About The Academy

The Academy was originally founded in 1995 by Brian Chernett. The idea was to create a community of business leaders with a shared vision. People who are passionate about responsible leadership; who want to acquire new business skills and knowledge; and who strive to improve the performance of their business. A community of CEOs and MDs who are willing to share their experiences, and through trust and support, help each other achieve extraordinary things. Back in 1996, the Academy started with just 2 groups and 23 members. Today it has a membership of over 400 business leaders from across the UK.

The Academy is made up of a number of groups (over 35 at the present time). Each group has up to 15 members including a chairman. These groups meet once a month with the meetings divided into two sessions. In the morning there is a presentation from an expert speaker. After lunch there is an opportunity for members to draw on the extensive experience of the group and explore and discuss their own business issues. Meetings are held in turn at the premises of each member; this provides an invaluable insight into the businesses that the members run. Between monthly group meetings each member meets with the group chairman for a performance coaching session.

The role of the chairman is a pivotal one. The chairman takes soundings from members on the issues that need to be discussed at the afternoon session of the monthly meeting (something we call 'The Board You Could Never Afford ®'). The morning speakers are organised by the chairman. The chairman acts as a coach and mentor, servant and leader to the group members. The Academy is extremely proud of the contribution that its chairmen make to the success of the organisation and the smooth running of the Academy groups.

Follow the links on this page and others to read our member testimonials and case studies and see what our members have to say about the value of Academy membership.

If you are interested in becoming an Academy Licensee (Chairman) or an Expert Speaker, please follow the appropriate links on the navigation menu to learn more about these options.

Our members, chairmen and expert speakers bring to the Academy: inspiration, best practice, extensive networks, creativity, wisdom, knowledge and expertise.

This powerful resource is there to share and to be shared.

"The leaders who work most effectively, it seems to me, never say 'I.' And that's not because they have trained themselves not to say 'I.' They don't think 'I.' They think 'we'; they think 'team.' They understand their job to be to make the team function. They accept responsibility and don't sidestep it, but 'we' gets the credit... This is what creates trust, what enables you to get the task done."    - Peter Drucker, (1908-1995), one of the leading management thinkers of the 20th Century.