Capitalising on London connections pages 6-7
The road to Wembley pages 10-11
LANCASTER UNIVERSITY MANAGEMENT SCHOOL ALUMNI MAGAZINE
In partnership with business
OCTOBER 2014
LUMS news and developments
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Capitalising on London connections
6-7
Marketing Department profile
8-9
Alumni interview
10-11
Alumni news and resources
12-15
Student consulting projects
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Your LUMS alumni team
Louise Briggs, Head of Careers, Alumni & Employer Relations
Sarah Jones, MBA Events & Alumni Coordinator
Libby Packham, Alumni Officer (Editor)
Maggie Wild, Alumni & Development Manager
Room A126, Lancaster University Management School, Lancaster, LA1 4YX, UK T: +44 (0)1524 510749 E: LUMSalumni@lancaster.ac.uk
The articles printed here, to the best of our knowledge, were correct at the time of going to press. We reserve the right to edit material where necessary. Furthermore, the views expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the Management School or the Editor.
Kasia Kowalska, Alumni Coordinator
LUMS news and developments
Dean’s update Welcome to the 2014 edition of Ambassador. I am delighted to share with you some of our achievements over the past year. Highlights include re-accreditation by The Association of MBAs (AMBA), ensuring that we retain our triple accredited status; Small Business Charter Gold Award which will enable us to further develop our award-winning engagement strategy; and continued success in the major league tables. We are particularly proud of our Department of Marketing, which has been ranked 1st in the UK by the Complete University Guide, for the second year running.
AMBASSADOR | OCTOBER 2014
The year ahead looks both exciting and challenging. We eagerly await the outcome of the Research Excellence Framework (REF) in December 2014 and to welcoming a record number of students to LUMS for the start of the new academic year. The importance of our alumni community, and the connections that are constantly being established and developed within it, has been highlighted more than ever during this, Lancaster University’s 50th anniversary year. As the anniversary events and celebrations continue alongside our regular schedule of communications, events and services, we hope that you are finding plenty of opportunities to get involved. We now have over 34,000 LUMS alumni, in 144 countries. I am consistently impressed by the successes of our graduates and grateful for the ways in which many of you engage with LUMS, helping to support our growth and development.
Professor Sue Cox, OBE
Communication is at the heart of our ongoing relationship and I would therefore like to invite you to complete the short survey detailed on this page, sharing what you like and what else you wish to see from our communications with you. Your input is vital in ensuring that we continue to provide a useful and relevant communications service. All my best wishes,
Professor Sue Cox, OBE Dean
Have your say! Alumni communications survey Please complete our short survey to help shape the future of LUMS alumni communications. You can either fill in and return the paper version of the survey, included with
this magazine, or complete the online version at: www.surveymonkey.com/s/ lumscs2014
Your participation has real value. As a thank you, all survey participants can choose to enter a prize draw, with the chance to win a £100 Amazon voucher.
Stay connected with your Management School Visit us lancaster.ac.uk/lums/alumni
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LUMS news and developments
New LUMS website The new-look LUMS website is now live at www.lancaster.ac.uk/lums. As well as improved usability, the site now includes even more information about study, research and developments at LUMS. Bespoke pages for alumni can be found at www.lancaster.ac.uk/ lums/alumni – take a look for details of alumni news, events, networks and services.
Collaboration is the key to impactful developments in family business research Family businesses are the most common form of business organisation around the world and are the mainstay of many economies. Yet, it is only in the past few decades that they have started to receive scholarly and policy attention. “There’s nothing quite like a family business” explains Professor Alfredo De Massis, Director of LUMS’ internationally recognised Centre for Family Business. “Whatever its size or the industry it operates in, a family business will behave and be run in a way that’s distinctive. We need to understand the unique goals, processes and outcomes engendered by family influence on business in order to identify the distinctive strategies and managerial practices that are
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required by family businesses to grow and succeed across generations.” In line with LUMS’ mission to develop connections between academia and the business community, the Centre for Family Business has this year established a new Business Advisory Panel and Research Advisory Board, drawing on input from successful family business leaders and policy makers, as well as from pioneers in international family business and entrepreneurship research. Input from these was shared at a two-day strategy event this summer, which involved contributions from over 30 family business owners and researchers. Insights from the event and from meetings of the Business Advisory
Panel and Research Advisory Board will inform how the Centre can best offer family business support, through world-class academic research and also by engagement and development programmes. www.lancaster.ac.uk/lums/ieed/ familybusiness For more information about the work of the Centre for Family Business, contact Professor Alfredo De Massis a.demassis@lancaster.ac.uk.
