Alumni Foucs

FocusAlumni

The Magazine for alumni of Cranfield School of Management

Transforming knowledge into action Issue 1 // Autumn 2012

Antony Jenkins (MBA 1988)Plotting a Long Term Future for Barclays

Contents

Plotting a long term future for Barclays

10

05

05 News14 The only way is ethics20 Keeping the virtuous circle turning28 A new era for private equity34 The Cranfield strategy scion38 Lessons from the eurozone crisis40 The path to transformation44 Masters of manufacturing

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34 38

40 44Produced, edited and published by:Alumni Relations and Development OfficeCranfield School of ManagementCranfield, Bedfordshire, MK43 0AL UK

t: +44 (0) 1234 754456e: [email protected]: www.alumni.som.cranfield.ac.uk

Digital versions of Alumni Focus are available via the alumni website. If you would like to unsubscribe from receiving future issues please contact the Alumni Relations and Development Office.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or stored in any form whatsoever without the prior written consent of Cranfield School of Management. The views expressed herein are not necessarily the opinion of Cranfield School of Management. Whilst every care has been taken in the production of this magazine, the publisher cannot be held responsible for the accuracy of the information contained herein.

‘The only way is ethics’, ‘Lessons from the eurozone crisis’, ‘Masters of manufacturing’ and ‘A new era for private equity’ originally appeared in the Autumn 2012 issue of the School’s thought leadership magazine, Management Focus.

Follow us© 2012 Cranfield University.All rights reserved.

As we move towards the closing stages of another turbulent year and we reflect upon this epoch of change and turmoil in the business world, we also look back on a year of great pride and success. The triumphant Olympic Games and ebullient Diamond Jubilee celebrations resonated around the globe, demonstrating the UK’s resilience to not just delivering in tough times but excelling. Once again, throughout our alumni magazine - which you will notice we have changed the format of, streamlining with its sister publication Management Focus - there are examples of our alumni across the world succeeding despite the challenging context.

Most notably, we are incredibly proud of the 2012 Distinguished Alumnus Antony Jenkins (MBA 1988) who has been appointed Chief Executive of Barclays. In an exclusive article for Alumni Focus, Antony outlines his long term plans for his tenure in this prestigious and high-profile role at Barclays. It is a revealing interview with one of your fellow alumni, which I urge you to read.

As an organisation, we have a long and rich history of helping individuals and businesses learn and succeed by transforming knowledge into action. This ethos is still central to everything that we do and within these pages you will encounter examples of individuals who embody this spirit of transformation in different ways. From alumni who have been so motivated by the Cranfield approach that they have weaved parallel principles into the very foundations of their own successful organisations, to individuals who have been energised by the Cranfield experience leading them along paths of self-discovery and personal transformation.

As a member of our alumni network, we hope that you are beginning to notice our enhanced commitment to supporting you in your post-Cranfield life. Again, there are examples of the support that is available to you in the pages that follow.

We would like to bring to your attention ways in which you can keep the virtuous circle of mutual support turning. It is with the support of our alumni that we are able to maintain our position as a world-leader in business and management education. As my colleague Marihelen Esam so appositely states in an inspiring article on pages 20 and 21: “We need bright, highly skilled and brave individuals, capable of succeeding in this tough global economy.

Cranfield is only capable of providing the launchpad for such individuals if we have the resources to support us continuing to be at the international forefront of management learning and development. Those resources need funding during tough times.”

Professor Frank M HorwitzDirector, Cranfield School of Management

Editorial

Message from the ChairmanA very warm welcome to your new alumni magazine, which you will notice has been repackaged and redesigned to be more streamlined with the School of Management’s sister publication Management Focus. We hope that you enjoy the new format and the increased management thought leadership content that it provides.

Alumni relations and development at Cranfield is a constantly advancing and progressive phenomenon and we now pride ourselves on being a responsive and supportive department of the School, listening to feedback and evolving to support you throughout your post-Cranfield experience. As you will hopefully be aware, the range of alumni services is now available to all alumni, free of charge, and in the aforementioned spirit of evolution, is constantly adapting to meet your needs. If you haven’t done so yet, please do take the time to check out our enhanced and expanding alumni Career Development service, which really is second to none in the management education alumni arena.

This new open culture of support has already led to improved engagement across the alumni community, with increased participation at events, particularly internationally. If

you have yet to re-engage with your alumni network, our vibrant LinkedIn alumni group is a great place to start. Take a look at the article on pages 18 and 19 for some tips about using this exponentially growing social network and for links into our alumni group. Don’t forget also that the online alumni directory is now just a click away and a great way of getting back in touch with your old classmates. Now, more than ever before, the doors are wide open to your alumni community and we invite you to participate.

As we continue to evolve and become more of an aligned and central part of the School of Management, you will continue to see our commitment to you increase. The move away from a transactional relationship was a carefully considered and purposeful one, founded out of an honest desire to build closer and stronger relations with our alumni - in this light, we encourage you to make yourself aware of the multiple channels that exist for you to offer your reciprocal support. Cranfield’s position as a world-leader in business and management education, a status which we all as alumni celebrate and champion, is a direct result of the generous multi-faceted support of our alumni.

Paul SlevinEMBA 1997

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04 Alumni Focus | Autumn 2012

Cranfield faculty

Cranfield in the news

News

NEWS

Cranfield School of Management’s Distinguished Alumnus of 2012 Antony Jenkins (MBA 1988), has been appointed Chief Executive of Barclays. Prior to the appointment Antony was Chief Executive of Retail and Business Banking and joined the Barclays Executive Committee in November 2009. Before that, he had been Chief Executive of Barclaycard since January 2006 where he led a revival in the fortunes of the business. Antony is the

executive responsible for Diversity and Inclusion at Barclays and in February 2009, he became a non-executive director of Absa, the South African banking group.

Commenting on his appointment Antony said: “I am very proud to have been asked to lead Barclays, where I began my career nearly 30 years ago. Barclays is a strong universal bank, with many assets, including market leading businesses; talented and

engaged staff; and long-standing clients and customers. But we have made serious mistakes in recent years and clearly failed to keep pace with our stakeholders’ expectations. We have an obligation to all of those stakeholders - customers, clients, shareholders, colleagues and broader society - and a unique opportunity to restore Barclays’ reputation by making it the ‘go to’ bank in all of our chosen markets.”

Distinguished Alumnus appointed Chief Executive of Barclays

Antony Jenkins

Cranfield School of Management has been ranked 76th in the annual Business Superbrands® ranking of the UK’s top 500 Business-to-Business (B2B) Superbrands. Cranfield ranked above other UK business schools including: London Business School, Open University, Imperial, Warwick, Cass, Henley and Saïd Business School.

Cranfield is a Business Superbrand

Alumni Focus | Autumn 2012 05

Samuel Nwanze (MSc-F 2007) has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of pan-African proprietary investment company, Heirs Holdings Capital.

Samuel’s appointment is part of a raft of executive appointments which Heirs Holdings say underscore the company’s focus on the financial services, energy, agribusiness, real estate and hospitality sectors, and its commitment to attracting senior management talent, as its continues to deploy its proprietary capital across Africa.

Samuel appointed CEO

Samuel Nwanze

In the latest Financial Times ranking of executive education providers, the School’s customised programmes were ranked 15th in the world, 8th in Europe and 3rd in the UK. More specifically they ranked 2nd in the world for overseas programmes and 4th for international participants, reflecting the global recognition of Cranfield’s executive education.

The School’s open programmes improved their global ranking and are now 24th in the world, 9th in Europe and 3rd in the UK. They also ranked 3rd in the world for the level of follow up, reflecting the high levels of support unique to Cranfield’s General Management Programmes, on which the open programme rankings are based.

The School’s overall ranking for executive education (which combines the customised and open programme ranking) is 18th in the world.

In the Financial Times ranking of global Masters in Finance programmes, the Cranfield MSc in Finance and Management jumped from 18th to 11th in the world and is now ranked 3rd in the UK.

FT rankings bring good news

iTunes U

Professor Richard Wilding has launched a course on iTunes U which introduces the principles and concepts of supply chain management and logistics. iTunes U offers an easy way to distribute complete courses featuring audio, video, books and other content. People across the world can then experience the course for free on their iPad, iPhone or iPod touch. iTunes U has a large and growing community of schools and institutions that are sharing their content with students and lifelong learners all over the world, including Stanford, Yale and Oxford.

A course in an app

Andreas Lenzhofer (MBA 2002) has been elected to partnership in Booz & Company’s Zurich office aligned to the firm’s financial services practice. He leads the firm’s Lean Banking business, and has extensive experience implementing major transformations in financial services.

Recently Andreas has co-authored ‘Private Banking after the Perfect Storm’ and published a perspective on the ‘Future of the Offshore Private Banking industry’ given the new realities in Wealth Management. He has also developed new intellectual capital on the client service model, lean-led transformation and client data security. Andreas joined Booz & Company in 2006. Previously, he worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers/IBM Business Consulting Services as an associate partner leading IBM BCS’s Operations Strategy platform.

Andreas elected to Booz & Company partnership

Andreas Lenzhofer


The 2012 Female FTSE report from the

School’s Centre for International Women

Leaders, which was launched at a business

breakfast hosted by Barclays in London,

received unprecedented media attention.

The Home Secretary Theresa May

and Lord Mervyn Davies, along with

the report authors Professor Susan

Vinnicombe OBE and Dr Ruth Sealy

addressed a packed room of business

leaders, to reveal the results of the

2012 report.

