Khan Academy produces educational content under a creative commons non-commercial license for free and open access.  As its Dean of Translations, Bilal Musharraf works towards making the portal’s educational content available in the world’s most widely spoken languages.  He also works with organizations across the globe to improve access to these quality educational resources.

Prior to joining Khan Academy, Bilal worked for GEMS, an international school network, establishing private schools that follow the International Baccalaureate standard.

Bilal’s career began in the actuarial profession.  He graduated with a B.S. in Actuarial Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1994.  He spent a decade in this profession in two different areas: pricing automobile insurance for the State of Massachusetts and pension plan valuation for HR consulting firm Towers-Watson (then Watson Wyatt Worldwide).

Having spent a significant number of years assessing financial liability, Bilal felt his true calling was in creating socio-economic value.  In 2005, he went to Stanford University to pursue his M.B.A.  While at Stanford, he realized his personal interest in education and how it plays a pivotal role in creating economic value.  As a result, in 2007 Bilal graduated from Stanford University with an M.B.A. and M.A. in Education.

After a brief stint in venture capital, investing in high-growth technology startups in emerging economies for ePlanet Capital (then ePlanet Ventures), Bilal transitioned to the education sector.

Favorite quotation: “I would not give a fig for the simplicity this side of complexity, but I would give my life for the simplicity on the other side of complexity.” – Oliver Wendell Holmes