Futureproofing AKA Case Management – change alongside continuity

“I’ll be honest, when I set up I naively thought I’ll be a lone worker, working at home – I never imagined I’d need a succession plan.”

Like so many others who set up in business, Angela Kerr did not foresee the growth of her venture, AKA Case Management, when she set up in 2002. 

Having become one of the UK’s best-known case management companies, and with Angela increasingly in demand within the profession after being appointed chair of BABICM in 2016, she knew she needed to address the issue of the long-term future of her thriving business.  

And the solution lay in the form of Dawn Abernethy, a longstanding member of the AKA team, alongside Andrew Rose, who at that time was a new appointment to the business. 

With Andrew, a BABICM director keen to progress to a senior management role in case management, and Dawn knowing the culture and ethos of the business inside out, the combination of their respective operational and financial expertise came together in March this year to complete the MBO of AKA Case Management – five years after Angela first started to formulate such plans. 

For the 12 months leading up to the MBO, Dawn and Andrew had been leading the business in preparation for formally taking over, to allow Angela to concentrate on developing the Institute of Registered Case Managers (IRCM), of which she is chair, while giving them the space to develop their confidence as directors and being in the background for support if needed. 

Under their leadership, and despite the many challenges of the pandemic, the business has grown in the past year, continuing to add new people to the team as AKA heads into a new era. 

Angela Kerr

“I’ve always looked to bring in the right people to the business to support what we’re delivering and have tried to equip them to do the job well – but it was about looking for the rising stars who relished a challenge, and that is something I had to start looking at seriously when I took over as chair of BABICM,” says Angela, who is remaining with AKA as a consultant. 

“I had been approached some time previously about whether I wanted to sell to a national business, but that wasn’t for me, it didn’t feel right. We have built an ethos here, we have certain values, we’re like a family. An MBO seemed the right option, but it was working out how that would happen. 

“It was great to have Dawn and Andrew – Andrew was very clear in what he wanted to achieve, and Dawn had long been a mainstay of the business. We very thoroughly, over the course of five years, really planned out all the risks and challenges and how to mitigate that.”

For Andrew, previously operations manager at AKA, he was keen to progress to the next level in his career, and believed AKA was the right place for him to do that. 

“Whilst working in Australia, I reflected that I had hit a bit of a glass ceiling in case management in terms of what I could do to influence things,” says Andrew, whose background is in psychology, including eight years as a university lecturer.

“I knew I wanted to be in a position where I could influence and change things when needed, and being in a senior management role was the way to make that possible. The company I was with previously had just been bought out and I knew I needed a change – I knew joining Angela and AKA, who shared the same values as I have, was the right move.”

Andrew Rose

While Andrew was certain of his director-level ambitions, Dawn was rather less certain when Angela first approached her about leading the business. 

“It was a classic case of imposter syndrome, I didn’t know whether I could do it,” recalls Dawn, previously finance manager who first began working with AKA in 2008. 

“Angela had kindly invested over the years in business coaching, but when the moment comes you do question ‘Can I do it?’ Thankfully Angela was there to remind me that I could, but it’s a huge thing to take on. 

“I really love what we do here and the ethos of the business, but until that point it never occurred to me I’d one day be running it. It was a surprise when the MBO was first mentioned, but as we progressed I was certain it was the right thing to do and to help in guiding the future of the business.”

With very different areas of specialism, Dawn and Andrew work well together, adopting a joint management approach with the key decisions taken together. 

“Right from the start, we have had very open and frank discussions about what is non negotiable for us both. We share out the managing director role between us both, it’s very equal in that way, but we continue to take the lead in our own areas,” says Dawn. 

Andrew continues: “Communication and transparency are the main things. We think horribly similarly, which makes things a lot easier, and we have very honest discussions. We’ve had daily meetings since before the MBO and we don’t make any big decisions independently, even if they are in our distinct roles, out of respect for the other business partner. 

“Nothing really feels different in terms of our roles, we’d been doing this for a year before the MBO and we asked the staff how they felt and they said they felt the same, 100 per cent nothing had changed for them. 

“Angela is a huge character and personality, and you do fear what the reaction may be – and we know some other companies had approached some of our staff once they heard about the MBO. But the reality is that not only did our existing staff want to stay, but we had new people approaching us as they see we’re different to other companies. We’re ambitious and will always look at opportunities to grow when they come along.”

Dawn Abernethy

For Angela, stepping back after owning and running AKA for almost 20 years – and having been in leadership roles for 30 – at the same time as stepping down as chair of BABICM, continues to be a challenge, she admits. 

“You prepare yourself for that time to come, but you don’t really know what it will be like. I must admit to feeling a little bit lost, I had to have a couple of weeks out just for decompression,” says Angela. 

“I’d say having a business is a bit like when you have a child and you take them through different stages of life – I suppose now, for me, it’s like they’ve gone off to university.

“But I’m now chair of IRCM so am still in the industry, but in a different role and one that I do need to have time to engage with, so it is the right thing to do. And I’ll be here for Dawn and Andrew as long as they need me.”

And for the new owners of AKA, the huge decision Angela has taken to pass on her business, and the trust she has invested in them is not lost on them – indeed, they have already given consideration to their own succession plans to ensure AKA continues to be in safe hands for years to come. 

“We talked about it even pre-MBO, we said if we are going to take this on, then what does our exit look like,” says Andrew. 

“For the original pioneers of businesses, who don’t know if there will be any value in what they are creating and are just doing a job, then it’s probably easy not to think of succession plans – but for Dawn and I, coming into an established business, having an exit strategy is very important.”

“AKA has always been about our values and the service we deliver to people,” says Angela. 

“We want to maintain that as we move through the years and the changes that lie ahead, and sustaining our clients through that journey. Some of them have been there since almost the beginning and we’ll always be there for them. 

“People make AKA what it is, and Dawn and Andrew and the whole team have helped to build us to where we are now. It’s now in their hands for the future.”