The Cranfield report, published to mark

the anniversary of the Lord Davies’

review, revealed a significant move in the

right direction. The number of female-

held directorships had risen to 15.6%, an

increase on what was a three year plateau

of 12%. The number of companies with

no women had dropped to 11 and the

number of companies with more than one

woman on the board had increased to 50.

The Financial Times featured the findings

on its front page with further mentions in

all the major media outlets. By the end of

the launch week, more than 60 pieces of

coverage had been generated.

Female FTSE research hits the headlines New Post Office role for Magnus

Magnus Schoeman (EMBA 2001) has been appointed by the Post Office as Account Director in their Government Services team.

He will be one of four account directors responsible for working with Government departments to find out how the Post Office can help them move towards the web channel as default.

Commenting on his appointment, Magnus said: “The Post Office has aspirations to

be the front office for Government, i.e. the channel for citizens and businesses to engage with government. The Post Office is embarking on the biggest investment and transformation in its history which will see new formats of post offices and a commitment to close no more post offices. In addition, there is a major push to increase new income.”

Magnus’ background is in business development and organisational change. He has worked in IT services, the Home Office, Department of Health Agencies and Rio Tinto. He is also a visiting fellow in Innovation Management.

Magnus Schoeman

Selection process is holding women back

The appointment of women to FTSE

350-listed non-executive director

roles is being held back by selection

processes which ultimately favour

candidates with similar characteristics

to existing male-dominated board

members, according to research by

Cranfield’s International Centre for

Women Leaders.

The report, produced by Cranfield for the Equality and Human Rights

Commission, is the first in-depth study into the appointment process to

corporate boards and the role of executive search firms. It follows the Davies

Review which called upon executive search firms to take on a more active role in

increasing gender diversity on FTSE boards.

News


Dr Emma Macdonald and Professor Hugh Wilson have had their article, which explores the innovative work they have been doing on achieving better customer insights, published in the Harvard Business Review.

Emma and Hugh have been working with a number of leading companies over the past two years on a new research tool ‘real-time experience tracking’ (RET) that helps companies to better understand the needs of their customers.

Commenting on their work Dr Emma Macdonald said: “Real-time experience tracking was born of two insights. First, while a market researcher can’t easily

HBR article on ‘real-time experience tracking’

follow customers around 24 hours a day,

those customers’ mobile phones can,

and unlike human observers, they don’t

sway people’s perceptions of experiences.

The second insight was that although

customers may interact with a company

in thousands of ways, you really need

to know only four things about each

encounter: the brand involved, the type

of touch point (TV ad, call to service

centre), how the participant felt about the

experience, and how persuasive it was -

did it make the customer more inclined to

choose the brand next time.”

To read the full article visit www.hbr.org.

Dr Emma Macdonald and Prof Hugh Wilson

Vincent Wee (MBA 1992) has been appointed Managing Director for India and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries by The Ascott Limited. He is responsible for developing growth strategies and managing Ascott’s business in these regions. Vincent is concurrently the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Ascott Residence Trust Management Limited (ARTML).

Vincent has over 18 years of experience in the real estate industry. Prior to joining ARTML in July 2011, he was with Australand Property Group, the Australian Stock Exchange listed subsidiary of CapitaLand where he held various senior executive positions including General Manager, Risk, Acquisitions and Commercial Operations.

MD appointment for Vincent

Vincent Wee

Chris Hopson (MBA 1992) has been announced as Chief Executive of the Foundation Trust

Network (FTN). Chris joins the FTN from HM Revenue and Customs. His career has

spanned Whitehall, strategic communications and corporate affairs in a regulated industry,

and experience running a large public sector customer service business.

Commenting on his appointment, Chris said: “I am delighted to have been appointed as

the FTN’s new chief executive. Working in such a vibrant and innovative part of the public

sector is a very exciting prospect. There are huge opportunities to be grasped, and I look

forward to working with the FTN membership, board and team to realise that potential.”

Chris announced as Foundation Trust Network Chief Executive

Chris Hopson


Colombo Stock Exchange has appointed Rajendra Theagarajah (MBA 1984), a Director of Acuity Stockbrokers to its Board.

Rajendra is also functioning as the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Hatton National Bank PLC.

Alongside his MBA from the School, Rajendra is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka and the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, UK.

Rajendra appointed to the CSE BoardAlumnus tragically killed in French avalanche

John Taylor (EMBA 1999) was among

nine people who sadly died in an

avalanche near Chamonix, in July.

John was part of a 28-strong group

traversing Mont Maudit before dawn

attempting to reach the summit of

Mont Blanc, raising money for St

Leonard’s Hospice in York.

The School was deeply saddened

to hear this news and offers its

condolences to John’s family.

Rajendra Theagarajah

John Taylor

Harry takes up MD role

Harry Singh (EMBA 1997) has joined LuxCloud, as Managing Director for the Asia Pacific region.

Harry will be driving LuxCloud’s business strategy, building and developing relationships across the region. He brings over 15 years of sales leadership experience, with direct and virtual management of multidisciplinary and cross functional teams.

ALUMNI BOOKS

Creating the Strategy is a practical guide bringing together the most important elements of business strategy, B2B marketing theory and sales management. Aimed at business practitioners wanting to structure their organisations around the winning and keeping of customers in B2B markets, the book introduces a number of unique and powerful methodologies proven in workshops conducted with clients such as Mercedes-Benz and AXA Insurance.

Creating the Strategy - Rennie Gould (MBA 1983)

In the world of mergers and acquisitions much emphasis is put on the identification of targets, closing of the deal and thinking strategically about what to buy and why. Integration and consolidation are issues that are often not addressed early enough, if at all. In this book Danny takes the reader through the deal process, integration planning and final delivery with invaluable planning tools and checklists.

M&A Integration: How To Do It - Danny Davis (MBA 2000)

News

Harry Singh


Plotting aLong TermFuture forBarclays

uring a summer that will be remembered for its unseasonably heavy rainfall

lit up briefly by an iconic Olympic and Paralympic Games, Barclays, one of Britain’s oldest banks, was rocked to its foundations.

Revelations of LIBOR (London Interbank Offered Rate) fixing led to the resignation of Chairman Marcus Agius. But when this failed to stem the tide, CEO Bob Diamond was left with no choice but to also resign leading to Agius being brought back to organise his succession.

Dreputation, shore up staff morale and to get off the back foot, and “re-establish Barclays as the ‘go-to’ bank.”

Thus a line was drawn. But given the sheer scale of the negative stories that precipitated the crisis at the bank how did Jenkins view his task?

“During the crisis, I experienced a range of emotions from deep sadness to a sense of regret. But I’ve been in the business long enough to realise that perception is reality. Trust and reputation takes years - in our case, centuries - to build. I knew at heart that this was a

By Stephen Hoare


Finally at the end of August came the news everyone was waiting for. Barclay’s incoming chairman, banking’s trusted elder statesman Sir David Walker had appointed an internal candidate to replace Bob Diamond. Widely regarded as a safe pair of hands, Barclay’s head of global retail banking Antony Jenkins (MBA 1988) had stepped into the hot seat.

Jenkins accepted the news with calm assurance. “My appointment wasn’t a shock so much as a pleasant surprise.” As the preferred internal candidate, Jenkins task was to rebuild the bank’s battered

Long TermFuture for



watershed for the bank, it would be an intense catalyst for change.”

That change will involve a certain amount of restructuring. Jenkins explains: “What we’ll be doing is not so much a restructuring as a re-focus. We’re a universal bank and within our organisation you have businesses that are very successful and make a lot of profit and others that produce a smaller return. It’s a question of deciding where we invest more - which sides of the business we want to grow. Our board will be deciding this in the first quarter of 2013.”

On the vexed topic of universal banking - an integrated international bank with an investment and a retail arm, Jenkins points out that when the banking crisis first broke in 2008 its victims included high street banks as well as one of the most high profile investment banks - in short, Northern Rock and Lehman Brothers. It is unfair to lay the blame for banking’s woes on any one section of the business. Jenkins is an unreconstructed champion of universal banking. “I see the shape of Barclays going forward as a bank that delivers a broad range of services to different types of customers. On the one hand, many of our customers want to continue to enjoy free banking and on the other hand some say it’s fairer to impose charges for more sophisticated products. I believe it’s about customer choice and making the charges transparent.”

Graduating with a degree in politics, philosophy and economics from University College Oxford, and later a Cranfield MBA in 1988, Jenkins has worked for Barclays for 30 years starting as a management trainee in the 80s. In mid career he left for a senior position at Citibank before returning seven years later to head up Barclaycard.

Criticised by some as lacking investment banking experience, Jenkins believes he

has the management skills and experience to hold investment bankers to account. “People who know me know I have a deep ability to get under the surface of businesses and to see what makes them tick,” he asserts.

Right now, he says, there are a few simple actions that will bring a difference and help restore public confidence. In a hurried round of first day media interviews Jenkins promised immediate action. Among other things, he would spend more time “listening than talking” with investors, regulators, and external stakeholders.

So, which of the many clarion voices will Mr Jenkins listen to the most? He pauses while considering. “In the shorter term I would say our immediate priority is to reconnect with broader society. What we have seen is a complete collapse of trust in our institution. I’ve always believed that a successful organisation has to serve its stakeholders in the longer term.”

Jenkins outlines a three point action plan. “The first strand is to create a stability within the organisation and engage with external stakeholders. The second is about shareholders - and to deliver a clear path of return above the cost of equity. The third is about creating a successful go-to bank,” he explains.

Jenkins intends to put long term stability above short term profits. “You have to build a high performing organisation if you want to deliver on your promises. I want to deliver a return on equity above the cost of equity.”

