Landmark occasion for Ian Christelow and Julie Wagstaff
When business coaching firm ActionCOACH recently held their annual global conference, it turned out to be yet another momentous evening for the UK branch of the franchise. For the 13th year in succession, ActionCOACH UK were named the brand’s ‘Country of the Year‘.
But things got even better when the company’s UK master franchisors – Ian Christelow and Julie Wagstaff – were inducted into the ActionCOACH Hall of Fame. Twenty years after the launch of ActionCOACH UK, the company’s global founder and chairman, Brad Sugars, recognised the role played by Christelow and Wagstaff. Ian was also awarded a life-membership of the Founders Club.
An overjoyed Ian said: “It feels like yesterday when I first met Brad Sugars. But what an experience it’s been. Right from awarding our very first franchise, and then joining forces with Julie to unite the regions of the UK, it’s been one huge blast thanks to the character of the people around me.
“The calibre of our franchise partners and franchise support teams is second to none. We don’t just say that we have a sense of community, but we actually live it and breathe it every day. I couldn’t imagine waking up every morning and doing anything else. Tackling business failure is my passion and helping others to achieve the lifestyle they deserve makes all of our hard work worth it.”
And it certainly wasn’t an ‘unlucky 13’ for ActionCOACH UK as it won the Blue Riband award of ‘Best Country’ once again, after helping their franchise partners and clients thrive during lockdown, as well as the pandemic in general.
To describe what this success meant to Ian, he used a football analogy, saying: “Most years, only two teams are capable of winning the Scottish Premier League – Rangers or Celtic. And since its foundation in 1890, the record number of consecutive league titles for both clubs stands at nine.
“So for us to win a league of over 80 countries, for 13 consecutive years, is amazing. The table is based on average income of business coaches, as well as net growth of the business coaching team. We have consistently beaten countries like China, Russia and the United States, which is testimony to everyone in our UK team.”
The conference was a huge success for other UK partners too. Father and son business partners, Gary and Steve Mullins, were inducted into the Hall of Fame; James Burke and Parag Prasad were crowned ProfitCLUB and ActionCLUB Coaches of the Year respectively; while Kevin Riley from Warwick scooped up the Community Impact Award.
During the last 12 months, Kevin’s clients in the midlands have collectively grown their income by a staggering £31m. He said: “I’m astounded by that figure myself, to be honest. While I would like to take credit, I think the applause needs to be directed towards my wonderful clients. Without them, I wouldn’t be able to come to work every day and love what I do. They have all shown determination to tackle the pandemic and emerge even stronger. I couldn’t be any prouder.”
Ian Christelow added: “It’s been a great first 20 years. I hope just the next two decades are just as enjoyable and profitable.”
