Steve Beard is president and chief executive officer of Adtalem Global Education Inc.

Beard was appointed Adtalem’s CEO and a director on its board in 2021. As CEO, he has guided the transformation of Adtalem’s portfolio strategy, including an industry-leading model to train and educate healthcare professionals at scale to meet real-world needs. He has also shaped Adtalem’s mission to address critical talent shortages while advancing diversity, equity and access in healthcare across its five institutions, American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine, Chamberlain University, Ross University School of Medicine, Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine and Walden University. 

Previously, Beard served as Adtalem’s chief operating officer, responsible for the vision, leadership and financial performance of Adtalem's Financial Services segment, in addition to leading the company’s strategy, corporate development and external relations activities. 

Prior to Adtalem, he served as executive vice president, chief administrative officer and general counsel of Heidrick & Struggles International, Inc. (NASDAQ: HSII) and in private practice as a corporate and securities lawyer with ArentFox Schiff LLP. 

Beard began his professional career as a law clerk for the Honorable Frank Sullivan, Jr. (ret.), associate justice of the Indiana Supreme Court. 

He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, a juris doctor degree from the Maurer School of Law at Indiana University – Bloomington and completed the Advanced Management Program at the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University.