The size of the task ahead calls for exceptional leadership skills. Jenkins expands on this. “In a big organisation like ours, leadership is for me laying out a very clear direction for the organisation and a compelling reason to go on the journey. You need a credible game plan

and then you need to pursue that game plan in a way that is both authentic and relentless.”

Ethics and citizenship has been part of Jenkins’ brief ever since he joined the bank’s executive committee in

2009. This broader focus will inform his approach. “We need to change our culture which means setting out the values you expect from people and deal with those who don’t follow them.”

Jenkins can point to a consistent record of doing what he says he will do. In charge of diversity policy for the bank, he increased the percentage of female senior managers at Barclaycard from 18 per cent to 30 per cent during his tenure, handing over to a female CEO. And while some wring their hands about youth unemployment Barclays launched an apprenticeship scheme recruiting, training and mentoring a thousand marginalised youth referred to by the government figures as NEETS (not in education, employment or training).

Jenkins looks back to his MBA as one of many experiences that have helped shape his leadership style. Certainly his appointment will advance the cause of ethics and sustainable business practice. His observation sums up his approach. “I believe that doing business in the right way is not only ethically sound but it is a powerful way of doing business.”


“People who know me know I have a deep ability to get under the surface of businesses and to see what makes them tick.”

“In a big organisation like ours, leadership is for me laying out a very clear direction for the organisation and a compelling reason to go on the journey. You need a credible game plan and then you need to pursue that game plan in a way that is both authentic and relentless.”



EthicsThe only way is

candals in business, government and even religious organisations over the past decade have

added to the erosion of trust in society. Data from the 2012 Edelman Trust Barometer shows a dramatic drop in trust in the credibility of CEOs in mature markets such as the US, UK, France, Germany and South Korea.

This state of unease is attracting vigorous commentary from the media and public about the standards of ‘moral’ behaviour demonstrated by senior executives in positions of responsibility, which in turn is forcing some captains of industry to re-think what is ‘right and wrong’.

There is an urgent need for business to abandon the short-term thinking and short-sighted decision making that has led to the recent economic troubles and unrest in society and reconsider how they will implement the new maxim of ‘the business of business is sustainable and ethical business’.

The changing times in which we are living call for progressive leadership that respects the mutual dependency of business and society and importantly also recognises the role of ethics as conducive to both parties achieving their potential.

With their moral behaviour under the spotlight, business leaders are being forced to grapple with problematic questions about ‘justice’ and the link between corporate action and consequence. It is the potentially harmful consequences to society that are causing serious concern for business leaders. They are having to reflect on how they ‘judge’ behaviour to be ‘just’ when addressing business affairs which present moral issues. There is however a cacophony of competing philosophical perspectives on business ethics for leaders to reflect upon and better understand how to act when they encounter ethical matters.

Utilitarianism - producing happiness for allThe British philosopher Jeremy Bentham argued that when business leaders are faced with ethical dilemmas, they should aim to maximise good for the maximum number of people. He nobly places the potential for collective suffering and pleasure over and above that of the individual. An ethical leader might question who decides that the sum of individual suffering is to be less than that of collective suffering? Should individual gain be traded in for the benefit of majority happiness and ultimately for the sake of utility?

Libertarianism - respecting individual freedomsBritish philosopher John Stuart Mills proclaimed the pursuit of higher order pleasures, over immediate gratifications, to be better for individuals and society in the long-run. Indeed, the preoccupation with short-term gains at the expense of long-term mission has been a constant criticism of the banking sector, particularly those involved in sub-prime transactions.

In recognising the importance of individual utilitarian, logic ventures into libertarianism - a perspective

that appreciates individual freedom, a choice that is well illustrated by western democratic capital markets. However, is freedom and choice based on fairness for all? It is here that we need to reach beyond concepts of utility and liberty to Aristotle and his notion of ‘virtue’ to understand how to create a more level playing field for everyone.

Aristotelian - promoting virtuesFor the great Greek philosopher Aristotle, the notion of a good life came as a result of upholding virtues that have intrinsic worth. He believed people generally ‘do the right thing’ and act according to their virtues. If they fail to do so and create harm, they usually lack some prior knowledge that hinders their action. Former CEO of Barclays, Bob Diamond denied knowledge of his traders’ wrongdoings regarding libor fixing and therefore claimed he was unable to act appropriately as a leader. Similarly, in the USA, when hedge fund managers were questioned about their dealings, that not only harmed themselves, their firms and the global economy, they defended their actions by protesting “it’s not our fault”, “we are the victims of a financial tsunami”, “we were not in control”.

S


Dr Palie SmartReader in Corporate Responsibility

The only way is ethics

This clear abdication of responsibility intrigues Michael Sandel, a Professor at Harvard University, who suggests we ask the same fund managers: “Were you equally not in control during the good times?” and “What do you rightly deserve, if you suggest you were not in control?” Justice from an Aristotelian perspective has to do with giving people what they deserve in accordance with their virtues.

Civil society’s trust in the corporate world is under threat and the moral behaviour of business leaders under scrutiny. The bottom line of business ethics depends on asking tough questions. For business leaders, questions of justice must sit at the heart of their business. They need to engage creatively with the different philosophical debates and accept that one perspective alone will not suffice.

For further information please contact the author at [email protected]

MF


Do more than belong:

As we near the end of 2012 we are making one final push to increase participation and support for the Annual Fund this year.The purpose of the Fund is to build upon the goodwill and commitment of our alumni and friends and to provide those who care about Cranfield and its future with an opportunity to support projects ranging from scholarships and bursaries to learning resource development. Providing a business and management education for our students at a consistently high level does not come cheaply, and that is why each year we must ask alumni and friends to participate in supporting the Annual Fund.

It is not only the amount of money raised that is important, but also the level of alumni participation. High participation in the Annual Fund is an important way for us to demonstrate the commitment and dedication of our alumni and friends. It is viewed as a measure of alumni satisfaction, which influences the School’s ability to secure grants from trusts and foundations and is a determining factor in the rankings.

Furthermore, a large source of funding comes from trusts and foundations. These groups want to see strong support from alumni before they make a contribution and they will look at the level of participation in the Annual Fund as an indicator of the School’s strength and long-term viability. Therefore, when considering participation levels, a £10 gift is just as valuable as a £10,000 gift because both gifts contribute to a higher percentage of alumni participation.

If Cranfield has played a meaningful role in your life and if you want to ensure that it maintains its position as a world-leader in business and management education, then please consider supporting the School’s Annual Fund. For more information about the Annual Fund please visit: www.alumni.som.cranfield.ac.uk or contact John Constable on +44 (0) 1234 754832 or [email protected].

participateDo more than care: helpDo more than believe: practice


If every Cranfield School of Management alumnus gave

£2right now, it would pay for one full

scholarship for a talented future leader to study at Cranfield.

Enjoying a couple of cappuccinos a day from a

high street retail coffee company could cost around

£100a month.

1%of our alumni making a monthly gift

of £100 could provide

20students per year with the average

Cranfield scholarship.

The average Indian student demonstrates their commitment

to education by spending

550percent of their pre-MBA salary on

Cranfield MBA course fees.

5.5percent of all Cranfield School of Management alumni have made

a gift in 2012, compared with 1.3 percent nationally.

98percent of donations made to

Cranfield School of Management are from alumni, compared with a

UK national average of 80%.

700thousand pounds* is how much we could contribute towards student support if the remaining 94.5% of alumni made gifts similar to those

who have given so far in 2012.* estimation including Gift Aid

£40,000

£700,000

There has been a

2796percent increase in total annual donations made by Cranfield

School of Management alumni over the past five years.

The power of participation


Social NetworksAre you using

effectively?LinkedIn

Here are our top 10 tips...There are so many social networks popping up on the internet - Facebook, Bebo, Foursquare, Xing - how do you know which ones to be part of? If you have a strong desire to network with professionals in your field, LinkedIn is a good network to use. When used correctly, it is a powerful tool for building your network, building your personal brand and for recruitment opportunities.

As of August 2012, LinkedIn operates the world’s largest professional network on the internet with more than 175 million members in 200 countries and territories. To help you optimize your profile and the way you use LinkedIn, we have put together a list of top ten tips:


Social NetworkingComplete your profile

Make sure you fully optimise your profile. This is crucial because based upon what you fill in, LinkedIn will start recommending people for you to connect with that you may know from past workplaces, university and so forth. They say a picture paints a thousand words - and like it or not, your photo is the first impression for your connections. We recommend a recent professional head and shoulders shot.

Headline

Your headline is the first thing people see on your LinkedIn profile, therefore it’s arguably the most important, relevant part. If your headline doesn’t contain your keywords, then you are missing the biggest part of the equation.

Summary

Your summary is the meat of your profile, or the body of your speech. Put your elevator pitch to work - the more meaningful your summary is, the more time visitors will spend on your profile. Every couple of months, review your summary and update it appropriately.

Personalise your profile URL

Personalising your profile URL will help you optimise your own name in search engines and also makes it easier to remember if promoted on business cards and email signatures. To personalise your

URL, click edit on your profile and go to the ‘public profile’ section to create your LinkedIn URL of choice.

Make your profile publicly available

You can tailor the extent to which your profile is publicly available. We recommend providing enough information for search engines to index your profile and cache the external links you have listed. The main goals are normally to rank for your own name, company name and industry keywords related to this.

Specialities

The specialities field is your personal search engine optimiser. You want to add a number of different keywords to showcase your talents.

