Association of Chief Executives
2025-26 member programme
The state as an agent of change: changing lives whilst changing from within
Your 2025/26 member programme will explore a way forward to harnessing the potential of the state as an agent for change and how public bodies can leverage the state’s unique position and resources to drive significant societal transformations, delivering the government’s missions.
In the coming year, members will be invited to participate in a range of member-led conversations that will include, in-person seminars, online peer sessions and research discussions. We welcome your continued support and engagement and encourage you to help us grow and diversify the ACE and PCF membership.
By inviting others across sectoral and industry boundaries, to consult, debate and innovate with us, we aim to establish a shared vision of what effective leadership during times of change looks like and to enable success for public.
I am passionate about the ACE community and its vital role in strengthening public services through education, insight, advocacy and peer support. I believe there are opportunities for further collaboration and advocacy for public bodies so we may best serve the public.
I encourage all members of the executive team to get involved, whether from the comfort of home, your office or at the Institute for Government. I look forward to our insightful conversations.
Adrian Smith OBE
ACE Chair
Programme explained
Hybrid
ACE-PCF seminars
An exclusive opportunity to join some of the most prominent contributors to UK public life, to consider the defining strategic issues of public service today.
In 2024-25, the Association of Chief Executives (ACE) and Public Chairs’ Forum (PCF) will host a joint seminar series exploring ‘A way forward for public body leadership’.
Held quarterly at the Institute for Government, London, with streaming access offered for those who wish to join remotely, these seminars will provide an exclusive opportunity for ACE and PCF members to join in discussions with some of the most prominent contributors to UK public service, including Ministers of State, Permanent Secretaries, and chairs of public and select committees.
Members can expect to join high profile guest speakers from across Westminster and Whitehall, culminating with the joint ACE – PCF Annual Conference in early 2025.
In-person
Masterclasses for Public Body CEOs
A tailored masterclass series for public body CEOs, designed and delivered by highly experienced public leaders and experts.
A cohort of newly appointed and aspirant CEOS will participate in three in-person seminars over four months. Sessions will take place:
- 04 June 2025
- 09 July 2025
- 10 September 2025
Research by Nous Group and ACE, ‘CEO in Government, Leading Well’ 2020, describes the role of the public body CEO as highly unusual, with post-holders benefiting from peer support. Learn more about the programme in the briefing pack here.
Registration for the 2025 programme is now closed. Click here to express interest in the 2026 cohort.
Tea at the IfG
Informal member networking, occurring quarterly at ACE's home, the Institute for Government.
Tea at the IfG provides an informal opportunity for ACE members to meet with other public body leaders in a safe, private setting.
Hosted by a member of the ACE Board, sessions are held quarterly at the Institute for Government, London.
As a chief executive, attending ACE events has broadened my network considerably. ACE membership gave me a head start to meet colleagues facing similar pressures and share how we approach some of the more challenging aspects of leading a public body.
Alex Rothwell
Chief Executive, NHS Counter Fraud Authority
Online
CEO challenge
Quarterly peer support sessions, available exclusively for CEOs to discuss pressing leadership challenges in a private setting.
CEO Challenge is a quarterly online event series available exclusively to chief executives, providing a space for leaders to discuss pressing leadership challenges, in a safe and private setting.
Conversations are shaped according to member interest, typically on the topical issues of the day. In 2023, members discussed public body reviews, the changing nature of public body leadership, effective sponsorship relationships, and inclusion in public bodies.
Carolyn Bartlett, ACE Board Member and Strategy and Transformation Office for the Valuation Office Agency, will host this series.
Peer networks
Community conversations for Equality, diversity and Inclusion (EDI), Human Resources (HR), board governance experts and finance & corporate services directors.
Equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) forum
Our EDI forum meets online quarterly. Richard Bond, Innovation and Services Director at The Coal Authority, chairs this group committed to equality, diversity and inclusion in the public sector.
