Our Leadership
Guided by Experience. Driven by Purpose.
The Bridge is led by educators, innovators, industry professionals, and academic leaders who share a common belief: education should prepare students for the future, not simply for examinations.
The team
Gurmukh Singh Malhotra
Founder & President
Gurmukh Singh Malhotra has spent nearly three decades building education, skilling and technology businesses across India, the Gulf, Southeast Asia and the United States. As Managing Partner of VMI Collective and Chief Growth Officer at SkillUp Technologies, he has taken workforce skilling to national scale with global technology companies, and with government skilling missions in India, Portugal and the Philippines. He founded The Bridge to close a gap he had seen repeatedly in that work: capable students in India with no affordable route to a recognized US credential. He leads the university partnerships, the India pathway and the company's growth.
Dr. Mark Veljkov
VP Education Strategy
Dr. Veljkov is a 35-year veteran of higher education and learning innovation with a track record of leading transformational change across universities, career colleges, and marquee education technology companies including Blackboard and Microsoft. Having served in senior executive roles, including Executive Director of Online Learning and Dean of Distance Learning, he brings rare operational depth, strategic vision, and a proven ability to scale educational impact. His work at the intersection of technology and learning positions The Bridge to capitalize on one of the most significant market opportunities in modern education.
Rafael A. Castañeda
VP, Academic Partnerships
Rafael A. Castañeda is a workforce development and strategic partnerships executive with over 15 years building education-to-employment pathways across healthcare, technology and post-secondary education. As SVP of Strategic Partnerships at MedCerts he helped scale revenue from $25M to $48M and built a national network of 150+ employer, academic and workforce partners. His earlier leadership roles span General Assembly, Jobs for the Future, Ed2Go (Cengage), Yeshiva University's Katz School and the University of Cincinnati. He holds an M.Ed. in Educational Leadership and contributes to CAEL, NAWB and UPCEA.
What Guides Our Leadership
A Team Built Around Student Success
Our leadership team brings together expertise from higher education, workforce development, technology, global partnerships, and student success initiatives.
Student Success
Every initiative is designed to support student growth, achievement, and long-term opportunity. The success of our students is the measure by which we evaluate everything we do.
Academic Excellence
We value high-quality learning experiences that promote critical thinking, innovation, and lifelong learning. Standards matter - and we hold our programs and partners to them.
Industry Relevance
Programs are developed with an awareness of changing workforce needs and emerging technologies. What we teach today must prepare students for opportunities that exist tomorrow.
Global Perspective
We encourage learning experiences that prepare students to thrive across cultures, industries, and international environments - building the mindset required in a connected world.
A Shared Commitment
One Objective: Unlocking Potential
Together, they are committed to building educational pathways that help students navigate an increasingly complex and interconnected world. Our leadership team remains focused on one objective: helping students unlock their potential and create meaningful futures through education.
Meet Our Team
Connect with the people behind The Bridge and learn more about our shared commitment to student success.