About us
Led by Swansea University, ION leadership programmes embed permanent and positive change in leadership practice.
The programme has run for the last 14 years and during that time we have supported over 1,900 leaders in over 1,000 businesses to become extraordinary leaders.
For the last 14 years we were funded by Welsh Government via the European Social Fund, but in January 2024, when our funding came to an end, we became part of Swansea University School of Management.
It’s all about impact!
The legacy and impact of the ION leadership programme:
- 94% of delegates believed that attending the programme had a positive impact on their self-confidence.
- 98% of delegates believed that attending the programme had a positive impact on their adoption of new management and leadership practices.
- 96% of delegates are likely to participate in further learning.
- 100% of delegates who completed the programme said the programme had a positive impact on their ability to think strategically and communicate effectively.
(2019-2022 Project Evaluation Report)
A proven formula for success
Immersed in a hands-on experiential learning experience, delegates get the space, time, and tools to experiment with different leadership styles, uncover Eureka moments, learn from each other, and develop plans to future proof their careers.
We want to create change. Delegates on our programmes don’t just achieve their qualification, stick the folder on the shelf, update their LinkedIn profile, and then go back to doing things how they have always done them. The programmes focus on finding real solutions for the real issues that leaders, at all levels, face every day. We aim to empower delegates to make transformational changes in their behaviour.
You can find out more about how we deliver our programmes on the Courses pages.
Meet the Team
There is a team in Wales that is helping to define a new kind of leader. 
Suzanne Parry Jones is Programme Lead and has 30 years’ experience in a variety of business sectors including advertising sales, recruitment, and medical sales, before qualifying as a coaching psychologist and launching her own business as a coach and leadership development specialist. Bringing a wealth of commercial acumen to the role, Suzanne is passionate about people and enabling them to develop fulfilment in their working lives, and she strives to empower teams to work towards their goals.
Adam Fairbank is Marketing & Recruitment Manager. With over 20 years marketing experience, in both the public sector and education, as well as his own side projects, Adam joined the ION team in 2018 as strategic marketing lead, with responsibility for the marketing and recruitment of all our programme. A University of Glamorgan and Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) graduate, Adam has recently achieved a Postgraduate Certificate in International Innovation Management.
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