Matthew Goldie-Scot

Spear’s Review

Former academic Matthew Goldie-Scot joined the multinational Thuso Group in 2020 after having spent almost a decade at Carfax Education, where he founded its strategic consultancy arm and subsequently served as group managing director.

‘In private client work (be it education planning for families or in the context of investments), honesty,  transparency and open dialogue are key,’ Goldie-Scot tells Spear’s.

With experience in emerging markets in Asia, Africa and the Middle East, as well as Western Europe and the US, Goldie-Scot is an expert resource for private clients and family offices seeking to establish educational institutions.

Adviser Profile

Matthew serves as managing director at Thuso, a leading international strategic consultancy focused on education, philanthropy and investment, and in emerging markets, with offices in London, the EU, the UAE, Hong Kong and Singapore. 

Born in the Mountain Kingdom of Lesotho, he attended school in Kampala, Uganda and went on to study at both Cambridge and Oxford. 

Matthew has advised numerous families on the operation, expansion, sale and acquisition of education holdings. He has also provided extensive guidance to families on their own educational planning, supporting candidates in securing places on leading executive education programmes, as well as at the world’s finest schools and universities. He has also supported the development of education-focused indices and rankings catering to HNWIs and family office advisers, including those of Spear’s and Knight Frank. His views on education are frequently reported in the national and international press. 

In the past year, Matthew has developed a growing client base in Nigeria, as well as clients with interests in West Africa more broadly. He has also undertaken increased work in the Caribbean, including work with foundations throughout the region. He has also built a partnership with the Mohammed bin Rashid School of Government, Dubai, under the auspices of Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives, providing guidance to senior leaders in the Middle East. In Central Asia, he was awarded the Uzbekistan State Medal, Xalq Ta’lim Fidoyisi, the highest national award for contributions to the field of education. 

Matthew also prepared a range of key reports for the 2022 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Kigali, Rwanda. He also advises a range of philanthropic organisations, and served six years on the Board of PEAS, which provides schooling to approximately 15,000 pupils in East Africa.