AMBASSADOR | OCTOBER 2014
Lancaster Leadership Centre 2014 has been a busy year for the Lancaster Leadership Centre (LLC). Highlights include the celebration of its tenth year, hosting The New Romantics of Responsible Leadership conference, the launch of a new specialist MSc in Leadership Practice and Responsibility and becoming members of the Globally Responsible Leadership Initiative. The LLC is one of the largest leadership centres in Europe and has been leading the establishment of a global network of leadership centres, in partnership with the International Leadership Association. Director of the LLC, Dr Steve Kempster explains: “we have an approach to leadership development which is distinctive, highly practical and we hope prescient for today’s challenges: a focus on ‘doing good’ and ‘growing well’ for individuals and organisations alike”.
The LLC works in partnership with organisations from FTSE 100 companies through to charities. The Centre’s programmes are designed to develop an individual’s leadership practice. They can be bespoke or open and can be accredited or non-accredited. For further information about the LLC please contact Emma Watton on +44(0)1524 593038 or e.watton@lancaster.ac.uk www.lancaster.ac.uk/lums/ lancaster-leadership-centre
MSc Leadership Practice and Responsibility The LLC’s flagship specialist programme, this new MSc is designed to equip practicing managers with the relevant skills, knowledge and mindset to lead the responsible, sustainable businesses of today and tomorrow. Key features of the programme include: • A blend of face-to-face and online modules that are supported by online learning forums, webinars and action learning sets that address everyday leadership issues; • The opportunity to engage with an international network of like-minded managers, to explore responsibility issues and challenges from across the world;
• Experiential learning to enhance leadership practice; • A major leadership challenge to develop leadership capability. For further information visit www.lancaster.ac.uk/lums/ business/executive-education/ open-executive/leadershippractice-responsibility
Developing globally In July 2014, the LLC was delighted to announce that LUMS had been accepted as a member of the United Nations’ Globally Responsible Leadership Initiative (GRLI). The initiative involves a select group of pioneering companies and education institutions, engaged hands-on in developing a next generation of globally responsible leaders. The GRLI challenges the issues of the company for the 21st Century, the mission of business schools and other education institutions, and the process for cultural change in organisations. LUMS is one of only four business schools in the UK to work with the GRLI on this agenda.
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LUMS news and developments
Small Business Charter Award LUMS is a trailblazer member of the Small Business Charter Award scheme, which has helped over 4,700 students to find work placements in Britain’s exciting micro-business and start-up sector. More than 800 new businesses have been started as a result of Small Business Charter schools and a further 8,000 small businesses have received direct help from them. In June this year, Lancaster University attained the Small Business Charter Gold Award – one of only three – in recognition
Supporting regional growth across the UK LUMS’ track record of translating world class research into programmes with proven economic impact led to the School being approached by the Cabinet Office in 2013, to develop a Regional Growth Fund bid. The Wave 2 Growth Hub (W2GH) programme is the result of this bid, which secured £32m in funding. Under the directorship of Professor Ellie Hamilton, who co-founded LUMS’ Institute for Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Development, the funding was allocated to 15 UK city regions, including Tees Valley, Reading, Oxford and Plymouth.
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of the role it has played in helping to kick-start British enterprise. Professor Sue Cox, Dean of LUMS, and Gill Hall, one of the School’s Entrepreneurs in Residence and managing director of Butler’s Farmhouse Cheeses, represented LUMS at the Downing Street awards ceremony.
Gill Hall and Professor Sue Cox (right) receiving the award
Professor Mark E. Smith, Vice-Chancellor of Lancaster University, said: “Higher Education has a great deal to offer in fostering growth and encouraging innovation throughout the SME community. With this award, our Management School
has been recognised as a real national asset to the economy. Lancaster University is relentless in its quest to engage with, and develop, external businesses and organisations, coupling such work to its core academic excellence.”
