Principal Search

Dear LCIS Families, Faculty and Staff, Community Partners and Friends,

On behalf of the Board of Directors and Governors, I am thrilled to announce that we have appointed Mr Audrius Barzdukas as the new Head of School of Lyford Cay International School (LCIS).

Mr Barzdukas joins us with a very distinguished background in educational leadership, most recently serving for seven years as the Head of School at the prestigious Poly Prep Country Day School (Nursery-Grade 12) in Brooklyn, New York. Prior to Poly Prep, he spent 13 years at the world-renowned Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles, California, consistently ranked as one of the Top 5 private schools in the United States and the Number 1 private school in California, where he spent several years as Head of the Upper School.

During his tenure at Poly Prep, Mr Barzdukas was instrumental in driving academic excellence, fostering a supportive and inclusive community, and leading innovative programmes that, year after year, set higher standards and results for the school. The school's student outcomes and administrative achievements under his tenure were extraordinary and speak for themselves. He brings a wealth of experience and a visionary approach to LCIS that aligns perfectly with our mission of “Educating the Leaders of Tomorrow.”

Mr Barzdukas is known for his commitment to a holistic education, emphasising not only academic achievement but also each student's artistic and athletic development. He aims to create a culture within which our students will be encouraged to achieve ambitious goals. As a result of his early professional experience, spending 10 years with USA Swimming and the US Olympic Committee, he is very well qualified to build teams and support students in their development.

We are confident that Mr Barzdukas will build upon our school’s strong legacy and lead us into an exciting new chapter. His inspirational and energetic leadership, coupled with a deep understanding of the requirements of student engagement, happiness and success at every stage of a child’s education, will be invaluable as we continue to strive for excellence.

Please join us in warmly welcoming Mr Barzdukas to the LCIS family. We look forward to his leadership and the many accomplishments we will achieve together in the years ahead.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all of those in the school community who participated in our extensive and rigorous search process, led by our dedicated Search Committee and our world-leading executive search partners at Spencer Stuart.

In the next few weeks, there will be opportunities to meet Mr Barzdukas and to help welcome him into the LCIS community. We will share further updates about these events with the community shortly. In the meantime, click here to view a welcome video from Mr Barzdukas.

Warm regards,

Thank you again.

Sincerely,

Simon Townend, Chair, Board of Directors & Governors

The Board of Directors and Governors has initiated the deliberate process of finding the next permanent leader of our school community.

To lead the important process of finding our next Principal, we have assembled a Search Committee composed of members of the LCIS community who bring diverse backgrounds, experiences and perspectives. Led by Co-Chairs Kylie Nottage and Lauren Symonette, the group is committed to a deliberate and inclusive process to find the best individual to lead LCIS into the future.

We are pleased to announce that we have selected the global leadership and advisory firm, Spencer Stuart. The team at Spencer Stuart will be led by Mary Gorman and Aaron Mieszczanski.

Mary and Aaron bring an impressive track record as specialists in leading searches on behalf of top independent schools worldwide. They also have experience as independent school leaders themselves in their careers. They are not tied to any one global school network and so benefit from an independent and specialist line of sight to all the leading candidates across the world for this LCIS search.

We will continue to share updates as the search progresses.

Thank you again.

Sincerely,

Simon Townend, Chair, Board of Directors & Governors