Recommend and get recommended

What goes around, comes around…and this saying applies to LinkedIn. You can build your own social capital by recommending others and odds are, if you write a good recommendation for a colleague/contact, they will do the same for you in the future. Being recommended is also key to building trust on the internet. Recommendations enhance your professional credibility and are one of the top features looked at when viewing a new profile.

Join the Cranfield School of Management Official

Alumni Network on LinkedIn:

www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=3126018

Keep updates interesting and professional

Use status updates to stay in the front of your contacts’ minds - whether its updating on achievements, that you’ve read something valuable or discovered something you think should be shared. Updating your status is also a non-intrusive way of getting a gentle reminder out there to your contacts, especially if you are looking for a new position or if you need help with a project you are working on.

Join related groups

Find groups where other industry professionals have joined and look to participate in (or at least join) these groups. Groups add value to your own profile and help you to get found by other industry contacts. Beware of over-subscribing to too many groups. If they are not adding value, or you are not participating, remove yourself.

Use LinkedIn Answers

This can help to build your reputation within a field. For search engine optimisation, it also builds the number of internal links pointing to your profile, helping to strengthen your search engine profile! You can also take advantage of this section to gain the knowledge you seek so it’s worth keeping an eye out for areas that you are interested in.

Are you using LinkedIn effectively?


Keeping the

virtuouslooking to achieve their business and personal ambitions.

“There is something about Cranfield which is special,” Marihelen muses. “It’s hard to identify, hard to pinpoint, but it’s something to do with the way in which best practice is taught in the classroom, taken up by the participants and then seen in the day-to-day activities of those who have attended - improving businesses and improving the lives of those involved,” she explains. “It is the whole idea of transferring knowledge into action, which is central to the School’s strategy of course.”

Marihelen sees this transformation with her own eyes, on a regular basis. “Through the BGP clubs we see many of the past participants regularly working with the owner/manager and senior team to improve and develop the business,” she explains. “It’s not about magic dust or a sprinkling of consultancy glitter - it’s about changing businesses in order to make them better, living with the results of the change, and feeding the knowledge of the challenge back into Cranfield programmes, so that the teaching and learning gets better and

better. It’s a virtuous circle that benefits everyone and one in which it is great to be involved.”

Another crucial part of this virtuous circle is the concept of ‘paying forward’, an idea in which Marihelen is a strong believer. “Paying forward is a simple idea,” she explains. “If you’ve been lucky in your life, if you’ve had advantages or been given opportunities to make your own life better, then doing the same for others is a way to make the world go round. There’s never a payback - only a pay forward.”

This, Marihelen explains, is one of the core reasons why the School’s successful Evergreen Fund was established. The Evergreen Fund is designed to enable those who have benefited from the BGP to contribute funds to help others who will benefit from the programme, but who aren’t able to afford it at the present time.

As an American national, Marihelen has seen this model implemented widely and to great success in the USA. She explains: “In the States, this concept of paying forward is commonplace in most Higher Education institutions. Philanthropic gifts are regularly requested, and provided as a matter of course.” Marihelen is baffled as to why we seem to be a little more reticent philanthropically here in the UK. “I have no idea why the same level of gifting to an institution which has had a lasting, powerful and positive affect on your life is not the same in the UK. I think it should be!” she smiles.

In her years working on the BGP at Cranfield, Marihelen has witnessed what happens when an owner/manager becomes a better leader and a better business person; she regularly sees people becoming more focussed and less stressed. “What we do, can, and does change people’s lives, and the lives of all those working in that business,” she says. Marihelen sees

arihelen Esam is another member of that wide circle of people engaged in an

undefinable, yet long-standing ‘affaire de coeur’ with Cranfield. She has worked with the School of Management for almost 20 years, primarily involved with the School’s life-changing Business Growth Programme (BGP) and Essential Management course. “When I started as a counsellor on BGP it was being run once a year, with about 40 delegates on each programme,” she explains. “Now David Molian is the Programme Director, Mark Kelly and I are Programme Leaders and we run BGP three times a year, with well over 75 owner/managers per year attending the programme. Many of their senior managers then attend Essential Management, which has grown from a bi-annual programme with about 20 people, to running five times a year with around 30 people. Clearly these programmes meet a need!” Marihelen says. Her track-record of owning and managing small businesses across a diverse array of industries, including publishing, media, retail and horticulture, has stood her in good stead as a guru for ambitious owner-managers

turningM

circle


how the transformation that takes place at Cranfield creates wealth, increases opportunities for those associated with the business and those in the wider business community. “The recognition that some of the spark, some of the inspiration and some of the courage to make those changes was brought about by an association with Cranfield should, in my opinion, drive many more people towards philanthropic gestures,” she enthuses.

Given the strong entrepreneurial flow running right through the aorta of Cranfield, the School is keen to present more opportunities for alumni to contribute to entrepreneurship activities and so has established the new Cranfield Entrepreneurs’ Fund. “The Cranfield Entrepreneurs’ Fund is another way of opening up channels for philanthropy to the network of people whose lives have been changed by what we do at Cranfield,” Marihelen says. “The fund enables people to directly support entrepreneurship related endeavours at the School and particularly research, which of course Cranfield is famed for, into SMEs.”

Marihelen’s enthusiasm for benevolence within education is not naïve to the difficult global economic climate. She recognises as much as the next person the unavoidable shift in priorities that has taken place in recent times, but Marihelen sees owner/managers of small to medium sized businesses as having a crucial role to play in the economic recovery. “Many of us made money when the wider economy was much more benign. Now we need to support those coming forward in a much tougher, much bigger world,” she says. “We need bright, highly skilled and brave individuals, capable of succeeding in this tough global economy. Cranfield is only capable of providing the launchpad for such individuals if we have the resources to support us

continuing to be at the international forefront of management learning and development. Those resources need funding during tough times.”

Altruism to one side for a moment, Marihelen also recognises the other side to the support equation. “Even if our motives are completely self-serving, it

has to be worth putting something back

into Cranfield to protect and enhance the

Cranfield brand,” she says. “It’s a brand

which many of us have used to further our

own careers and business interests and

we are impelled to protect and cherish it.”

A principle which Marihelen upholds with

great personal vigour.

For more information about the Cranfield Entrepreneurs’ Fund please visit: www.alumni.som.cranfield.ac.uk or contact John Constable on +44 (0) 1234 754832.

“The Cranfield Entrepreneurs’ Fund is another way of opening up channels for philanthropy to the network of people whose lives have been changed by what we do at Cranfield. The fund enables people to directly support entrepreneurship related endeavours at the School and particularly research, which of course Cranfield is famed for, into SMEs.”

Keeping the virtuous circle turning


Director’sCIRCLE

The Director’s Circle acknowledges those individuals who contribute £1,000 (£84 per month) or more in a single year. By supporting us at this level, members of the Director’s Circle are demonstrating their commitment to Cranfield and are playing an important role in ensuring that the School remains a leader in management teaching and thinking in the years ahead.

Cranfield School of Management is proud to be recognised as one of the world’s leading management schools, providing a stimulating and challenging environment that transforms the lives of students, executives and the many organisations we work with. The support of our community of alumni and friends will be essential in the years ahead if we are to maintain and strengthen our position at the forefront of management teaching and research.

Members of the Director’s Circle who demonstrate their commitment to Cranfield through philanthropic giving will be recognised at special leadership donor events and will also be listed in the prestigious Director’s Circle chapter of our annual donor roll.

Professor Frank M HorwitzDirector, Cranfield School of Management

To make a Director’s Circle gift today please visit: www.alumni.som.cranfield.ac.uk


Dates for forthcoming events are listed below. Keep your eyes peeled for our monthly e-communications and visit the alumni website for our frequently updated programme... www.alumni.som.cranfield.ac.uk

ForthcomingEvents


International Events

UK/Regional Events

Upcoming events in 2013

22/10 27/10 06/11 06/11 07/12 10/12Zurich

Informal Networking Event

AustraliaJoe Peppard

Public Lecture

BeijingInformal

Networking Event

BerlinInformal

Networking Event

DubaiInformal

Networking Event

Abu DhabiInformal

Networking Event

FEB 02/05 18/10 19/10School of Management

Awards Evening London

MBA Recent Graduates Reunion

London

Alumni SymposiumCranfield

3s and 8s Grand ReunionCranfield

TUE THULondon Pub Night 1st Tuesday of the

month

Home Counties Group3rd Thursday of the

month

THUHampshire Pub Night

3rd Thursday of the month

29/11Careers in Finance

London

09/05VentureDay

Cranfield

19/02Careers in Logistics

Cranfield

Forthcoming events

06/11Pitch Yourself with Bill Faust

Cranfield

20/11Careers in Management

ConsultancyCranfield

The top five businesses that international alumni work for are: Shell, DHL, Standard Chartered, P&G and Johnson & Johnson.

The

7,120 alumni are based outside of the UK, which accounts for 42.5% of our alumni community.

The biggest populations of SOM alumni outside the UK are: USA (313), Nigeria (266), Australia (246), China (234) and Malaysia (215).

InternationalCranfield CommunityWith 17,000+ alumni spread over 120 countries all across the world, the Cranfield School of Management global alumni network is incredibly diverse and powerful.

As an alumnus of Cranfield School of Management, you can choose to belong to any of our International Communities. The communities are designed to ensure that alumni can easily keep in touch and make contact with alumni from specific international communities around the world. They are run by local alumni volunteers.

