IN THE SPOTLIGHT
COURAGE AND TRUTH
HELPED DRIVE WILL’S
RETAIL REVOLUTION
Most of us take online shopping for granted
these days but OP Will Treasure (74-79)
helped drive through the retail revolution and is
now one of the country’s most respected retail
consultants.
Will rolled out home delivery to 800 Iceland
stores in the pre-Internet days of 1996-7, adding
5% to sales, then spearheaded Iceland’s successful
drive to be the first grocer to offer home
catalogue shopping nationwide. Today his firm
of retail strategy consultants advises the likes of
Gucci, Marks and Spencer, Aldi, ASOS and Stella
McCartney.
He says his focus and determination have helped
him along the way, along with many of the values
instilled in him during his time at Pocklington
School.
can master – they opened the world to me,” she says.
After an MA in Journalism at the London College
of Communication, Ashley started freelancing at
Channel 4 and small documentary production
companies but became frustrated by the steady but
slow career path which beckoned – and took off for
Sierra Leone.
In 2018, after four years’ freelancing abroad, Ashley
returned to Europe to join a British company
which gathers evidence on weapons trafficked into
armed conflicts. She still travels to conflict zones,
mainly in West Africa, but she aspires to a more
settled life as she prepares to marry fiancé Mark,
a logistician with Médecins Sans Frontières whom
she met in South Sudan.
“It’s nice working with a team again and having a
regular salary, because freelance journalism was a
relentless hustle and a rollercoaster. But I loved the
sense of freedom, choice and ownership of my work
and time. My only regret is that I didn’t pluck up the
courage to buy a camera, pick a country and take off
sooner!” she says.
“I remember the way the school was run as very
straightforward and clear; its motto of courage
and truth is absolutely spot on and is something I
picked up and held with me,” he says. “I was also
well-taught, particularly in maths and science.”
Will studied Engineering, Economics and
Management at Oxford University, one of the
few courses at the time to offer six months in
industry. This was a major attraction for Will
who, although shy and academic, already had the
world of industry and commerce in his sights.
His plan could have been derailed when, after
a placement interview went badly, his tutor
suggested he dropped the Management course
and just studied Engineering and Economics.
Will’s reaction drew on those Pocklington values
and was an early demonstration of the drive that
would propel his future success. “I volunteered
for some interview training and arranged my
own industry placement without any involvement
from him. Motivation can come from interesting
places!” he says.
After graduating, Will joined a Procter & Gamble
training scheme at their Manchester factory, which
he found “a huge culture shock” after Oxford. He
spent seven years with Kellogg’s, then moved
on to Iceland, in the business development role
which would prove career-defining.
While at Iceland, Will was also experimenting
with e-commerce websites – in a Google-free
world where the few computers had dial-up
modem connections. “It was an amazing time,” he
recalls. “I had a sense that something very exciting
was happening and it was going to be big but I
had no idea just how huge it was going to be.”
Then a fledgling retail consultancy business
offered their services to help Iceland build its
direct to consumer business. Will met its two
founders – and was so impressed he ended up
moving his wife and three small children down to
Hertfordshire and joined the company.
“The chance to work with many retailers
and help them grow and take advantage of direct
to consumer (as we called it then) was too good
to miss,” he says. “I also liked and respected the
two guys who had started the business. Their
mix of ability, integrity and hard work appealed
strongly to me.”
The Javelin Group went on to become one of
the country’s leading strategic consulting and
digital transformation companies and is now part
of the global advisory firm Accenture.
Will has cut his working week down to three
days and the extra time has allowed him to
rekindle his connection with Pocklington School.
Teachers he recalls include Chris Solomon, Head
of Dolman House who also taught history; Keith
Robinson and Alec Ramsden (physics); Graham
Sutton (maths); David Rumbelow (history) and
Charles Martin (English).
“They had a combination of ability, and care
and interest in their charges which was very
powerful,” Will recalls. “I’ve reflected that a lot of
my skills go back to what I was taught at school.”
After donating to the Art and Design Technology
Centre and visiting to view its progress, Will
met up again with Tim Stephenson (70-79), a
school friend who is now Chair of Governors
at Pocklington School. They discovered a shared
love of cycling and have completed several
marathon rides, including an epic 187-miles-in-a-
day trip from Will’s home in Harpenden to Tim’s
home in East Yorkshire. “It was so easy to pick up
where we’d left off. I think that’s partly because
of our shared values from school,” Will says of
their friendship.
A supporter and speaker at the school’s Careers
and Business Network, Will says networking is
now more important than ever when job-seeking.
He also advises potential job applicants to look at
a company’s culture as well as its business model.
“The values and integrity of its leadership team
are what makes a company a good place to work,
or otherwise,” he says. “Ask yourself whether
you share those values and, if so, there’s a good
chance you’ll thrive in that culture.”
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