Association of Business Schools receives Royal Charter

The Association of Business Schools has today received a Royal Charter from Her Majesty the Queen. The Association, which is the voice of the UK’s business and management education sector, has now become the Chartered Association of Business Schools. It will be using its new status to deliver more value to its members, starting today with the launch of its new website, and in the future through Charter awards programmes.

Using its Royal Charter status, the Chartered ABS will be looking at developing a series of new awards that acknowledge and celebrate the very specific and important contributions business schools make to individuals, businesses and society. The first such award, the Small Business Charter, was launched by the Association in 2014 and the potential for others will be explored in due course.

The new website will be much more interactive and will feature contributions from members and external parties, reflecting the desire of members to have more opportunities for debate and exchange of ideas.

The Association already has a number of new projects up and running which it will deliver under its new name. The Chartered ABS is working in partnership with organisations such as the Chartered Management Institute to produce data and research that articulates the value of business schools. The findings of these projects will be unveiled and discussed at events for members including the Chartered ABS Annual Conference on 9-10 November 2015, in Manchester.

This is an exciting time for the Association which has been making a series of positive changes to take the organisation further forward, including the recent appointments of new members to its senior management team, including Anne Kiem as CEO.

Anne Kiem, Chief Executive, Chartered Association of Business Schools, said:

“I am delighted that we have received the Royal Charter document and can now call ourselves the Chartered Association of Business Schools. This is a significant moment in the history of the organisation. A lot of work went into bringing us to this point and I express gratitude to the Council and especially our Chair, Professor Angus Laing, for getting us to this point. The prestige and recognition that goes with the title signify the importance of business schools. The UK’s business and management education sector represents 1 in 5 university students and contributes £3.25b to the UK economy. We will continue to work very hard with our members to ensure their impact on society and the economy continues to be recognised.”

Professor Angus Laing, Chair, Chartered Association of Business Schools, said:

“The award of a Royal Charter to the ABS reflects the significant work undertaken by the Association in supporting the business school community to contribute to the innovation and growth agenda. Britain's business schools have a distinctive capability to support businesses across the length and breadth of the country through developing high quality managers and fostering high growth businesses. The award of the Royal Charter is appropriate recognition of that role.”