Williams Lands Cranfield

What is becoming a very good sign for Team Williams, they have announced a new sponsor.

I think this is terrific news on top of already great news of their sponsorship deals. The team seems to be bouncing back mentally and physically and the money to fund the team seems to be showing up. All good signs in my book. The official announcement:

Written by Williams F1
Tuesday, 11 March 2008

A unique partnership has been announced between the Centre for Customised Executive Development at Cranfield School of Management and the Formula One tTeam, at Williams F1.

The partnership brings together Cranfield’s expertise in management development with Williams F1’s experience of delivering sustained performance in the most competitive of environments, Formula One1 motorsport. Organisations seeking innovative development for their executives can access a range of customised workshops that harness the combined expertise of boththe partners.

Mark Jenkins is Professor of Business Strategy at Cranfield School of Management, and co-author of Performance at the Limit – Business Lessons from Formula 1 Motor Racing and has been instrumental in developing the partnership with Williams. Mark, who has researched performance in Formula One1 motorsport for several years, said, “Formula One1 provides a uniquepowerful example where performance is achieved by unique combinations of people, finance and technologies. It Success in Formula 1 encapsulates many of the challenges faced by today’s organisations and their executives: challenges such as delivering high performance through team-work, accelerating speed to market, sustaining competitive advantage and enhancing innovation and creativity.”

Bill Shedden, Director of Cranfield’s Centre for Customised Executive Development, said, “This partnership between a School of Management and a business that operates under intense, and very public, competitive pressure generates new perspectives for developing executives in the key areas of leadership, innovation and high-performance. It is a collaboration that adds an exciting new dimension to the range of learning experiences we can offer our clients.”

”We’ve long known that the ways in which we manufacture and market our primary product, Formula One racing cars, incorporates processes that have applicability to other businesses”, says Frank Williams, Managing Director of Williams F1. “Through this partnership with Cranfield School of Management we hope to formalise and commercialise our knowledge and add genuine value to the companies and organisations that participate in the Cranfield programme.”.

Cranfield School of Management is a world-class university management school, renowned for its strong links with industry and business. It is committed to providing practical management solutions through a range of activities, including: postgraduate degree programmes, management development, research and consultancy. The Cranfield Centre for Customised Executive Development partners with over 60 corporate and public sector clients each year to improve individual and organisational performance. It is one of the largest providers of customised executive development in Europe.