When he was young, Mark dreamed of being a pilot, but colour-blindness put an end to such sky-high aspirations. So he pivoted to a ground-based aviation alternative, earning a PhD in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Bristol.
Pivoting is a key part of business education, as students and other participants seek new skills to enable them to do their current roles better and, for many, to pursue careers in new industries, companies and locations. About 43% of the most recent MBA graduating class of Cambridge Judge Business School performed all three pivots: taking a new function in a different industry sector in a new geographic location.
A journey from aviation to travel to media
Following his aerospace doctorate with airplane maker Airbus Mark then pivoted again to a new career in innovation and strategy – including senior roles at travel company Thomas Cook Group, where he focused on pricing and innovation optimisation, and London-based media company Global (owner of Heart, Classic FM and other leading radio stations, and a big player in outdoor advertising), where he led transformation programmes in his role as Director of Commercial Transformation.
While at Global, Mark became a regular visitor to Cambridge Judge Business School, attending more than a dozen courses offered by the Business School’s Executive Education division on topics such as strategy and disruption taught by faculty including Professor Danny Ralph, Professor Kishore Sengupta and Professor Jaideep Prabhu.
Switching to teaching
Pivoting once again, Mark realised from his Executive Education programmes and other insights that being an educator is what he really wanted to do: so he left Global in 2022 to branch out on his own to teach others some of the lessons he has learned over the past couple of decades.
He founded Turbulence Group, which helps organisations design and implement future-facing innovation strategies using foresight capabilities to help identify emerging threats and opportunities. He is now a Fellow at Cambridge Judge Business School in the Marketing Subject Group.
Instructing on Executive Education AI courses
Coming full circle, Mark now regularly teaches on Executive Education programmes at Cambridge Judge, working alongside other instructors on programmes including Venture Creation and more recently, on a 3-day open programme called Generative Artificial Intelligence: From Hype to Business Impact, which will also be offered in September 2024, December 2024, February 2025 and June-July 2025.
The programme, designed for mid-to-senior level executives, features 3 modules:
1
AI in practice
This module focusses on leadership during times of uncertainly, insights into neural networks, and hands-on experience with AI software.
2
Ethics, AI and the future of work
A module that includes case law on AI, addresses AI bias, as well as an expert panel on experiences deploying AI in organisations.
3
AI and business strategy
This module covers tailoring AI to your organisation’s needs and implementing an AI strategy.
“This programme supports participants in honing the skills required to lead AI-driven initiatives in their business,” says Vesselin Popov, Executive Director of the Psychometrics Centre at Cambridge Judge, who is Academic Programme Director for this Executive Education programme. “These include embracing experimentation, distinguishing opportunity from distraction, managing risk and internal resistance, navigating uncertainty and much more.”
Joining Vesselin and Mark as instructors for the programme are Cambridge Judge faculty:
- David Stillwell, Professor of Computational Social Science
- Matthew Grimes, Professor of Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Futures and Co-Director of the Entrepreneurship Centre
- Stella Pachidi, Assistant Professor in Information Systems,
- Stylianos (Stelios) Kavadias, Margaret Thatcher Professor of Enterprise Studies in Innovation & Growth and Co-Director of the Entrepreneurship Centre.
“It is wonderful to see someone like Mark who embraced our Executive Education programmes as a participant now teaching our programmes and helping the next generations of Executive Education participants,” says Allison Wheeler-Heau, Director (Interim) of Executive Education at Cambridge Judge.
“Mark brings a combination of top-level executive experience and infectious enthusiasm of innovation and business strategy, and his teaching has been warmly received by participants on the programmes he has instructed
A love of golf led to a new adventure
Earlier this year, Mark also launched The Transformation Tour, which uses a golf setting (Mark was a 4-handicap golfer at age 17, and now has a 10 handicap) to teach disruption, innovation and transformation. The golf-and-business sessions have been attended by leaders from organisations including NTT Data, Roche, Unilever, David James Wealth and Adidas.
The sessions include experimenting with situations such as embracing constraints (using only 2 clubs on 3 holes) or teeing off from extreme locations, all designed to stimulate reflection and new perspectives.
“As leaders we have to be comfortable being uncomfortable, to be in unfamiliar circumstances,” Mark told participants in a recent Future Ready day out hosted at Thorpeness golf course on the English coastline in Suffolk. “We need to challenge assumptions: why are there 14 clubs in a golf bag? Why 18 holes on a golf course?”.
Several Cambridge Judge faculty have joined Mark on the golf course, including Professor Danny Ralph, who urged his golfing team to “place small bets and experiments” in tackling the 504-yard Par 5 – which features the course’s widest fairway at Thorpeness to present a rare birdie opportunity on the heather-and-gorse lined back 9. “That’s what we’re asking you to do here today: things you don’t normally do,” said Danny, Professor of Operations Research and Academic Director of the Centre for Risk Studies at the Business School, referring to his team members’ approach to business as reflected in their approach shots to the green and other golf shots.
Challenging assumptions at the core of Mark’s teaching
Among the Transformation Tour’s sponsoring organisations is London-based NeuerEnergy, a firm that helps companies implement net zero plans. The 5-year-old company has participated in the Barclays Scaleup programme at Cambridge Judge, which is also part of the School’s Executive Education division.
“The Transformation Tour is about challenging assumptions, and that’s really important for us as a young business”, says Daniel Taylor, Sales Leader at NeuerEnergy, whose Cambridge Judge instructors last year at the Scaleup programme included Mark Bloomfield and Stelios Kavadias. “Even as a startup you’ve got to challenge the assumptions you’re making, to avoid putting resources into the wrong places. It’s important to challenge the assumptions of yourself as well as your customers.”
Generative Artificial Intelligence: From Hype to Business Impact
This programme will help you gain a deep understanding of AI and how to effectively integrate it into your organisation, whilst navigating legalities and bias.
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