PROFILE
STEVE LUDLOW HEAD OF EXECUTIVE EDUCATION To find out more about Henley’s executive education programmes, click here
A
s Henley’s Head of Executive Education, Steve Ludlow has come
a long way from a childhood spent living above the family hardware shop in rural Hertfordshire.
‘Like many boys, my passions were cars, trains and planes, so it was natural for me to study mechanical engineering at university. ‘But having qualified, it turned out that I wasn’t enough of a detail person to make a good engineer, and I soon discovered that sales and marketing environments suited me better. ‘Sadly though, the company I went to work for went bust, but the experience taught me important lessons about business and management.’ After working as a regional sales engineer for an engineering testing equipment company, Steve moved into management roles and ended up doing an MBA at Hatfield Polytechnic, where he was offered the chance to do some part-time teaching. ‘My MBA shifted me from a need to find out how things work to the even more fascinating topic of how people and organisations work. I also found that I really enjoyed teaching.’ Steve decided to change careers and after several years lecturing in higher education institutions, he was offered a role in executive education at London Business School. Seven years later, he left to lead the Custom Programmes department at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford.
Focus@Henley
‘I enjoyed my time there, but after six successful years, I found myself looking for new challenges, and in 2013, I was asked to lead Executive Education at Henley. ‘I saw that Henley was keen to reposition and grow its executive education work after the restructuring that followed the merger of Henley Management College and the University of Reading. Clearly there were challenges, but I could see lots of good things happening and the potential to build something special.’ Things are clearly on the right track; in 2016 Henley rose to 20th in the FT Executive Education global rankings of combined open and custom programmes – its highest ever ranking.
So what of the future? ‘We face the uncertainties of Brexit and a new US administration, along with increasing competition from other business schools and providers of leadership development, such as private training companies and business consultancies. But there are also shifts in clients’ learning requirements. ‘In the past, business education covered the core “tools” of business, but clients and participants are now more interested in the impact of broader environmental trends like digitalisation and globalisation. As part of the University of Reading, Henley is well placed to respond to this by integrating learning from subjects outside of the business school into executive programmes.
STEVE LUDLOW
‘Henley’s role is not to provide answers, but to help our participants to make sense of their world, and find their own answers. We are facilitators, here to provoke and frame, not simply to teach. We have a great team, exciting plans and the support of the wider school and university, so we face these challenges with confidence, and continue to develop the Henley brand.’
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