The W2GH programme’s remit is to promote regional economic growth by enabling SMEs in the participating city areas to create jobs and increase their productivity and competitiveness. This is being accomplished by improving the use of integrated, smarter and more effective business support hubs. W2GH activities are overseen by a Programme Board, chaired by the Dean of LUMS, Professor Sue Cox. The Board includes representatives from the Cabinet Office and from the Departments for Business, Innovation and Skills, and Communities and Local Government. The W2GH programme team, along with Lancaster researchers, have worked to develop and deliver a series of workshops, monitoring visits and strategic documentation that support the growth hubs in their regional SME growth plans.
Map of participating city regions
The programme will run until 31st March 2015, with evaluation activity continuing into 2017. For further details please visit www.lancaster.ac.uk/ lums/wave2
AMBASSADOR | OCTOBER 2014
China Catalyst: Lancaster’s innovation bridge As the Chinese market becomes more sophisticated and technology-oriented, there is an opportunity to collaboratively develop products and services to better serve this demand. Lancaster University’s China Catalyst Programme is helping UK SMEs to do this with the help of students on a new two-year MSc International Innovation, directed by Helen Fogg from LUMS’ Institute for Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Development. The Lancaster China Catalyst Programme aims to support UK-Chinese business partnerships on a collaborative programme of R&D, leading to the development of new technology-based products and services. Part-funded by the Higher Education Funding Council, Lancaster University and Lancashire County Council, the programme will provide UK companies with a bespoke support platform worth over £70,000 to plan and develop their commercialisation projects.
Mark Beresford (FT MBA, 2001) has been working on the Catalyst programme since October 2013 and is currently focusing on UK business recruitment. “As an innovative route into the Chinese and global markets, this is a fantastic opportunity for ambitious companies and students to work together on international collaborative R&D projects that align with the University’s areas of expertise.”
LUMS, the Faculty of Science and Technology, and the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.
Examples of joint projects include product and market development of a new carbon fibre city car chassis for distributed manufacture in China, and development of robust energy storage systems designed for off-grid energy storage applications using emerging technologies (i.e. Li-Po).
With a groundbreaking curriculum that blends academic studies, company projects with UK and Chinese businesses, and cultural experiences, graduates of this Masters degree will be highly employable.
Postgraduate resource will be provided by students undertaking the MSc International Innovation, which has been developed by a cross-disciplinary team within
Students choose from five specialist pathways (Computer Science, Design, Engineering, Entrepreneurship and Environmental Science), complete a six-month company project in China, receive intensive language and cultural tuition and are awarded a £16,000 tax-free bursary to help with living costs.
This exciting programme, now accepting applications for October 2015, gives students the opportunity to become part of Lancaster’s innovation bridge. For more information visit www. lancaster.ac.uk/china-catalyst
These companies will enhance their international innovation capacity, access a highly skilled postgraduate team resource, and potentially unlock significant amounts of match funding from the Guangdong Provincial Department of Science and Technology (GDST).
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LUMS news and developments
Capitalising on London connections With journey times from just over two hours by train and more alumni being located there than in any other city, the benefits of accessing the UK’s capital are being realised more and more by members of the LUMS community.
of our links with The Work Foundation, which became part of Lancaster University in 2010. One of the leading independent, international authorities on work and its future, The Work Foundation also provides an exclusive central London location.
Recent developments in London have included the progression
This has been the venue for a range of LUMS activities, including
a number of alumni events, and is now starting to feature in the delivery of LUMS programmes.
The place to be when you’re working in IT The technology sector in London is growing faster than in California, according to recent research by South Mountain Economics and Bloomberg Philanthropies. LUMS’ MSc Information Technology, Management and Organisational Change (ITMOC) programme now incorporates an innovative three-day London Study Tour which, explains Programme Director, Dr Martin Brigham, “is designed to further students’ professional development and knowledge of cutting edge technology and trends across the global IT and digital tech sectors.
The Work Foundation served as a hub for the study tour activities, including an event with ITMOC alumni and a specialist CIO workshop. Olayinka Oni, Chief Technology Officer for Microsoft (Nigeria), gave the keynote address at the workshop, sharing a decade’s worth of experience and insights as a CIO in Nigeria’s finance sector. The tour also incorporated attendance at one of the world’s largest Cloud and Big Data conferences, and culminated with
a visit to Google’s Campus London, based in the capital’s Silicon Roundabout. Videos of the ITMOC study tour, guest practitioner series and London alumni event are viewable on the LUMS website: www.lancaster.ac.uk/lums/study/ masters/programmes/itmoc/ video-gallery Alumni are invited to contact Dr Martin Brigham if they are in a position to support future ITMOC study tours in London or to speak to ITMOC students at Lancaster. Email m.brigham@lancaster.ac.uk
The London Study Tour is a unique feature of the ITMOC programme, and complements the researchled teaching and the programme’s extensive guest practitioner speaker series at Lancaster”. This year’s tour was run to coincide with London Technology Week: an annual showcase of over 200 events for the creative tech, financial tech, retail tech and gaming sectors.