We currently have International Communities in the following countries and regions:

Australia - NSWAustralia - NorthAustralia - SouthAustralia - VictoriaBe-LuxBrazil & South AmericaCanadaCaribbean

China - BeijingChina - ShanghaiDenmarkEastern EuropeFranceGermanyGhanaGreece

Hong KongIndiaItaly JapanMexicoMiddle East/UAENetherlandsNew Zealand

NigeriaPhilippinesPortugalRepublic of IrelandSingaporeSouth AfricaSpainSri Lanka

SwedenSwitzerlandTurkeyUAEUSA - California/Western AmericaUSA - East CoastWales


We will be holding our inaugural WAC (Worldwide Alumni Celebration) week from 8 - 16 June 2013. This week, which will coincide with the 2013 IBE Tour, is an opportunity to celebrate our international community. The Alumni Relations and Development Office will be supporting all of our international communities to hold events during this week. If you are interested in organising an event in your area please contact Isobel Kettle ([email protected]) or Clare Martin-Reed ([email protected])

WorldwideAlumniCelebration

International Business Experience

The International Business Experience has been a core part of the MBA course at Cranfield for the last seven years. Comprised of a one week study tour, students are given the opportunity to experience a business environment and deepen their understanding of the impact of culture in business practice. There is also the opportunity for small teams of students to undertake field trip projects, which provide practical, hands-on analysis and consulting services which not only activate, extend and complement their learning on the MBA, but also deliver something of real and lasting value to emerging social enterprises and business start-ups. In 2012 the students travelled to Brazil, China and Japan whilst also completing field trips in Bangladesh, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Nicaragua, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. Thank you to all of the alumni who help the School of Management organise these trips and give the students such a valuable experience.


The international Cranfield community

Premium Subscription:

“The KI Online has been a real eye opener, we had no idea that this sort of information existed. It has helped our people develop a greater understanding of issues which have a real impact on our business and the quality of the recommendations and suggestions coming back has been exceptional.”

Sue Waldock, HR Director

Alongside the array of services available to all Cranfield School of Management alumni, we also offer a further range of Premium benefits, for managers seeking access to leading edge management thinking.

Alumni of the School of Management are invited to subscribe to our Premium service* which provides an easy route to relevant and respected management information via the Knowledge Interchange (KI) Online. Developed by the Centre for Customised Executive Education (CCED), the KI Online is a unique tool providing a gateway to a blend of external resources and world-leading expertise and knowledge from our faculty.

Benefits include:

• Business Intelligence Resources• Business Guides• E-Learning Modules• Free place at our annual flagship Alumni Symposium event• Exclusive invitations and priority booking for our events.

*The premium service enables you to use the resources for personal development and business use, subject to the Terms and Conditions.

The Benefits


OneSource: Global business information, company and executive profiles, news, articles, market research, financial data, SWOT & development reports.

MarketLine Advantage: Global company profiles, industry reports, country reports, financial deals and company-focused case studies.

Business Insights: In-depth analysis of key sectors including consumer, technology, energy and financial services.

Emerald: Articles offering latest insight into research, global management thinking, industry case studies, interviews and in-depth book reviews.

Emerald Management First: Executive summaries, expert interviews, hot topic briefings and editorial comment.

getAbstract: 5,000 of the latest business book summaries, on 90 topics, summarised into five pages. Learn the key points of a book in just ten minutes.

We have a catalogue of guides under the following management themes:

• Business Economics and Finance• Business Performance Management• Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability• Entrepreneurship and Business Growth• Innovation and Operations Management• Leadership• Managing People and Global Careers• Market, Sales and Client Relationships• Programme and Project Management• Strategy, Complexity and Change Management• Supply Chain and Logistics Management.

Modules on the following topic areas are available to Premium subscribers:

• Business Performance Management• Finance & Accounting• Project Finance• Project Management• Influencing Relationships• Leadership• Managing Change• Developing Partnerships• Customer Relationship Management• Managing Major Bids• Market & Customer Focus• Strategy.

Business Intelligence Resources

Cranfield has pioneered the creation of a unique subscription service that enables access to the best management and business intelligence resources for you to make well-founded decisions.

Business Guides

Our business guides provide you with practical and strategic advice and information on key management topics. They are designed to support you in your managerial decision making processes.

E-Learning Modules

Our 20 minute E-leaning modules are concise, accessible and practical with regular summaries and short quizzes to help you grasp the essentials. The modules provide you with Cranfield’s perspective on essential management topics.

Sign-up today to become a Premium subscriber and gain immediate access to the Cranfield Knowledge Interchange Online for an annual subscription fee of just £250. Interested but want to find out more about the benefits? Sign-up for a free, no-obligation 21 day trial of Premium subscription today.

www.alumni.som.cranfield.ac.ukAlumni Focus | Autumn 2012 27

Premium subscription: the benefits

A new era for

PrivateEquity

Simon Rowlands (MBA 1986), one of the founding partners of the leading European private equity firm Cinven, talks of an optimistic future for the industry and explains how he sees private equity as one of the best ways investors can add value and develop healthy businesses.

By Stephen Hoare


A new era for private equity

reativity and private equity may not be obvious bedfellows. It was financial engineering and the

Cranfield MBA rather than the flow and shape of curved structures built in metal, glass and concrete that inspired chartered engineer Simon Rowlands to swap his hard hat for a business suit. “I see private equity as a way to build things - not just a way of making money. It is the investment in time, money, people and resource that allows things to be created and built,” says Simon, whose deal making skills have created value for pension funds and institutional investors as well as employment and opportunity for many.

From the Cranfield MBA class of 86, Simon had been working on a major engineering project in Zimbabwe when he decided it was time for a career change. On leaving Cranfield, Simon joined the manager of the vast British Coal pensions fund, CIN Management. With the privatisation of the fund in 1995, Simon was part of the successful management buy-out of the private equity arm called CIN Ventures - Cinven for short. Cinven had deliberately shifted up several gears from passive investing to deal-making on a grand scale. “In those days the private equity market in Europe was valued in the hundreds of millions. Today private equity

is worth an estimated three trillion dollars worldwide. There was an element of luck and good fortune in my choosing to enter an industry just at the start of what proved to be a long term upward curve,” says Simon. Cinven set out its stall to become a European company with a worldwide ambition.

Private equity finance has been around for many decades. Private equity firms offer manageable risk and have sustained superior long term returns, comparing favourably with other more traditional asset classes such as public equities or bonds.

Today, City-based Cinven boasts 10 billion Euros under management, four offices across Europe and a more recently opened branch in Hong Kong. The firm employs around 120 staff. Cinven’s portfolio of managed companies includes some of Europe’s biggest private healthcare businesses, aerospace manufacturers such as Italian multinational Avio, as well as popular restaurant chains Pizza Express, Ask, and Zizzi.

One of the firm’s founding partners, Simon explains that from the outset he and his

colleagues decided to adopt a strategic sector approach of specialising in discrete sectors. Simon focused on Healthcare. “We set about identifying companies that we would like to own because we felt a combination of operational and, or, strategic change could accelerate the growth of the company.” Simon and his fellow partners’ primary aim is to make a healthy return when companies are sold back onto the market after four or five years.

The financial crash came just as Cinven was getting into its stride and it has weathered the storm far better than anyone could have predicted. Market turbulence sparked a fundamental appraisal of Cinven’s own business model in early 2009. Simon recalls: “When you have built a successful business and recruited many talented people who trust you then it’s a challenge. So after the

C


financial crisis began to unfold we carried out a bottom up review of the business. We asked ourselves if private equity as an asset class would be attractive and relevant for institutional investors in the new world. We’d made terrific returns on many former portfolio companies and we had built up around twenty businesses in our then portfolio. After several months of analysis and discussion we concluded that the private equity model could continue to deliver, into the future, superior risk adjusted returns. We decided to invest further into the fabric of the firm, opening an office in Hong Kong and reinforcing our operational improvement in-house team.”

Cinven’s institutional investors make a ten year commitment to a new fund. Returns are as a result of capital gains achieved on the sale of underlying companies in the fund portfolio. Cinven’s latest fund, its fourth since the company was founded, has yielded above average returns and is in the upper quartile for private equity funds. The company is in the process of raising money for a fifth ten year fund and has around 150 major investors.

Cinven’s success derives from having specialist sector teams leading the acquisitions. Simon cites the example of building market leadership in private hospitals in both the UK and France. “Cinven acquired the poorly performing Generale de Sante

(“GdS”) in France and the second largest hospital group in the UK private sector, General Healthcare Group (“GHG”). By merging GHG with the fourth largest private operator in the UK and improving the performance of the combined entity, GHG became the number one and best in class. In France GdS was restructured, receiving a great deal of capital investment and transformed its underlying return on capital, such that we were able to IPO GdS on the Paris stock market in 2001. In both cases, under new management structures and strategies we created bigger and stronger businesses and better places for employees to work. The eventual combined capital gain was in excess of 0.75 billion Euros,” says Simon.

Not all private equity deals are this successful and in the past the industry has been accused of buying up companies to asset strip them. This approach is self-defeating argues Simon. “The misconception is that we buy assets, leverage them by piling them with debt and then squeeze the life out of them. What

we do instead is to build businesses. This is fundamental to achieving the expected returns for our investors,” he says.

Although Simon joined the industry straight from an MBA, opportunities like this are few and far between. In recruitment terms, specialised experience counts. Private equity firms recruit from the ranks of investment bankers, business consultants and industry, many of whom will be at a stage in their career when they already have an MBA. “We tend to recruit people in their late twenties who have had significant strategic experience with firms like McKinsey, Bain and BCG or from Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley,” he says.

