he and Tharshiny now share as joint CEOs.
Achievements
Today, Selva and Tharshiny are in the final stages of creating a state-of-the-art new British university with an emphasis on a mindset shift to unleash human natural intelligence. He is leading Regent Group as a leading global technology-enabled education provider fuelled by the metaverse and Web 3.0. Selva’s book Thinking into Character explains how anyone can create the success they want by transforming their thinking, habits, and behaviours. His own story shows how much is possible.
- Led Regent Group to its 25th anniversary in 2024, operating globally in education, impactful investments, and economy building.
- Authored books such as Thinking into Character, The Power of Learning from DAD, and The Mindset, which support transformational inside-out education programmes.
- Collaborated with institutions like Stanford Online to provide unparalleled educational opportunities.
- Appointed Chair of the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Sustainability 70 Steering Group in 2024.
Regent Group
Under Selva’s leadership, Regent Group expanded into various sectors, including:
- Regent College: A higher education business operating in the UK and UAE with plans for a digital university in Europe in 2024 (Regent European University) and a new British university by 2033.
- Regent Real Estate: Working in residential and commercial property development and investments globally, including Regent Castle in Dubai.
- Gulf Indian High School: Acquired in Dubai, complemented by a new British curriculum school in collaboration with one of the UK’s leading independent schools.
- Regent Investment Management: A boutique investment firm with share investments and an outsourcing management company.
- AI Regent plc: Developing AI-driven solutions, including teacherless classrooms to democratize education.
- Public Learn: A platform providing free courses from world-leading institutions, gifted to Sri Lanka to democratize education.
Philanthropy
Selva actively promotes unity and understanding through the Global Unity Forum, initially focused on the Sri Lankan diaspora and now extending globally. He also takes his civic duties seriously in the UK, where he leads initiatives to build societal progress and collective action.
Awards and Recognitions
- Entrepreneur of the Year at the British Sri Lankan Awards (2023).
- Businessman of the Year at the London Asian Business Awards (2019).
- GG2 ED&I Award for Excellence in Education (2023).
- Included in the Asian Rich List 101, Wealthiest Asians (2024, 2025).
- Regent Group recognized in the Times Top 100 list (2022).
Personal Life
Selva enjoys music and is a cricket enthusiast who talks about managing business and life as a game of cricket. Selva and Tharshiny are a package; they need one another to reach their mutual goals and achieve the Regent vision: "The End Result of Education is Character."
