David Madden, Founder and Co-Executive Director, International Academic Competitions
David Madden is the founder and co-Executive Director of The International History Bee and Bowl (IHBB) and its parent organization, International Academic Competitions (IAC). Having played quiz bowl for four years at Ridgewood High School from 1995-1999 and college quiz bowl for two years at Princeton University, he is well-versed with all the formats, concerns, and issues surrounding academic quiz competitions. He graduated magna cum laude with a concentration in International Relations at the School of Public and International Affairs of Princeton University in 2003, and completed a master’s degree in international relations at the Free University of Berlin, Germany in 2007. He is committed to high standards for tournaments, well-written questions, and the growth of academic competition throughout the world. He is a former 19-day champion on the American quiz show Jeopardy! and champion of the Jeopardy! All Star Games Tournament, a published art historian, a professional genealogist, and a hiker of the entire length of the US East Coast for the Fisher House Foundation, a veterans’ charity. He was taking courses to become a history teacher himself when he had the idea to run a history themed quiz bowl tournament in May 2010. Soon after that, he put his teaching plans on hold to establish the National History Bee and Bowl. Together with his wife, Nolwenn, he launched the International History Bee and Bowl in 2012, which has since expanded to over 25 countries, and he and Nolwenn oversee the International History Olympiad as well. He also has established the International Geography Bee as well as all of the other events overseen by International Academic Competitions. He can be reached at david@iacompetitions.com.
Nolwenn Léon Madden – Co-Executive Director, International Academic Competitions
Nolwenn Madden is the co-founder and serves as the co-Executive Director of IAC and IHBB. She also organized the debut of the International History Olympiad in 2015 with David and oversees communication and logistics for the Olympiad as well as IHBB. She has a master’s degree in business from the French grande école EM Lyon, and has traveled extensively throughout Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa, Latin America, New Zealand, and Canada in support of IHBB’s operations. She can be reached at: nolwenn@iacompetitions.com