EF Education First is an international education company that specializes in language training, educational travel, academic degree programs, and cultural exchange. The company was founded in 1965 by Bertil Hult in the Swedish university town of Lund. The company is privately held by the Hult family.

Bertil Eric Hult is a Swedish billionaire, known for founding educational and language school company EF Education First in 1965, and for being the patron and namesake of Hult International Business School. In 1971, he moved from Sweden to Germany, and in 1977, he established EF's head office in Lucerne, Switzerland, where he now lives. He served as the company's CEO until 2002 and as chairman until 2008. Today, he is semi-retired. Two of his four sons serve in the company; his oldest son, Philip Hult, as company chairman and his third son, Edward Hult, as CEO of North America. Under Bertil Hult's supervision, EF grew to a multi-billion dollar corporation with more than 40,000 employees in 53 countries.