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ITMOC gathering in London, June 2014. Photograph by Gemala Wiradinta, ITMOC student.
AMBASSADOR | OCTOBER 2014
Lancaster MBA to be delivered jointly in London LUMS is bringing its expertise in business education to London, delivering some of its Full-time MBA modules at The Work Foundation. Three elements of the Full-time MBA programme will be based there: the Accounting module, careers events and the Corporate Challenge. The rest of the MBA teaching will remain in Lancaster.
global environment of the capital; it will also give them the opportunity to be involved with an organisation that has excellent links with many blue-chip companies and policy makers in government.”
“We are looking to use our assets to everyone’s best advantage,” said Chris Saunders, Director of the Full-time MBA.
Additionally, LUMS is extending its careers offerings as part of the London move. This emphasis on increasing employment opportunities for students is at the heart of the decision to bring the Lancaster MBA to The Work Foundation.
“Whilst the majority of MBA teaching will continue to be delivered at Lancaster, a beautiful natural location for teaching elements such as the Mindful Manager, using our London location means that our students are learning finance in the heart of one the world’s most dynamic financial centres.” “The decision to run part of the Lancaster MBA at The Work Foundation is welcome on a number of fronts,” said Geraint Johnes, Director of The Work Foundation. “It will give students an experience of working in the
“The London location improves employment opportunities for both national and international students,” said Chris. “The South East is the UK’s recruitment hub and therefore our students will benefit from additional networking opportunities from a London location. Many international companies have their UK offices in London, so our international students have increased opportunities to develop relationships with
relevant individuals at these companies before they complete their studies.” MBA students will spend the last two months of their course in London, completing the Corporate Challenge. Students will first study project management at The Work Foundation before entering a London corporation to gain firsthand experience of senior-level strategic decision-making. Not only will the London location have a beneficial effect on the calibre of organisation students will gain their experience with, it’s hoped that being in London at the end of the course will increase students’ opportunities to network and gain employment in advance of completing their studies. For information on Lancaster’s MBA programmes, including details of alumni scholarships which are worth between £6,500 and £26,000, visit www.lancaster. ac.uk/lums/study/mba
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Department profile
Marketing
journals, as well as through international, interdisciplinary conference presentations.
Lancaster’s Marketing Department is ranked as the UK’s number one in the 2015 Complete University Guide, achieving this top position for the second consecutive year. The country’s oldest Marketing Department, it has a well-established reputation and has played a pivotal role in the development of the academic subject.
Marketing at Lancaster is characterised by its critical approach to the subject area. Our philosophy encourages critical appraisal and evaluation rather than the acceptance of unconvincing principles. This approach to research feeds through to our approach to teaching, where we ask our students to engage with an intellectually challenging agenda and the critical appraisal of material.
The Department has a vibrant research culture, with specialisms in the key areas of consumer research, business marketing and purchasing, market studies and international marketing. We have one of the largest groups of marketing academics in the UK and we disseminate our research through top international
In the early years, the Department’s teaching was entirely focused in a successful MA programme with a strong project component based on ‘real-world’ company problems. The Department started a successful undergraduate degree scheme in Marketing and in 1994 launched a new Advertising and Marketing degree. In September 2004, the MSc Advanced Marketing Management was launched; unique in its focus on candidates with significant academic or work-based experience of marketing. A new MSc Marketing, to start in the 2015/6 academic year, is the latest exciting development.
