“Incredibly real and deeply meaningful”: meet our Student of the Year

Nelson Mandela famously described education as “the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world”. Business education is no exception. When armed with a deep appreciation for what truly makes a great manager and leader, today’s students will soon become the stewards of tomorrow's workplace, delivering untold change and guiding the next generation of talent. 

As part of the CMI Awards of Excellence, announced at our President’s Dinner, we were delighted to reveal our Student of the Year 2025: James Walker fCMgr of Network Rail. 

This award celebrates the exceptional learners who aren’t just mastering their studies, but also showcasing the vision, drive and skills needed to shape the future of business. 

James is a worthy winner. An accomplished and highly experienced electrical professional, he recently completed his CMI Level 3 Team Leader qualification through Dove Nest Training and says it added language and structure to “a lot of the leadership stuff I'd learned through trial and error over the years”. 

“It gave me a much clearer way to think about how I manage my teams and approach problems, particularly in high-pressure situations,” he explained. “It didn’t just teach me theories; it gave me practical tools that I could immediately apply, whether I was leading the team in York or making decisions in the electrical control room. It has grounded my understanding of what effective leadership actually looks like on the job.”

Hard-won expertise

James has certainly done plenty of that. He began his 23-year career in the electrical industry with an apprenticeship straight from school. Early in his career, he worked in the industrial electrical sector across Australia and New Zealand, specialising in complex projects such as dairy pumping stations and large-scale milk, dairy and food processing facilities. After gaining invaluable international experience, he returned to the UK and joined City of York Council as a commercial electrician, a role that saw him make a significant contribution to civic infrastructure.

It’s a solid reminder that putting in the effort to learn and grow really does pay off

For the past eight years, James has been applying that hard-won expertise at Network Rail. Starting out as an electrical artisan in the organisation’s buildings and civils department, he quickly advanced to become a team leader for the distribution and plant department in York. He was the first person at Network Rail to rise three tiers above their current pay grade, a sign of his strong leadership and operational expertise. Most recently, he has transitioned into a critical role within the electrical control room, a testament to his deep understanding of complex electrical systems – and his ability to thrive in high-stakes environments.