Oxford Leadership celebrates 20 years of transforming leaders for good

Oxford Leadership, a global leader in purpose-driven leadership development, is celebrating its 20th anniversary with over one million leaders transformed across 90 countries.

Founded in 2005 by business strategist Brian Bacon, the firm has become one of the most trusted partners to some of the world’s most influential organisations, including McDonald’s, Unilever, Maersk, Telefónica, Adobe and Virgin Media O2.

Oxford Leadership was born from a moment of ethical conviction by its Chairman Brian Bacon. Bacon started the company based on the belief that leaders are the biggest influences for positive social and environmental change. And that when each leader connects their inner personal purpose with their work, real (and lasting) transformation truly happens. Purpose-driven leadership was a ground breaking idea at the time and continues to be integral for the future. Hence, the firm’s mantra, “Transforming Leaders for Good”.

Oxford Leadership’s signature Self-Managing Leadership® (SML) programme helps leaders connect their personal purpose to organisational goals and has proven to increase motivation, improve performance, foster closer team cultures, and unlock breakthroughs and innovation. It is a model that has proven ‘life-changing’ (to quote one Fortune 500 alumni) for over one million people in over 300 companies worldwide.

From dozens of corporate turnarounds to government reform, Oxford Leadership’s impact spans industries and continents.

Highlights include:

McDonald’s realigning global leadership and gaining back consumer trust during its early-2000s downturn.
Unilever embedding purpose into its business model leading the company to become an example for proving profit and positive impact can coexist.
Maersk transforming its culture and strategy during a major business shift, showing that human-centred leadership accelerates operational transformation.
Telefónica training over 2,000 senior leaders in SML, creating a shared leadership language.

As the pace of change accelerates, and leaders find themselves more confused about the future and burning out faster than ever, Oxford Leadership is evolving to meet the demands of a volatile, AI-driven world.

Senior Partner and global client lead Kyle Hermans has introduced Oxford Leadership’s new Transforming Performance process and the Performance Transformation Matrix (PTM), to help leaders and teams learn how to transform while they perform.

‘The biggest myth in business is that you must choose between performance and transformation. Going into the future, that will no longer be an option. The best leaders will have to do both’, says Hermans.

To scale and democratise its positive leadership impact, Oxford Leadership is also launching the Oxford Leadership Hub — a digital platform powered by AI-assisted mentoring and leadership analytics — as well as a Leaders Council, a global mentorship network aiming to certify 1,000 Ethical Performance Mentors by 2027.

‘Transformation doesn’t live in strategy decks. It lives in behaviour — in how people show up to lead every day’, Hermans adds.

Oxford Leadership’s mission remains clear: to make transformation a daily act and leadership a force for societal good.

To mark this milestone, Oxford Leadership is offering a reduced fee on the Self-Managing Leadership® programme.

Early access and updates:

Those who want to be first in the know about the launch of the Oxford Leadership Hub and Leaders Council can sign up here.