Premier International School Welcomes Visionary Director of Technology with a Track Record of Innovation and Impact
Shanghai American School
Shanghai American School (SAS) stands as a premier English-language day school in Shanghai, serving expatriate families with a comprehensive American curriculum from pre-kindergarten through grade 12 across two full-program campuses in Pudong and Puxi. As one of Shanghai’s few independent, non-profit, coeducational institutions, SAS operates under the oversight of the Shanghai Civil Affairs Bureau and Education Commission, while being guided by a unique parent-led governance model.
With two campuses located on opposite sides of Shanghai’s Huangpu River—one in Pudong (the east side) and one in Puxi (the west side), SAS has established itself as China’s largest international school, home to around 3,000 students and 680 faculty and staff. The school’s facilities and resources reflect a long-term commitment to reinvesting in the program, and SAS continues to evolve its “one school, two campuses” model while advancing strategic priorities that emphasize innovative learning, modern infrastructure, and a future-ready student experience.
SAS was seeking a director of technology to lead the school’s technology program during a period of continued institutional evolution. The director focuses on technology operations leadership to ensure that ERP systems, help desk services, and hardware deployments are both meeting end-user needs and aligned with the school’s priorities around cybersecurity, data protection, and vendor management. The director is empowered to partner closely with finance, procurement, and academic leaders, translating strategy into execution through well-run projects, visible service standards, and a technology roadmap that is sustainable in Shanghai’s regulatory and operating context. Likewise, the director is a key partner on strategic technology planning with both campus leaders and the academic technology team, which starting next school year will report to the head of educational programs.
This was an opportunity for a service-oriented, systems-minded leader to play a key role in a diverse educational community by delivering enterprise systems, IT infrastructure, and support services that are reliable and scalable across two large campuses. The director joins a school community that appreciates thoughtful and comprehensive technology planning that keeps pace with the needs of a complex international organization. The director reports to the CFO and supervises a team of around two-dozen professionals spanning infrastructure, data and systems, engineering, and help desk support. SAS looks forward to welcoming its next director of technology to begin before July 1, 2026, to allow for a graceful handoff with the outgoing director of eleven years.
The Shanghai American School was thrilled to welcome Kriss Parker to the position.
Meet the new leader
Kriss Parker is an accomplished technology and operations leader with more than 15 years of experience leading digital transformation, enterprise technology, and operational strategy across international schools and education organizations in China. Prior to joining Shanghai American School, Mr. Parker served as Director of Logistics and Operations, and Child Protection Officer, at Xi’an Liangjiatan International School, where he oversaw enterprise technology, cybersecurity, campus operations, and student safeguarding initiatives during a period of school growth. Previously, Mr. Parker held technology leadership roles with Xi’an Hi-Tech International School, Pearson, Leadership Development International/International Schools Consortium, and Wall Street International, where he led multi-campus technology strategy, systems modernization, and digital transformation projects across China. Mr. Parker holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Lancashire, a Level 7 Diploma in Strategic Management & Leadership, and a National Diploma in Information Technology from Isle of Man College University.
