OPINION
Signing off my final edition OF AMBITION
EDITORIAL Editor David Woods-Hale
Art Editor Laura Tallon
‘Thank you for letting me visit your outstanding family’
Content Editor Tim Banerjee Dhoul t.dhoul@associationofmbas.com Insight and Communications Executive Ellen Buchan e.buchan@associationofmbas.com CORPORATE Head of Commercial Relations Max Braithwaite m.braithwaite@associationofmbas.com Commercial Partnerships Manager Emily Wall e.wall@associationofmbas.com
ime seems to have flown by since I plonked myself down at my (then) new desk at the AMBA office in 2016 to start work on my very first edition of Ambition . Now, after 55 issues, the time has come for me to put my notebook away, switch off my trusty dictaphone, and sign off my final edition of the magazine as editor. To say my adventures in higher education have been like a rollercoaster since my first day would be an understatement. In 2016, we faced a time of uncertainty and political disruption, and then, as if overnight, we were suddenly managing through the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic, amid unprecedented digital transformation in business education. However, these changing times have given me plenty to write about and, throughout this period of flux in the Business School arena, you’ve been kind enough to meet with me to share your challenges and your achievements. I calculate that I’ve been in contact with – or have interviewed – leaders from more than 250 Schools in the network since I joined AMBA & BGA, and I want to thank you for your time, your patience (!), your counsel and, most importantly, the work that you continue to do. In the marketing department, we use the term ‘AMBA family’ to describe AMBA’s network of accredited Schools; to the untrained ear, this could sound fluffy. It’s not. At our Global Conference in Lisbon, in May, delegates were delighted to meet, collaborate, and work together to face the ongoing uncertainty in our world as a united, engaged, and passionate collective. Thank you for letting me visit your outstanding family. I’ve edited thousands of features and articles – written by you and your students – many tackling difficult issues such as #metoo, #BlackLivesMatter, war, poverty, modern slavery, geopolitical reform, social justice, and the climate emergency. But, in its purest form, the purpose of a business magazine such as Ambition is to inspire readers and help them to ‘do their jobs more effectively’. I hope we’ve offered some help to you – and I have absolutely no doubt that the fantastic colleagues with whom I have been privileged to work at AMBA & BGA will continue to do this for many years to come. Thank you once more and goodbye (for now). David Woods-Hale , Editor, Ambition
Head of Marketing and Communications Leonora Clement
Marketing and Communications Executive Edward Holmes
Head of IT and Data Management Jack Villanueva
Head of Events Carolyn Armsby
HR and Employer Relations Manager Aarti Bhasin Finance and Commercial Director Catherine Walker
Chief Executive Officer Andrew Main Wilson
HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE AMBITION PODCAST
Executive Assistant to the CEO Sharon Sidaway s.sidaway@associationofmbas.com ACCREDITATION ENQUIRIES accreditation@associationofmbas.com
the UK alone, stress is also triggering almost half of the workforce to look for an alternative job. Despite ‘wellbeing’ becoming a more mainstream topic, a change in employer attitudes to mental health is still overdue. Lesley Cooper, CEO of Working Well, joined us to talk about her passion for helping companies to manage workplace pressure in a way that facilitates growth and development for individuals, teams and leaders – instead of energy- and performance-depleting stress.
If evidence and activism alone are not accelerating the change we urgently need, what will? This is the question Neil Gaught, author of CORE The Playbook, asks as he campaigns for business to do better for our planet. On the AMBITION Podcast, he shared his optimism for the future of the planet and how he thinks MBAs need to be at the forefront of the environmental challenge. How can employers break the link between pressure and stress and turn pressure into growth, engagement, and performance? Workplace stress not only causes sleep loss; research shows that, in
www.associationofmbas.com/podcast
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