News Archive
Insight into leadership clinches Durham MBA Journal Scholarship Competition
(17 January 2005)
Barbour’s head of marketing, Claire Saunders has taken the top spot in this year’s Journal-Durham Business School MBA scholarship competition, after waxing lyrical about the business benefits of great leadership.
In her winning essay, Ms Saunders reflected on the various leadership styles she has witnessed in a marketing career spanning agency, retail and manufacturing environments. Ms Saunders, who lives in Humshaugh in Northumberland, started her working life with Saatchi & Saatchi, before returning to the North East in the early 1990s. She is currently responsible for managing internal and external communications at the internationally renowned clothing manufacturer. Worth more than £11,000, the part-time MBA programme covers finance, managing in global and competitive environments, people management, methods of inquiry and management of information. Part-time MBA students at Durham Business School also have the chance to develop the ‘softer’ attributes that they need to succeed as managers. Ms Saunders is already planning her busy new life, which will see her combine her regular job and family life with intense study from January. Like many past winners, Ms Saunders is looking forward to the chance to learn from world-class academics and develop a broader understanding of business issues. She said: “I am absolutely delighted to have won the competition and am really pleased to have an opportunity to stretch myself intellectually and widen my skills base. Marketing never operates in a vacuum and I am looking forward to working alongside people from different walks of life and sharing their experiences. “I have no doubt that the programme will be invaluable to my work at Barbour; helping me take fresh ideas back into the business at an exciting time when we are experiencing dramatic change. “I work with a fantastic team and I am very grateful to them – and my family - for their pledges of support as I start the MBA.” Anne Woodhead, part-time MBA programme director at Durham Business School, adds: “This is the seventh year of the competition and, once again, the standard of entries was excellent. “Claire scored highly with each of the judges and everyone was very impressed by her ability to reflect critically on her own experiences. Her essay was interesting, relevant and very engaging. I have no doubt that she will gain immensely from the programme and very much enjoy the experience.” The judging panel consisted of Dr Gioia Pescetto, director of taught programmes at the Business School; Brian Aitken, editor of The Journal; Jeanette Purcell, chief executive of the Association of MBAs and previous scholarship winner, Martin Williams. For further information on the part-time Durham MBA programme call 0191 334 5533.