Professor Maria Piacentini, Head of Department
We also have a thriving PhD programme, and our doctoral students pursue research in areas
close to the Department’s main research strengths. Our engagement with industry and alumni has always been a valued part of our activities, and feeds into our teaching and research. Many staff members work closely with marketing practitioners to ensure that the research we undertake has relevance for both commercial and public-sector organisations. In great part this has been helped by the positive and beneficial relationship with MA Marketing alumnus Gian Fulgoni, Chairman of comScore, Inc., which has provided a catalyst for rethinking how we engage with the business community. A substantial donation from Gian Fulgoni led to the naming of the Fulgoni Chair in Marketing, in 2011, currently held by Professor Margaret Hogg. Further developments in the relationship have resulted in an arrangement which allows LUMS students access to comScore’s data platform, a valuable tool in their studies. We are also working closely with the Careers Team to develop an employability module for our undergraduate students, ensuring that they are engaging with the issues around employability as they prepare for their roles in marketing practice. www.lancaster.ac.uk/lums/ marketing/
Marketing Department alumni facts 1970 Year of first graduating cohort
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Nationalities represented
2701 Alumni of Marketing Department programmes 8
AMBASSADOR | OCTOBER 2014
Saatchi and LUMS Around four years ago, Kevin Roberts, CEO at Saatchi & Saatchi, started working with Dr Peter Lenney, of LUMS’ Marketing Department, on the delivery of the signature module of Lancaster’s Full-time MBA programme: the Mindful Manager. In Kevin’s component of the module, the class worked on the development of Saatchi & Saatchi’s business strategy ‘for real’ and live. Kevin was impressed by the quality of input, and ideas generated by the MBA students have become major business decisions enacted by the agency. The connection with the Lancaster MBA has also resulted in student visits to Saatchi & Saatchi’s Charlotte Street offices, and this year two MBA students completed their Corporate Challenge with
the agency, working on its B2B offering and identifying a potential new client. Building on the initial, positive MBA relationship, Kevin Roberts and Global Talent Project Manager for Saatchi & Saatchi London, Adam Armstrong, were keen to take up the opportunity for undergraduate and postgraduate Marketing students to work on projects for Saatchi & Saatchi. Adam commented that LUMS students are “some of the smartest students we’ve ever worked with, and at Saatchi & Saatchi we want to work with the best.” LUMS students have subsequently completed a range of highly
successful projects, and some have been recruited to internship and employment positions with the agency. Most recently, two LUMS graduates were hired after successfully completing the Saatchi & Saatchi Academy in London this summer. Kevin is keen to make the most of Lancaster graduates, saying that they “come out of Lancaster with great discipline, rigour and a great framework; they know their stuff and have a great attitude”. Kevin Roberts will be our guest speaker at this year’s Professor Sir Roland Smith CEO Lecture, in London on 13th November.
New MSc Marketing The impact of the internet, social networks and the generation of multi-media content for many company websites are making the core skills associated with the marketing discipline more valuable to employers than ever before. Many marketing, public relations, events, managerial and business development roles increasingly require graduates to have an excellent understanding of complex markets and market offerings.
The new MSc Marketing is designed to develop marketing professionals in the theory and practice of markets, marketing and consumer behaviour. As a pre-experience programme we welcome applicants from a variety of backgrounds, encouraging them to combine their current areas of expertise or specialism with an understanding of: • What markets are and how they work; • The theories and tools that identify interesting and unfolding
consumer practices as a way of understanding how new markets might be created; • The theories, tools and devices of marketing practice that enable firms to connect with and shape markets. Students choose from three pathways, supporting careers in marketing and public relations, organisational management or entrepreneurial ventures. For more information, contact Dr Katy Mason k.j.mason@lancaster.ac.uk
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Alumni interview
The road to Wembley Football is no longer just for the boys. The London Olympics in 2012 brought new audiences to women’s football, and with more than 1.3m players nationwide, ‘the beautiful game’ is now England’s biggest female participation sport. Getting women’s football even more firmly on the radar is the key priority for Lancaster BBA graduate Sissel Gynnild Hartley, who joined the Football Association (The FA) as Marketing Manager for women’s football in December last year. Sissel had previously spent four years in brand management with Johnson & Johnson, her BBA placement employer, responsible for a portfolio of health care products such as Listerine.
Sissel Gynnild Hartley at the Wembley media desk
“I think there are a lot of assumptions that women’s football may not be as good as men’s football or the atmosphere won’t be as good,” says Sissel. “But once people go and watch a League game, they think it is actually back to what football used to be about – you can get quite close to the players and the action. You don’t have a lot of diving or drama of that kind – just good old football, of a really high quality. I think that’s why we’re seeing such high growth in attendance.” With tv coverage of the sport growing alongside year-on-year attendance at matches, The FA has this year expanded the WSL, adding a second division with a further 10 clubs. The League is run on a franchise model, Sissel explains:
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At The FA, she faces a very different set of marketing challenges. From her base at Wembley Stadium, she looks after the marketing of the prime competition events: the FA Women’s Super League (WSL), set up in 2011 as the female equivalent of the Premier League, the FA Women’s Cup and the England Women’s team.