Right now with a fifth investment fund already in the process of subscription Simon is making good on a promise he made to his wife who he met and married before he started in private equity. “My wife extracted a promise from me in 1986, she remembers it well, that we would have interests in Zimbabwe one day. I’m approaching


retirement so I’d like to take the chance to bow out and focus on investing in emerging economies. My wife and I are building a house in Victoria Falls and will divide our time between London and Zimbabwe. I am writing a letter to myself, with a deadline of Christmas 2012, setting out, if and how, to approach investing in Southern Africa. It is a fascinating position to put yourself in and frankly I am still not entirely sure what the letter will recommend. Several people have offered (including Cranfield’s Professor Joe Nellis) to read and confirm the integrity of the letter!”

Simon is optimistic that private equity will remain one of the best ways investors can add value and develop healthy businesses. “In fact I’m of the view that private equity will survive and flourish,” he says. And with his expertise that approach will soon be making a contribution in some of the emerging market regions of the world. MF

“I see private equity as a way to build things - not just a way of making money. It is the investment in time, money, people and resource that allows things to be created and built.”

A new era for private equity


The

By remembering Cranfield School of Management in your estate plans you will be doing something very special. You will be playing a lasting role in ensuring that the School remains a centre of excellence in management teaching and research and continues to make important contributions to the community, society and the economy for generations to come.

Gift ofLegacy


The most effective way to assist the School is by leaving a legacy for general purposes,

allowing the School to direct your support to the area where it is most needed at the

time.

Unrestricted contributions are especially valuable as they provide the School with the

flexibly to meet current demands. If, however, you would prefer to leave a legacy for a

specific purpose, we hope that you would consider the following areas of need:

Scholarships and Bursaries

The quality and diversity of our students is central to Cranfield’s academic excellence.

You can support the School in attracting the highest calibre students from across the

globe by funding a named scholarship.

Buildings and Facilities

You may prefer to support campus development, assisting in the provision of world class

facilities, creating an environment in which our faculty and students can thrive.

Academic Support

Only by continuing to attract the best teachers and scholars from around the world

can Cranfield continue to educate the next generation of business leaders, produce

innovative research solutions and maintain its leading position among management

schools. A legacy to support an academic post or programme will contribute to

Cranfield’s ability to attract and retain the highest calibre faculty.

Legacies to Cranfield School of Management are greatly appreciated and will bring benefits to future generations of faculty and students.

In gratitude for your support, Cranfield will provide lifetime recognition. Each year, with permission, new legators will be listed in the School’s honour roll of donors and all of those who have signalled an intention to make a legacy to Cranfield will be invited to an annual recognition event.

If you would like to discuss making a legacy gift to Cranfield School of Management, please contact Rachael Harris on +44(0) 1234 754339.

www.alumni.som.cranfield.ac.uk

“I believe that some of the (modest) capital that I have saved out of the income that I have earned during my working life is attributable to the benefit of achieving an MBA at Cranfield. My legacy to Cranfield is a simple way of saying thank you.”Edgar Borton (MBA 1969)

Tax Benefits

The School is recognised as a charity for tax purposes, which means that a legacy gift to Cranfield incurs no tax and can actually reduce the overall tax liability on your estate.

The following is an example of the impact of the current £325,000 inheritance tax threshold on your estate. This applies to UK taxpayers.

Example 1:Total value of estate £450,000Less £325,000Taxable amount £125,000Tax @ 40% £50,000Net residue of estate £400,000

Example 2:Total value of estate £450,000Less £325,000Legacy to Cranfield £50,000Taxable Amount £75,000Tax @ 40% £30,000Net residue of estate £370.000

Therefore, Cranfield receives £50,000 but the net residue of your estate goes down only by £30,000.

The inheritance tax threshold is likely to vary from time to time. For the latest information, please consult your solicitor. If you reside abroad your tax situation will be different and we recommend that you consult your financial advisor to maximise the benefits of your legacy to the School.

The gift of legacy


TheCranfield

By Stephen Hoare

StrategyScion


Adoctorate in strategic management was the launch pad for a consultancy firm whose

success stems from helping clients evolve to meet complex business challenges and to create significant and measurable value. Founded in 2001, Stratevolve was born out of the relationship between doctoral student Paul Raspin and his Cranfield PhD supervisor, Professor Cliff Bowman.

With significant consulting experience, Raspin had worked for Andersen Consulting in a variety of roles in the decade before he applied to Cranfield. With a degree in commerce, and a masters in economics, Raspin qualified as a chartered accountant, practising in Australia and the US before moving to London.

Attracted by its international ranking and its reputation, Raspin’s decision to study for a Cranfield PhD was a career changer, setting the foundations for launching a company whose major service lines are strategy, organisation and strategic change, research and advisory. “Stratevolve is a scion or offshoot of Cranfield in the sense that its approach to helping clients is grounded in converting knowledge into action that creates value. Stratevolve’s approach, like Cranfield’s, is hands-on,” says Raspin. “Strategic management, like medicine, is a design science,” adds Bowman.

The focus of Raspin’s PhD was a managerial behaviour called ‘scanning’. In order to reach an informed opinion of a company’s best strategic move, managers ‘scan’ their marketplace. “Nearly all senior management adopts some form of scanning behaviour - looking out to the external environment and asking what are our competitors doing, what’s going on in the market and how trends can be leveraged to a company’s benefit,” he explains. Contacts gained via the Cranfield alumni network provided the pair’s first clients.

‘Live’ consultancy projects and the organisational change he was able to effect with his supervisor became the raw material for a PhD. Raspin and Bowman adopted the Cranfield approach to research a methodology to add value and ultimately to spin off a business. This approach is encapsulated in Stratevolve’s mission statement - ‘Informed strategy, inclusively developed, effectively delivered’.

The experience that inspired Stratevolve was a consultancy with the construction and civil engineering company Miller Group. “At the time the construction sector was experiencing a big downturn. We had developed a framework to develop strategy that posed five key questions: ‘Where do we compete? How do we gain and sustain competitive advantage? What assets and capabilities are required? What assets and capabilities do we currently

The Cranfield strategy scion

“Stratevolve is a scion or offshoot of Cranfield in the sense that its approach to helping clients is grounded in converting knowledge into action that creates value. Stratevolve’s approach, like Cranfield’s, is hands-on.”


Paul Raspin (centre) with Cranfield alumni Stratevolve colleagues

have? How will we change?’,” says Raspin. He adds that it was the success of this approach and the feedback from the client that ultimately led to the founding of Stratevolve. In a testimonial the company’s finance director said: “One of our FTSE 100 non executive directors said it was one of the best strategy works he had seen in

his career. We are now looked at in a new light - as businessmen rather than builders.”

The ‘informed strategy’ element of Stratevolve’s practice comes from applying the most relevant and current business theory to any given situation. For example, Cranfield Professor Cliff Bowman’s

“We identify a small set of high value creation strategic interventions. We make sure senior management teams understand our recommendations and have the resources in place to take them forward. At the same time we will often take part in the project itself to help enact change.”


research and ‘customer matrix tool’ inform strategy services and Professor Veronica Hope-Hailey’s work on strategic change is used as a touchstone to examine company culture.

Projects can last anything from a basic business review lasting three months to a complex change management project lasting several years. Raspin and Bowman have evolved an approach to consultancy that draws inspiration from the Cranfield model, where business theory is tempered by practical observation and practical solutions arrived at by joining client senior management teams and closely observing the issues at first hand. “We identify a small set of high value creation strategic interventions. We make sure senior management teams understand our recommendations and have the resources in place to take them forward. At the same time we will often take part in the project itself to help enact change.” This emphasis on teamwork echoes the pedagogy underpinning the Cranfield MBA.

From 2001 to 2004 Raspin was engaged in researching and writing his PhD thesis while building his company from the grassroots, adding clients such as Barclays, Allianz, Ernst and Young and John Lewis Partnership. From 2004 the company has enjoyed impressive growth both in numbers of clients and consultants and turnover.

The results of Stratevolve interventions are equally impressive. “We link our consulting to a business case analysis. For example, we helped Ernst and Young generate £180-400 million over three years. Perhaps it’s my chartered accountancy background but I believe in measurable outcomes,” says Raspin.

Stratevolve has built strong links with Cranfield. The company recruits from the business school and still leverages the alumni network to great effect, though it is by no means an exclusive Cranfield club.

Stratevolve is currently advertising positions for a business analyst, strategic change consultant, programme manager and business development manager on its website. Inga Umblija joined the company from the Cranfield MBA class of 2009 and is now a senior managing consultant. What attracted her to the company? “I value the link between what I’m learning on the job and the knowledge gained on my MBA. It was applying my knowledge in a practical context,” she says. She is also among congenial company. “In my current project I am working with four Cranfield alumni. I find the shared ethos and academic knowledge to be hugely valuable. If you’re going to evolve strategy you have to be part of a close team,” adds Umblija.

Umblija recently worked with Paul Raspin and a small team on a business transformation project for Lloyds Register alongside the safety certification company’s own senior management team. She explains: “The client is looking to replace its technology systems and we’re there to re-engineer business processes underlying a major global change programme.” “We’re applying a Stratevolve approach to business requirements capture through drawing on the latest research and academic thinking and the experience of our consultants to de-risk this large scale change programme,” adds Raspin.

Stratevolve’s growth and its business model demonstrates the value that can be derived by applying academic rigour to organisational change and business strategy projects. Close links with Cranfield add value to a business proposition that is proving an exciting career opportunity for alumni, as well as an added value to members of the alumni network.

Paul Raspin is Director at Stratevolve [email protected]

The Cranfield strategy scion


Lessons from the

nurtured for many decades in the womb of the financial system, precipitated the collapse of the banking system; whilst at the same time irresponsible governments were expected to bail out the banks using taxpayers money.

