The Montessori School - Flatiron SOHO
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When I Grow Up

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My name is Hugo, and I am 4 years old.

When I grow up, I want to be a policeman.

Nick Combemale

Nick Combemale, Head of School

Nick Combemale brings an impressive track record in private education to his role as the Head of School at The Montessori at Flatiron that includes the stewardship of premiere academic institutions; the development of a leading-edge online global platform of preparatory and testing tools; and the creation of cultural initiatives designed to inculcate a love of the arts in young minds. From 2006 -2008 Mr. Combemale served as COO and Board Member of the Ross Institute for Advanced Study and Innovation in Education in East Hampton, New York, where he managed the growth of the Ross Institute member schools, the launch of Ross Global Academy Public Charter School, the launch of the Ross Institute as an international accrediting body and the launch of the Ross Institute Academy as a provider of teacher professional development based on the Ross Model.

He led the design and launch of the “@Ross” programs including the summer concert series featuring artists such as Billy Joel, Prince, Tom Petty and Dave Mathews; and the unique Ross summer camp program. He also negotiated an historic agreement with the City of Stockholm to oversee the academic restructuring of Tensta Gymnasium, a public school in Stockholm. From 2001-2006 Mr. Combemale served as a Trustee and as COO at Morriss Center School (MCS) in Bridgehampton, New York where he led the successful merger of MCS with Ross School. During his tenure at MCS, he designed and launched a new cultural program, “Morriss Center Dance” in partnership with noted choreographer Benjamin Millepied that made leading dancers and dance projects accessible to students at MCS and members of the wider community.

In 2009, recognizing the critical need for preparation in advance of the exmissions process, Mr. Combemale founded Access America Prep Programs, LLC, an advanced standardized test preparation company with proprietary content designed specifically for international students. AAP also designs assessments used by admission offices of leading schools and regional accrediting bodies and deploys these on a proprietary biometrically secured digital content platform. AAP has partners in China, Japan, Taiwan, S. Korea, Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, UK, Switzerland, South Africa, Germany, Mexico, Brazil, Columbia, and India.

Prior to his involvement in education, Mr. Combemale worked in a variety of capacities in finance and investment, including a 5-year role as the Chairman and CEO of Alper Holdings USA, Inc., a diversified holding company with over $1.3 billion in assets. Under his stewardship, Alper Holdings invested more than $700,000,000 of capital in various manufacturing and real estate entities. Mr. Combemale also co-founded and served as a managing director at VMI Securities, Inc., a boutique investment banking and securities firm specializing in cross border M&A, corporate finance, and securities trading, and as a Vice President in the investment banking division at Nomura Securities International, where he was a co-founder of the Latin America emerging markets group.

Mr. Combemale serves on the board of trustees of Metropolitan Lighthouse Charter School in NYC and on the advisory board of Edison High School of Miami. He is a father of three children, Olivia, Ian and Cecilia. He is a native of New York City, who graduated from Hamilton College. He is fluent in French.