Meet the winner: CMI’s Chartered Manager of the Year

When we asked Tony Stonebridge CMgr FCMI to describe his purpose, he told us it was to be a catalyst for positive change through practical leadership. If you think that goal suggests someone closely aligned with CMI values, we’d noticed that too. At April’s President’s Dinner, we were delighted to announce Tony, who works as lead subject matter expert in distribution and fulfilment at Wickes, as our Chartered Manager of the Year 2025.

Tony describes himself as an advocate for lifelong learning. He’s a Chartered Fellow who holds an Executive MBA, a Postgraduate Diploma in Business Administration and a CMI Level 5 qualification in Management and Leadership. In his words, he brings “courage and open-mindedness to leadership, shaped both by professional experience and a passion for adventure beyond the workplace”.

Eco-bricks

Indeed, pinning Tony down can be a challenge – he’s the type to throw himself into skydiving or jet skiing. When we first did so, back in 2024, he was brimming with excitement about a recent trip to Cape Town, part of his MBA, which had “touched my head, my heart and my soul”. 

There, Tony had witnessed the founder of a non-profit called ChangeMakersHub demonstrate the ‘eco-brick’ concept, an initiative to repurpose plastic and use it to benefit the local community. He was soon back at Wickes working to instigate sustainability initiatives at his workplace. 

“ChangeMakersHub showed me I had an opportunity to make a small impact and for that to grow,” he told us. 

We were equally struck by Tony’s enthusiasm and his resilience. In 2013, he’d been made redundant from a warehouse manager role. He used that experience as a turning point to launch his leadership journey. Tony soon joined Wickes. 

He first came across the Chartered Manager accreditation and the CMI Level 5 apprenticeship when he was assistant general manager there. He was considering how to support colleagues going through the apprenticeship process and decided the solution was to do it himself. He was 44 at the time. 

“It dawned on me that walking in their shoes would help,” he said. 

“A highly visible ambassador”

Pursuing an apprenticeship ended up being another key turning point in Tony’s career. 

“It changed the way I think, act and behave, whether professionally or personally,” he said. “It reshapes you as part of the process.” And he was so inspired by the experience of completing Level 5 that he jumped straight into pursuing a Level 7 qualification.