President’s Dinner: CMI announces 2017 Gold Medal Winner

16 May 2017 -

Sir Charlie Mayfield, chairman of the John Lewis Partnership, has received the CMI Gold Medal Award, one of the highest honours in the management profession

At CMI’s annual President’s Dinner event last night Sir Charlie received the annual Gold Medal Award in recognition of his outstanding contribution to leadership and management throughout his career.

Sir Charlie, who has served as the chairman of the John Lewis Partnership since 2007, was presented with the Gold Medal by CMI’s royal patron, HRH Prince Philip, in one of his final royal engagements before he retires from public life.

John Lewis is regularly praised for being great retailer and a positive example of the benefits of employee ownership. Under Sir Charlie’s leadership, they have also been at the fore front of ‘bricks and mortar’ retailers in embracing rather than resisting the digital age.

Announcing the award, CMI president Mike Clasper said: ““Sir Charlie Mayfield has long been a pioneer in leadership and management, and exemplifies the qualities that are now redefining the role of business in society.

“His vision, as well as his significant contribution to both the public and private sector, make him an outstanding role model to leaders and managers across the UK, and we are honoured to recognise his achievements with this award.”

CMI chief executive Ann Francke said: “Our Gold Medal Winner has worked tirelessly to raise the people’s people skills most recently through his founding of the Productivity Council. His Royal Highness Prince Philip has also played an important role, helping over 2.5 million young people to develop better team and leadership skills through his Duke of Edinburgh awards scheme.

“And yet, there is still so much more to do. Indeed, when you Google my manager, most of what comes up is negative - my manager is lazy, rude, harassing me are three of the most popular searches. At CMI we know that most people still view their bosses as ineffective - and as a source of stress, rather than as someone trusted who helps them to realize their potential. That’s largely because four out of five managers are still untrained, what we call accidental managers- and unaware of their impact on others.

“But we know the right people skills and behaviors can be learned - great managers are indeed made, not born.”

CMI’s Gold Medal Award has been running for over 35 years and recognises the greatest accomplishments in the management and leadership, with recent awards going to leading business figures such as Paul Polman, CEO of Unilever; Dame Carolyn McCall DBE, the CEO of EasyJet; and Jimmy Wales, founder and CEO of Wikipedia.