In the aftermath of the financial crisis, the fundamental weaknesses of the structure of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) experiment were exposed. Policymakers in the EU aided and abetted by global economic facilitators, otherwise known as the IMF, desperately tried to conjure up policies which were structural in nature, to deal with the crippling effects of recession. The novel austerity packages offered to Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece and Spain, could be regarded as a set of hastily constructed rules that cut wages in both the public and private sectors considerably,

alongside a reassessment of labour rights, thereby undermining the existing democratic processes in the respective countries. Observers, both inside and outside the troubled countries, have argued that the bailout packages were destined to fail, weakening further the already decimated economies. Paradoxically, the new policies call for more austerity and more misery for the people of the troubled countries.

What the pundits are failing to recognise is the dramatic failure of corporate

Eurozonehe economic crisis has ushered in an era of economic stagnation and social misery across much

of the EU region. As a result, governments in the recession-stricken Eurozone struggled to find viable ways out of what is perceived to be the worst economic predicament since the establishment of the EU. The finger of blame is pointed by many at the reckless spending by the relatively poorer Mediterranean countries. But, the economic collapses of both Ireland and Iceland were down to failures of their national banks.

The widespread dogmatic adoption of neoliberal attitudes towards banks by the contemporary gurus of policymaking in both the EU and US, had a devastating impact on the respective economies. Speculative behaviour that had been

T

crisis

Dr Constantinos AlexiouSenior Lecturer in Economics

“The question that still begs an answer is who regulates the regulators?”


governance and risk management that has resulted after lengthy periods of unscrupulous toxic trading and rapid growth. For many commentators, regulation in the financial system has been conspicuous by its absence, whilst for others the existing regulatory system has simply failed to deliver. Either way, a regulatory mechanism should always be in place to ensure that any forthcoming ‘ill-driven’ practices are kept at bay and effectively neutralised. However, the question that still begs an answer is ‘who regulates the regulators?’ Resolving this question will settle the debate about the significance of stringent and anti-fragile regulation.

History tells us, that after a war or a natural disaster people learn from their mistakes. If there is a lesson to be learnt from the on-going economic crisis, it is with regard to the activities carried out by the banking sector. The banks must stop financing Ponzi (pyramid selling) type schemes and instead focus on financing productive investment. It is well documented that the bulk of the financial sector’s market activities are bound up by speculative bubbles. When society is unable to resist the temptation of instant wealth, then the accumulation of debt is inevitable which in turn leads to a crash. British economist John Maynard Keynes articulately argued that mediocre growth, financial instability and unemployment are caused by the fetish for liquidity.

In all likelihood, economic instability in conjunction with global trends will play an

instrumental role in affecting businesses

in the long-term. The world is becoming

increasingly more intricate and the

inherent frailty of the emerging business

environment creates new challenges for all

players in the market system.

Antiquated, gut-instinct management

approaches are not sustainable and need

Lessons from the eurozone crisis

to be superseded by fresh ideas tailored to achieve efficiency and flexibility in a highly volatile environment. Adaptation is the key to success. In the words of British biologist Charles Darwin: “it is not the strongest species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the ones most responsive to change.”

For further information please contact the author at [email protected]

MF


ThePathto

ishil Patel (EMBA 2008)describes himself wholly unfairly as being ‘not the sharpest tool

in the shed’, but nobody could for a minute dispute his voracious work ethic and overwhelming desire to continually advance himself. Values which have stood him in good stead in his career thus far.

He followed an undergraduate academic path formed by finance and made up for missing the waymarker pointing down the standard trail of the university graduate programme, by walking a circuitous route into a position as Junior Bookkeeper, or ‘office tea boy’ as he wryly describes it.

Making good use of his credentials on the golf course, Nishil elbowed his way into various senior management golfing excursions and as a result created the opportunity to build a network of ‘friends in high places’. The old adage of the golf course providing fertile ground for networking, proved true and before long Nishil was offered a role as a portfolio accountant working for the Barclay Brothers’ venture capital business. Under the supervision of seasoned finance managers, Nishil soon picked up the basics

of running the finances of a business, right from basic bookkeeping to producing a set of management accounts for the Board. During this period he never lost sight of his omnipresent desire to perpetuate his education, by studying part time to become a Chartered Certified Accountant and fellow of the UK Association of Chartered Certified Accountants.

With two years of solid finance experience under his belt, Nishil took a step up to join a more established firm, enrolling with Legal and General Ventures as a Senior Financial Controller. His passion to progress rolled on unabated and, despite some successes with the business, he soon became unsettled and unsatisfied at the lack of impact that he felt he was having on the performance of the company. It soon became clear that an ‘interesting’ job was never going to be enough for Nishil and his desire to change his life through knowledge and education once again made itself manifest. The seed of an idea of undertaking an MBA quickly took root, flowered into a major focus and then flourished into the fruit of obsession for Nishil. Propelled on in equal parts by both his father’s regret at not finishing grad school and his family’s unending support for his

personal motivation to improve through education, Nishil stepped straight over the crossroads that he had reached in his career, and set off along the untrodden track towards an MBA.

After a detailed and focussed period of research into the UK’s leading business schools, Cranfield quickly emerged as a contender for Nishil. Cranfield’s clear focus on personal development and the structure of the Cranfield Executive MBA, with its immersive timetable of uninterrupted weekends, suited his desire for personal advancement and self-discovery. The unique rich mix of cultures and backgrounds that the Cranfield MBA offered, alongside Cranfield’s physical location in the heart of the country were also deciding factors. By the time Nishil received his acceptance onto the MBA programme, not even his employer’s withdrawal of support and acknowledgement for his career choice could divert him from his intended destination. As he commenced his MBA in January 2007, Legal and General’s acceptance of Nishil’s resignation and his agreement to forgo his year-end bonus came through. Nishil faced a period of immense change, without a job and significantly out of pocket.

TransformationN


“My expectations of Cranfield were quite low, when I arrived I really did not know what to expect,” Nishil reflects. “At the onset my morale was low and the environment I had been working in previously was largely negative. Initially I felt lethargic and in a vegetative state of mind.” Cranfield soon shook the lassitude out of him though. “My Cranfield experience was unique, memorable and immensely exciting, and by the end of the programme I was exhausted, but pumped with enough fuel to quietly feel confident that the gruelling schedule had shaped me to confront new challenges and take on more senior management responsibility.”

So, what was it about Cranfield that energised Nishil so profoundly? “The programme helped me achieve a balance between the theoretical and conceptual understanding, which is vitally necessary to be reflective and critically creative in our thinking, while at the same time providing practice-based skills and expertise to enable us to actually do things,” he explains. “There are so many examples of experiences that have had an impact on the person I am today both professionally and personally.”

The Cranfield experience has had a direct positive impact on my career. The MBA has helped me broaden my knowledge of running a business and has taught me the tools to understand the challenges we face within our organisation and industry in general.”


The path to transformation

For Nishil, self-confidence is a pre-requisite for high-achievement. “Without that inner belief, you don’t necessarily have to be super intellectual to overcome difficult challenges and the MBA worked immensely on my personal development, building my confidence and inner strength.”

He drills a little deeper. “I am naturally more of an introvert, listening more than I speak, but participating in group presentations and lectures forced me to come out of my shell and I now have acquired the ability to be heard without causing conflict.”

“Building my level of confidence at Cranfield has been one of the most positive experiences I have ever had,” Nishil says.

In terms of self-discovery, Cranfield’s Organisational Behaviour module was also invaluable for Nishil and he found the practical application of proven models in this area to be absorbing. “I learned much more about myself over these three months than I can ever remember,” he

explains. Cranfield’s safe environment also helped immensely. “Under the encouragement of staff and students, and in intimate and comfortable surroundings, I could safely apply and test these newly acquired skills.”

The realisation that studying part-time for an MBA without the support of an employer was a major challenge, quickly hit home, so Nishil swiftly secured some contracting work to provide some breathing space for the first phase of the rigorous curriculum. But he soon discovered the rock solid support offered by the School’s Career Development Service and engaged with Cranfield’s unique mock interview programme. “The mock interviews were great for helping me to brush up on some of my skills, again in a safe environment,” Nishil explains. This quickly paid dividends, as he progressed to final interviews with Quality Capital Management (QCM), a medium-sized managed futures hedge fund, and finally managed to convince the Hedge Fund Manager that he was the right person for this role specifically because he could immediately add value with his formal MBA education.

“I graduated in December 2008 and since then I have been working at QCM and thoroughly enjoying my time here. The fund now employs 31 people and funds under management are close to one billion dollars. In 2011, at 33 years of age, I was promoted to Director of Finance, Operations and Compliance.”

“My time at QCM has been a huge education and enlightenment for me. QCM have provided me with the opportunity to grow and the encouragement to develop within a unique and challenging business,” Nishil says. “Cranfield has given me the weapons to excel and QCM have provided a testing ground to try this arsenal out!”

So, with another career aim achieved and an MBA under his belt, how has Nishil’s time at Cranfield had an impact on him and his performance in the workplace?

“The Cranfield experience has had a direct positive impact on my career. As a senior member of the management committee at QCM I contribute to the strategic vision of the company. The MBA

“The programme helped me achieve a balance between the theoretical and conceptual understanding, which is vitally necessary to be reflective and critically creative in our thinking, while at the same time providing practice -based skills and expertise to enable us to actually do things.”


has helped me broaden my knowledge of running a business and has taught me the tools to understand the challenges we face within our organisation and industry in general,” he says.