“The 18 clubs in the WSL all sign a contract with The FA, and we then look after those clubs, meeting with them on a monthly basis. I go through the marketing activity, and create the overall strategy for the League that they execute locally.” Norwegian-born Sissel is a long-time Liverpool fan (Liverpool Ladies were 2013 WSL champions), and expenses-paid access to women’s league games across England is one of the perks of the job – as are priority tickets for other events that take place at Wembley. “Marketing a product that people love so much is a complete joy. Whatever you are marketing, you get very involved in the product you are trying to sell, but it’s even better when it’s also something
that you are personally very passionate about.” She was therefore thrilled to be offered the role at The FA, against tough competition from others with the background in football that she lacked. “Having worked in FMCG marketing at Johnson & Johnson was pure gold, though – that’s what got me the job,” she says. Her BBA training has played a vital part in giving her the versatility required to switch roles, and she singles out organisational skills, the ability to manage multiple deadlines, and teamwork as key aspects of her BBA that she has drawn on from day one: “The degree sets you up for a really great start in your career: it felt like
AMBASSADOR | OCTOBER 2014
England Women’s team. Pictured at a match v Sweden, 3rd August 2014.
I was moving from one working environment to another.” She has another reason to be thankful she chose LUMS. Through her love of rowing, she met and has this summer married fellow rower Paul Hartley, a Lancaster Law graduate who now works in the City as a marine liabilities insurance underwriter. Sissel herself no longer rows, as the demands of work make earlymorning training sessions on the river impractical, but working out in the Wembley gym at lunchtime, and also running marathons, ensures she keeps pretty fit! For the foreseeable future, her life is very much here in the UK: “I certainly want to stay here and prove myself in this role and do my bit to drive women’s football forward. Hopefully I’ll continue to exceed the targets set, and I’ll be working towards a promotion,
whenever that comes.” Her advice to others wanting to work in football or sports marketing? “Go out and get a solid background in marketing – and to be honest, the bigger and more well-known the companies you can work for, the better. Having just recruited for a marketing executive post which attracted around 400 applicants, I’d say the more you can do to stand out from the crowd, the better. Showing a real passion for the sport is important – and of course making sure you really do your research about the organisation and the position you’re applying for. Do all of that, and combine it with a First or 2:1 from Lancaster, and you should stand a very good chance.”
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Alumni news
Celebrating 50 years of making a difference 2014 is a landmark year for Lancaster University. LUMS alumni are invited to continue participating in the events and activities that are being organised in celebration of the University’s 50th anniversary, and in recognition of the impact made by the University through its staff, students and alumni.
BBA 20th birthday The 20th anniversary of our BBA and Euro BBA Management degree programmes was celebrated in style with four connected events in November 2013 and the unveiling of a striking new work of art for the LUMS building in Spring this year. We were delighted to involve over 600 BBA alumni, students and staff in the celebration activities, which also included a dedicated Facebook page and BBA-branded boomerangs!
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Anniversary activities will officially continue until March 2015, culminating in an event to mark the installation of the Rt Hon Alan Milburn as Lancaster University’s third Chancellor.
For more information about the 50th anniversary, visit www.lancaster.ac.uk/50 – and look out for updates via our e-newsletters and event invitations.
Alumni photos on Happy memories or couldn’t make it?
Visit our Flickr site for photos of the many LUMS alumni events organised around the world: flickr.com/photos/lums-caer Thank you to Martyn Blakeley (BSc Finance & Management Studies, 2012), Laurie Borlace (BBA Management, 2008), Samantha Harland (BA Management & Organisation, 2010), Kyle McQueen (BBA Management, 2012), Smita Patel (BBA Management/ North America – Australasia, 2008) and
Beth Powell (BBA Management, 2013) who volunteered their time to star in an alumni photo shoot aimed at inspiring current students making steps towards their own careers. We hope to involve more alumni in similar projects in the future, so get practicing your best smiles!
