About the ACE-Ashridge Foundation Course

ACE was founded in 1951 and was based then, as now, on the three principles of fostering fellowship, friendship and the free exchange of ideas.

ACE HAS BECOME famous for, and synonymous with, fellowship and friendship as clearly demonstrated by the attendance and fun enjoyed at such events as the Award evenings, the sporting events and, perhaps most famous of all, the annual Christmas lunch.

ACE is perhaps less well known for its work in aiding the exchange of ideas within our industry and beyond. As a result of what was recognised as a growing need to, and enthusiasm for, developing this side of the Association’s work the decision was taken to develop a relationship with the top, internationally renowned, Ashridge Business School and put in place a Foundation Programme. The aim was, and is, to help young people in our industry to develop and hone their knowledge and skills to the benefit of themselves, their company and our industry in general. Out of this concept was born the ACE-Ashridge Foundation Programme.

The Programme and how it works
In 2006 the Association of Circulation Executives (ACE) and Ashridge Business School linked up for the first time and launched the ACE-Ashridge Foundation Programme. It was a ground-breaking move for both organisations and one that proved both timely and welcome. Building upon the solid foundations and successes of the first course, the 2007 course set a new benchmark and proved to be even more popular and valuable.

“I am very pleased with the way the course has progressed year on year,” said Ashridge Business School client director Anthony Mitchell. “The course delegates just clicked, everything went well, and the terrific industry speakers also helped make this programme special.”

During the first module delegates arrived on Sunday evening ready to tackle team effectiveness and project planning on the Monday. Tuesday’s schedule dealt with changes in the business environment, strategic thinking and analysis – including the development of business plans – before moving on to operations and supply chain matters on Wednesday.

One of the highlights of the first module was guest speaker Charles Wilson, the current chief executive of Booker Cash & Carry, and already something of a logistics guru despite being only just into his forties.

Charles spoke about company turnarounds. He became well known in the trade for his consultancy role with Mirror Group, and in the wider world of business as Stuart Rose’s number two at Marks & Spencer where he was taken on as executive director for IT, Logistics and Property to drive cost savings and enhance efficiency. Wilson subsequently delivered something in the region £250m in cost savings in just 14 months.

Our other key speaker was David Cooke, who is in charge of the vital newspaper sector at Tesco who spoke about the operations and supply chain side of their business.

It was over the summer months that much of the hard project work began. In its launch year (2006) the delegates worked on such essential aspects of our industry as the OFT enquiry and its implications, new technologies within the industry home news delivery and the perennial, and topical, issue of waste. The standard of the project work was of such a level that one of the project groups went on to win a coveted ACE Press Award for their industry contribution.

In 2007, the projects studied were;

• Improving efficiency in the supply chain
• Sustainability
• Increasing category awareness

The second residential module in September dealt with leadership and influencing skills, and change management, and there was also an added course on presentation skills.

The second guest speaker was Puzzler Media managing director Mel Lewis, the company that has made the most of the extraordinary Sudoku craze. Mel has spent a lifetime in all parts of the news and news distribution business, and had much to tell – including the ups and downs of management buy-outs, and about the key lessons he has learned at every stage of his career.

The other keynote speaker in this module was Alan Atherton, regional sales director for Smiths, who spoke on the importance of teamwork, motivation and leadership particularly within the context of our industry.

After weeks of stimulating but hard project work, aided by guidance and the experiences of our guest speakers, the project teams eventually presented their results and conclusions to an invited audience of senior industry figures, at Ashridge, in mid November.