CCL Partnership with Mars Wins Top Talent Development Award

The Center for Creative Leadership (CCL)® is pleased to announce that our partnership with Mars Corporation for talent development has been awarded a gold-level Excellence in Practice 2017 Award from the European Foundation for Management Development.

The award — the highest of its kind in the annual competition — recognizes the innovative and longstanding partnership between CCL and Mars designed to increase the readiness of high-potential and ready-now leaders at the organization.

Together, the 2 organizations accomplished a 20% increase in Mars’ promotion-ready senior leaders, with program participants being promoted to senior-level positions at twice the rate of similar high-potential leaders. Alumni of the training program have generated nearly $15 million in incremental earnings for the business since 2014 alone, and almost 9,400 key stakeholders have been influenced by program alumni.

“CCL promises to deliver results that matter for all clients, and our truly collaborative partnership with the talented women and men at Mars shows just how powerful those results can be,” CCL President and CEO John R. Ryan said. “We are delighted that our innovative work together has earned this prestigious award.”

Mars and CCL both celebrated the news, which was announced this week at a conference in Berlin, Germany.

“Mars is thrilled to receive this award that recognizes the mutually beneficial partnership we have had for 10-plus years with the Center for Creative Leadership,” Mars’ Global Director for Leadership Development Kristin Colber-Baker said.

“People development is at the core of Mars, Inc. By partnering with a world-class organization such as CCL, we’re able to offer tangible evidence of our commitment to our associates. And, at the same time, to develop leaders who deliver extraordinary results.”

Phil Willburn, a Senior Faculty member at CCL, and David Dinwoodie, our VP of Leadership Solutions and Knowledge Sharing, have both been deeply involved in the partnership. They commended Mars Corporation’s “unparalleled” commitment to improving its leadership development and measuring the results of the program.

“We at CCL are honored to receive this award that recognizes the amazing partnership we have had with the Mars Corporation for over a decade,” Willburn and Dinwoodie said. “Mars’ commitment to accelerating the development of their leaders and measuring the ROI of this development is unparalleled in organizations today, and it was our shared values that allowed us to create such an impactful talent development experience.“

The European Foundation for Management Development, or EFMD, is an international, nonprofit based in Belgium with offices in Asia and the Americas. The membership-based organization is comprised of business schools and corporations, with nearly 900 total members in 86 countries. The annual awards recognize “outstanding and impactful leadership & development partnerships” in 5 categories. Mars and CCL received a gold award — the highest available — in the talent development category.

To learn more about our award-winning partnership with Mars Corporation, read our case study, Reversing a Talent Drought while Generating Millions.