International business school students set to contribute £15.3bn to the UK economy
A new report from the Chartered Association of Business Schools’ International Students Taskforce quantifies, for the first time, the economic contribution international business school students make to the UK.
The 2026 Chartered ABS Fellows announced
We are delighted to have awarded four Chartered ABS Fellowships to individuals from within, and outside, our membership who have made a significant contribution to the Chartered ABS and our mission.
The 2026 Fellows are Professor Katy Mason, Ann Francke OBE, David Meech-Mazumdar, and David Stannard.
Chartered ABS Fellows are nominated by members of the community and awarded by the Chartered ABS Council.
Professor Katy Mason: as President of the British Academy of Management Katy has worked with the Chartered ABS to strengthen collaboration between BAM and the Chartered ABS. In advocating for the sector, we have worked jointly on government consultation responses, partnership initiatives, and on policy positions. Katy has also regularly contributed as a speaker to major Chartered ABS conferences and development programmes, in particular supporting research leadership. She has championed research capacity building, support for early career researchers, and for initiatives that support diversity and wellbeing among business and management academics. She has also actively mentored colleagues across the business school community.
She has also played a key role in the BAM-CMI-Chartered ABS collaboration to deliver the Management Publication of the Year Awards which recognise impactful management research.
Ann Francke OBE: As Chief Executive of the Chartered Management Institute, Ann is a key advocate for the contribution of management and leadership skills, and the role of business schools, in supporting productive and growing businesses. Ann has been a leading lobby voice for management apprenticeships, bringing the Chartered ABS and the CMI together to lobby for continued Level 6 and 7 apprenticeships funding. She is now leading the development of alternative CMI programmes and qualifications for business schools and learners. Ann also regularly speaks at our events and conferences and has initiated joint reports between the two organisations over the years.
Ann has also been instrumental in establishing the BAM-CMI-Chartered ABS Publication of the Year initiative. She also actively supports the Help to Grow: Management programme through her role on the Help to Grow Expert Advisory Council.
David Meech-Mazumdar: David was Chair of the Chartered ABS Professional Managers Committee for five years, during which time he has been hugely supportive of the community through Covid and the tough period of change for professional services in the years that have followed. As Chair he led on the business case for the successful Chartered ABS Professional Services Leadership Programme, which he also co-designed and co-facilitated for two years with David Stannard (below). David has published research on professional services and, as an advocate for professional services, he has written thought-leadership content for Wonkhe and other sector press titles.
David also served on Chartered ABS Council as a co-opted member for five years, where he represented the professional services voice at sector level.
David Stannard: David has been an active and supportive member of the business school professional services community for 20 years. He was co-author of the Chartered ABS report ‘Exploring Professional Services Models in UK Business Schools’, which was a landmark report for the professional services sector. He was Vice Chair of the Chartered ABS Professional Managers Committee for five years and, alongside David Meech-Mazumdar, he co-designed and co-facilitated the Professional Services Leadership Programme. He has been a regular contributor to the Professional Managers Annual Conference which he hosted at the University of Reading in 2026.
