About
Educators and technologists, working with Philippine colleges and universities.
We build AI-powered learning systems for higher education institutions (HEIs): private and public, from a single campus to a national network. Finish Line is delivered in the Philippines by TULA.
Our work
With PHINMA Education
We worked with PHINMA Education on first-year reading and maths, with first-years practising on their own phones for 10 weeks alongside normal classes. Students who practised more weeks went on to higher grades, and those who started behind gained the most.
Read about the work
TULA, in the Philippines since 2015
TULA has run learning programmes for Filipino students since opening its first centre in Makati in 2015. It was the only Philippine team named an MIT Solve Solver in 2017. TULA’s team sets up and supports Finish Line on campus.
Before Finish Line
The team has led a $100M digital learning programme for 100,000+ teachers in New South Wales, built learning products used by millions of students in 60+ countries, set up schools and an education fund in the Philippines, and worked on learning assessment for the Gates Foundation and UNICEF.
The team
James Centenera
Co-founder
15+ years leading strategy and operations in school organisations. Ex-McKinsey, helped set up Pearson’s Affordable Learning Fund and led its investments in low-cost private schools in Asia, was the founding COO of APEC Schools, and co-founded TULA in the Philippines, recognised as a Solver by MIT Solve. Recent work is in learning assessment and data in Africa, for the Gates Foundation and UNICEF.
Stefan Garrick
Co-founder
A product and technology leader in education, who built Finish Line end to end. He ran a $100M digital learning programme for more than 100,000 teachers in New South Wales, was a product leader at Matific, a maths platform used by millions in 60+ countries, and led product at Euka, a K-12 online school, as it grew from 8,000 to 20,000 families.
Elise Montinola
Co-founder and COO, TULA
Designed TULA's operational systems and leads operations across its network. Has also worked in recruitment and development at Teach for the Philippines, and as academic director of A-HA! Learning Center, a free after-school tutorial programme for public school students in Makati. Magna cum laude in Comparative Literature from the University of the Philippines.