AMBASSADOR | OCTOBER 2014
Valuable link for alumnus and LUMS Toby Stanbrook, who graduated from Lancaster in 2000 with a BBA European Management (French), returned to LUMS to give second-year undergraduates tips on how to make the most of their placements. Toby, who is now a partner at Mazars LLP and UK Head of Accounting and Outsourcing, talked to the students about how they could build on this experience for their future careers. His visit was part of a programme of talks and activities designed to prepare students for the industrial placements that form the third year of their degrees. As a LUMS alumnus, Toby was able to relate directly to the student audience and to exemplify a graduate success story – someone who was in the same position as them a few years ago and who has built on that experience to forge a successful career.
His presentation was delivered with humour and included insights from his own career as well as tips from students on placement with Mazars LLP. When asked what he sees as being the benefits of a strong relationship with LUMS, Toby explained that as an international partnership delivering audit, tax and advisory solutions, Mazars LLP recruits students into both placement and graduate positions. Through regular contribution to careers initiatives at LUMS, he is therefore keen to raise the profile of Mazars LLP with the School’s high-calibre student body and to promote opportunities within the firm. He also believes that universities can play a pivotal role in helping companies develop themselves and therefore is keen to foster a mutually beneficial relationship between Mazars LLP and LUMS.
On a personal level, Toby sees the relationship as an opportunity to further his own intellectual development, through engagement with the School’s leading academic and entrepreneurial colleagues. He also explained that “it has been very enjoyable to spend more time in Lancaster and to reintroduce myself to the reasons why I had such a great time here first time around”. Rory Daly, LUMS Placements Manager, commented on Toby’s input: “It is always a pleasure to welcome Toby back to LUMS. His professionalism and personal integrity are obvious to the students and he shares key messages with them by continually reflecting on his own career development. He is a proud ambassador for LUMS and we are very grateful for his continued support.” Toby can be contacted by email Toby.Stanbrook@mazars.co.uk
Rory Daly with Toby Stanbrook
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Alumni resources
Careers For alumni looking for support with getting a graduate job or making a career change, resources include Careers Adviser help, practice psychometric tests, graduate job listings and a range of careers videos.
for entrepreneurs and new enterprise.
Budding entrepreneurs can access the University’s ecosystem of support
Details online at: www. lancaster.ac.uk/alumni/ alumni-careers
Alumni who are more established in their careers are invited to share their experience with current students and to access our recruitment services for vacancy promotion.
Key Note alumni discount Key Note provides thousands of comprehensive and easily accessible reports spanning every major market. LUMS alumni can access a 50% discount when purchasing one-off market reports or any company reports, people reports or leads lists. Email your order details to Catherine Cable ccable@keynote.co.uk or call 0845 504 0452, quoting the code LUMS14CCALUM.
Access business information online... for free! LUMS graduates can get free access to the alumni edition of the EBSCO database Business SourceÂŽ. This includes publications in nearly every area of business and full text sources ranging from general periodicals to trade publications and top management journals. For access details, email: LUMSalumni@lancaster.ac.uk
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Proof of degree Duplicate degree certificates and/or transcripts can be requested via Lancaster University Student Registry: www.lancaster.ac.uk/sbs/ registry/Certifcates.htm
AMBASSADOR | OCTOBER 2014
Achieving work-life balance Britain now has the longest working hours in the EU and the second longest (behind the US) in the developed world, yet our productivity per capita is the weakest in the G7. In addition, the leading cause of sickness absence in the UK is workplace stress. So, lack of balance and flexibility in employees’ lives is not good either for the growth of our economy or the health of our workforce. Even in 1851, the social reformer John Ruskin suggested that balance was essential for working people: “in order that people may be happy in their work, these three things are needed: they must be fit for it, they must not do too much of it, and they must have a sense of success in it.” The good news is that many companies and public sector bodies are beginning to understand the need for shorter working hours, and more flexible working arrangements. In June of this year, the law was dramatically changed to extend the ‘right to request’ flexible working to all employees and not just those with children. The evidence is that people who choose to work more flexibly (e.g. partly from home and partly from a central office environment) are more job satisfied, have fewer sickness days and are more productive. Although we have the technology available (PCs, Skype, mobiles, video conferencing etc.), flexible working does create some
Professor Sir Cary Cooper, CBE, is Distinguished Professor of Organisational Psychology and Health in LUMS. In June 2014, he was knighted for his services to social science, and in September he was voted HR Magazine’s Most Influential UK Thinker 2014.
challenges (learning how to work more remotely, managers having to learn how to manage people more remotely, for example). But as Mark Twain wrote: “if you always do what you always did, you’ll always get what you always got!” There are several ways in which individuals can achieve greater work-life balance. First, ensure that every week you spend at least one or two days leaving work by 5pm at the latest, organising to take your partner and/or kids out to the gym or swimming or for a walk or dinner. Investing in your family is fundamental to your long-term wellbeing.