Conversations are member-led, covering topics ranging from supporting staff with caring responsibilities, to delivering on your public sector equality duty.
Public body chief executives, chairs, executives, and EDI experts are invited to join this group.
HR directors forum
Charlie Henning FCIPD, Director People and Culture at Ofqual, and Steve O’Donoghue, Director of Corporate Services at the Trade Remedies Authority, co-chair this lively community of public body HR Directors, meeting quarterly online to provide peer support and expert exchange.
This group is open to senior leaders in public body human resources and people management.
Board Secretaries forum
Martin Skeats, Board Secretary of the Disclosure and Barring Service, chairs this popular forum for governance experts, enabling members to exchange ideas and practice.
Sessions take place online quarterly, with agendas set by members covering topics from board effectiveness reviews to non-executive director inductions.
Public body governance leads – such as heads of governance and board secretaries – are invited to join this group.
Finance & Corporate Services directors’ forum
Sessions take place online quarterly, with agendas set by members covering topics from spending reviews to financial resilience.
Directors of finance, and/or corporate services, or similar roles are invited to join this group.
NEW: Technology and Innovation Forum
Our newest peer network, the joint ACE-PCF Technology and Innovation Forum aims to enable and empower public body leaders and their teams in driving meaningful change, ensuring that ALBs remain efficient and capable of meeting the demands of the digital age.
Wishing to provide a collaborative space to explore opportunities, share challenges and exchange insight on the digital transformation of the public services, the forum will hold its inaugural session on the 4th of September 2025.
All ACE and PCF members are invited to join this group.
“I am thrilled to sit as the new co-chair of the ACE and PCF EDI forum. Having been an active member at my previous organisation, I have always been impressed with the enthusiasm and commitment of the diverse group in sharing practical ideas and experiences in how we can all do better in this area.”
Dionne Spence
Co-chair, EDI Forum
It’s a pleasure to co-chair ACE’s HR Directors’ Forum, bringing together HR professionals from across public bodies. The Association of Chief Executives provides us an opportunity to share best practice and thought leadership, helping to ensure our organisations deliver value for the public.
Charlie Henning
Co-chair, HR Directors’ Forum
Research
The changing nature of public leadership
Research published by the Association of Chief Executives, Public Chairs’ Forum, and Windsor Leadership to envision public leadership in the future.
Throughout 2023, ACE explored the changing nature of public body leadership through consultation with over 60 public service leaders. The 2024-25 Member Programme takes its steer from the insights gathered through this research, released in the November 2023 insight report: ‘Public leadership: navigating uncharted waters.’
The research identifies common barriers to leadership success, key attributes of leadership today, and the role that organisations can play in enabling leaders to succeed in a changing landscape. Leaders are invited to build on this research, together with ongoing consideration of public body reform, to shape a vision of the future for public body leadership.
2025-26 calendar dates
| Month | In-person | Online |
| April | EDI forum 29 April 2025, 13:00-14:30 |
|
| May |
Finance Directors and Corporate Public Sector PAs & EAs Network |
|
|
HR Directors forum Board Secretaries forum |
| Month | In-person | Online |
| July | EDI forum 15 July 2025, 13:00-14:30 |
|
| August | Summer break | Summer break |
| September |
Tea at the IfG 16 September, 15:30 – 17:00 |
Technology and Innovation Forum CEO Challenge HR Directors forum |
| Month | In-person | Online |
| October |
ACE-PCF Roundtable |
Finance Directors and Corporate EDI Forum |
| November |
HR Directors Forum
|
|
| December |
Annual General Meeting
|
Board Secretaries Forum CEO Challenge |
| Month | In-person | Online |
| January |
|
EDI Forum
Finance Directors and Corporate Services Director Forum
|
| February |
|
HR Directors Forum 11 February 2026, 12:00-13:30 |
| March |
Board Secretaries’ Forum
CEO Challenge
|