Nishil explains what he sees as the most valuable skill learnt from Cranfield: the ability to sit in a meeting, understand a problem, identify the bottleneck and structure a strategy to overcome this problem using the correct amount of resources.

“There are many unpredictable operational challenges that my team faces,” he explains. “Case studies used during my time at Cranfield provided directly applicable concepts and methods that I use frequently. Identifying logjams, designing operational strategies - there are just so many different jigsaw pieces that come together to make up my new, unique skill set.”

The Cranfield MBA’s focus on the core principles of communication within an organisation has also had a huge positive impact on Nishil and his client facing skills have improved directly because of this. Making effective presentations, handling difficult audiences, learning the power of listening before forming a response and using body language are all tools that Cranfield has directly and indirectly instilled in Nishil.

“In my role, I interact with departmental heads and clients on a regular basis and I have established a good rapport with all affiliates of the business,” Nishil says. “The focus upon communication concepts at Cranfield has helped me in explaining difficult fund accounting concepts and structures to non-financial people, which has been of immense benefit to potential investors, and therefore QCM.” These leadership communication principles have

been beneficial internally too: “Cranfield

provided me with relevant knowledge on

how best to manage cross departmental

projects obtaining ‘buy-in’, facilitating

the exchange of ideas and ensuring that

objectives are met on time, with available

resources.”

Nishil waxes lyrical, at some considerable

length, about the myriad skills that his

Cranfield MBA provided: Gantt charts,

Herzberg’s Two Factor Theory, principles of

the Balance Sheet, Profit and Loss accounts,

Operations and Supply Chain, Global

Macroeconomics… the list is extensive.

A long, wide and freshly tarmacked network

of paths stretch out in front of Nishil, which

direction will he decide to take?

“As a qualified MBA and someone about to

embark on the prime years of his working

life, these times are challenging to say

the least,” Nishil explains. “My aim is to

conserve capital and continue building on

my Cranfield base, equipping myself with

more knowledge and experience, ready for

the next opportunity.”

“In my eyes, Cranfield, or any other business

school for that matter, is not a ‘finishing’

school,” he explains. “The learning does not

stop. I think remuneration and better job

prospect build over a period of time and in

my case, for example, I experienced it last

year when I was promoted, two years after

the completion of my MBA.”

Was the time invested in Cranfield

worth it for Nishil? “Definitely, without

question,” he states. “Would I ever do

an MBA again? No!” he laughs. “Cranfield

have given me an indisputably solid core

foundation and my plan is to continue

building upon these firm footings.”

Nishil Patel is Director for Finance Operations

and Compliance at Quality Capital

Management

[email protected]


The path to transformation

products that meet individual customer requirements.

As the companies have shifted towards a high value manufacturing approach, they have moved away from being just producers of products. The companies have widened their portfolio to include services which support their product offering; they install it, service and repair it, provide training, and even provide upgrade facilities. They may also include more integrated product and service solutions which cover design, manufacture and project management.

One of the reasons behind these companies’ success has been the fact that they have consistently innovated. They have not just innovated in terms of developing new products or making improvement to existing products, they have innovated in terms of how they make them (through process innovation). They are not innovating just to make a cheaper product but to improve the product so it offers more value to their customers. For example, the product might be designed to last longer and be more reliable, to ensure the total cost of ownership is lower.

When innovating, it is important to stay close to the customer. By building close relationships, manufacturers are able to better understand their customers and their needs. The best manufacturers do not guess or speculate about what will please the customer. Instead, they talk to their customers, conduct periodic customer satisfaction surveys and work closely with them to develop new products or enhance existing ones.

The shift towards a high value added approach and a greater focus on innovation necessitates a more skilled workforce. The managers of Britain’s best factories understand that the participation and knowledge of every employee is an important element in their success, and therefore spend a lot of time and money developing the skills and knowledge of their employees through regular training and development.

The most successful manufacturers have moved away from the traditional arm’s-length adversarial relationship with their suppliers to one that is much closer and collaborative. Factories expect a

anufacturing always has been, and always will be, vital to generating wealth and

national prosperity. The UK is one of the top 10 manufacturers in the world. The manufacturing sector accounts for 46% of UK exports and employs over 2.5 million people. However, UK manufacturing has had to change radically to remain globally competitive. This is evident when judging the Best Factory Awards (BFA), which have been run by Cranfield School of Management, in partnership with Works Management for the past 20 years, to recognise and reward British manufacturing excellence. Analysing the approach taken by the BFA winners over the years, offers interesting insights into what companies can do to remain competitive in the global marketplace.

Successful British manufacturers of late have adopted a high value add strategy, as opposed to just competing on price. Their business model is focused on providing their customers with greater value by providing: higher quality; more technically advanced products that give better value for money; high levels of product innovation and customised

M

Manufacturing Mastersof


lot more from their suppliers, which may include more frequent deliveries or help with innovation. However, in return for support from their suppliers, manufacturers will help by: sharing their future plans with them; providing training for their employees; and also giving support, if required, for their own continuous improvement activities.

The UK manufacturers that are leading the way, have also become more concerned about sustainability driven by consumer concerns, increased legislation and a rise in energy and disposal costs.

Factories are taking action to minimise the use of natural resources (materials and energy) to reduce waste and shrink their carbon footprint. By reducing resource costs, especially at a time when many are rising in price, an impact on the bottom line is achieved.

A key trait shared by all of the BFA winners over the years is a focus on continuous improvement (CI), with CI activities forming an integral part of the manufacturing strategy. To be successful, all employees should be trained in CI techniques and encouraged to put

Dr Marek SzwejczewskiReader in Operations Management

“The managers of Britain’s best factories understand that the participation and knowledge of every employee is an important element in their success.”

Masters of manufacturing

forward suggestions for improvement and get involved in developing the solutions. To support CI, manufacturers need a policy of continual investment in technology and automation, based on clearly defined visions of their customers’ requirements. Britain’s masters of manufacturing are not standing still - they keep innovating, improving and growing.

For further information please contact the author at [email protected] More details about the Best Factory Awards are available at www.cranfield.ac.uk/som/bfa

MF


Our research

A combination of rigorous research and inspirational teaching is at the heart of everything we do at Cranfield School of Management. We are dedicated to creating responsible management thinking, improving business performance and inspiring business leaders to make a real impact on their organisations.

Cranfield has been voted the most entrepreneurial university in Britain and is one of Europe’s largest academic centres for applied research. As such, the School of Management is a hothouse of business activity, placing our world-class faculty and doctoral Researchers right alongside forward-thinking industry leaders through our vibrant networks of enthusiastic alumni, research collaborations and clubs.

Cranfield Researchers network naturally with practitioners and also with like minded academics in the most prestigious schools around the world, using cutting edge information technologies.

The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) has identified the following world-leading aspects of our research environment: engagement with industry and commerce; the scale, resourcing and quality assurance of PhD and DBA activities; and research income.

Support our research - get involved: If you would like to improve your organisation’s competitiveness, productivity and performance in conjunction with Cranfield School of Management, please do get in touch. There are several ways we may be able to help:

• Join one of our pioneering research clubs. For more info see: www.knowledgeintoaction.net• Collaborate with us on a specific research project (these can sometimes be funded by

government grants).• Enter into a partially government-funded Knowledge Transfer Partnership with us.• Or why not consider undertaking the Cranfield International Executive Doctorate (DBA) or the

Cranfield PhD and attain the highest degree awarded by academic institutions? Upcoming doctoral research open days: 29 Nov 2012 & 19 Mar 2013 - www.cranfield.ac.uk/som/doctoralopendays

Research Clubs:

• Agile Supply Chain Research Club • Business Performance Roundtable

• Cranfield / CIPS Executive Procurement Network • Cranfield Customer Management Forum

• Global Manufacturing Roundtable • Key Account Management Best Practice Forum

• Programme Management Best Practice Forum • Public Sector Performance Roundtable

shapesour teaching

From collaborative cave painting; to exchanges via paper, pen and ink; to printing presses taking words and images to the masses - being able to share thoughts and ideas has always been on the agenda for mankind. Telephones came along and enabled real-time two-way conversations between people in different locations, and now, software development in conjunction with the internet, enables anyone to share their thoughts on a global scale and receive instant feedback.

This new wave of internet usage can be daunting; an overwhelming amount of information is at our fingertips and delivered to our computers, tablets and phones every day, but which stuff should we be taking notice of? Reading everything that comes into our email inbox is becoming a physical impossibility. However, we need to stay aware and open to external influences - so, if we are offered timely, relevant and engaging content that stems from fact - we are more likely to listen.

SoMResearchInsights aims to deliver just that - timely, relevant and engaging posts are kept bite-sized and easy to share. Each post is assigned to a relevant theme - that way, if you don’t want to see everything, you can just subscribe to a particular category of content.

Multiple perspectives and diversity of thought is important and helps us develop and create better resources. So we would like to ask for your help: Will you support our research journey?

We’re a few weeks in now and, at the timeof writing, the blog has had views in over 50countries, from Argentina to Zimbabwe! But weneed even more follows if we’re going to betruly mobile! So please do take a look at SoMResearchInsights.com and comment, ‘like’ and share when you can!

For more information about SoM Research please contact: [email protected]

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For more than 40 years, Cranfield School of Management, a world leader in management education and research, has been helping individuals and businesses learn and succeed by transforming knowledge into action.

The School brings together a range of management disciplines through a significant portfolio of activities that includes research and consultancy, postgraduate masters and doctoral programmes, executive development courses, conferences and customised programmes.

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