Second, if you can, try to work more flexibly, either partly from work and home or a short condensed week. You will not only see more of your family but you will also end up being more productive. Third, don’t work long hours in the office to show ‘face time’, if you finish what you have to do, go home – it’s about getting your objectives achieved not hanging around until 8pm to show commitment! Remember, work is a means to an end, not an end in itself. As Woody Allen once quipped: “I don’t want to achieve immortality through my work. I want to achieve it by not dying!”
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Student consulting projects LUMS works with a range of organisations which have a business issue that can be dealt with through a student project. Typically we run over 140 consulting projects each year, in a choice of business areas such as marketing, planning and strategy, project management, human resources, logistics, IT change and e-business.
alumni are facing could translate into research projects. To find out more about how we may be able to help you, contact studentprojects@lancaster.ac.uk and don’t forget to mention that you are one of our alumni!
These projects are a fantastic resource to help managers obtain insight into a business issue and to inform strategic decision-making.
You can also read more about our student consulting projects and view the projects calendar on the LUMS website: www.lancaster. ac.uk/lums/business/studentconsulting-projects
We are always keen to hear how business issues that
Patrick Wiegering, BSc Marketing 2013, was part of a team of students who completed a project for Turtle Wax The overall aim of the project was to investigate the retail environment in which car care products were purchased, explore the shopping experience and identify the types of customers purchasing in the various channels. The project involved both secondary and primary research (in-store interviews, accompanied shopping and an on-line questionnaire). Here Patrick writes about the value of the project experience: The Market Research and Consultancy project enabled me to prove that I was ready to make the transition from student to practitioner. It demonstrated my ability to produce scientifically grounded original thinking and gave me a competitive advantage in the employment market: work experience.
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I now work for Hasbro Inc., as an assistant/associate manager in their Global Consumer Insights department. I am in charge of building up the continuous research function as well as assisting in larger strategic initiatives within the toy industry. Although the scale of my research for Hasbro is a lot broader than that conducted during the student project, the essence remains the same: using original thinking to identify key trends which can generate actionable strategic insights which are powerful enough to change industries.
Lesley Barratt, Marketing Controller at Turtle Wax Europe commented: “Turtle Wax has been delighted with the project work undertaken by Lancaster University marketing students over several years and I would highly recommend working with them.�
Patrick Wiegering
Get involved with LUMS There are many ways to stay involved with LUMS, which can benefit your personal and professional development and also make a real difference to the lives of others in the LUMS community.
So why not… Share your experience of Lancaster with prospective students – write a short account of your time here in an Alumni Profile for the LUMS website, or join our network of Alumni Advisers to applicants (recent graduates).
Join our Career Contacts network and provide LUMS students with invaluable advice about your professional role, the recruitment process you went through or the organisation you work for.
Donate to Lancaster projects and development.
Commission a student project or placement, or look to LUMS students to fill your graduate job vacancies.
Promote LUMS via your networks – spread the word about the quality of our teaching, research
Be a guest speaker for a student event or module.
and student life at Lancaster.
For details of the above opportunities and more, visit www.lancaster.ac.uk/lums/alumni/giving-back
Student business team mentoring opportunity LUMS entered three teams in the 2014 Universities Business Challenge Worldwide, with all three reaching the national semi-finals (out of 300 teams). The UBC Worldwide is the world’s longest established simulation-based competitive challenge for undergraduates, designed to develop employability and enterprise skills. Supported by the UK’s leading universities and graduate employers, more than 20,000 students have benefitted from participating in the UBC Worldwide over the past 15 years. LUMS students’ success was largely due to the effort and determination of the teams, but also to the great support the teams received from staff and alumni in preparing for the competition. LUMS students enter many similar competitions and there is an opportunity for alumni to get
involved by offering advice via email and phone, by mentoring team captains or by sharing general business insights. If you would like to use your experience and knowledge to support LUMS students in this way, please contact Rory Daly r.daly@lancaster.ac.uk
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