Tony Birch

TonyBirch

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Tony Birch, CPP APMP Fellow (Class of 2006)

Founder & Director
Shipley Limited

Bio

Tony Birch co-founded Shipley Limited in 1997, having worked for Shipley Associates for three years. Currently, he serves as Chair of the Board of Shipley Limited but remains an active consultant/trainer in all aspects of Business Development.

Tony served on the main board of the APMP for four years (2004 – 2007) and was one of the founding members of the APMP UK Chapter (2001). He was elected a Fellow of the APMP in 2006 for his contributions to developing and launching the APMP’s global Certification Programme. In 2016, the APMP awarded him its highest honor, the William C. McRae Founder’s Award, for his contributions to the organization.

Over the last 28 years, Tony has worked with large and small companies across sectors as diverse as Automotive, Defense, Insurance, and Space, delivering business-winning related services.

What does being an APMP Fellow mean to you?

It is a recognition of my commitment to the profession.

What's your best memory from attending an APMP event?

Sitting around a fire pit in Wild Horse Pass Resort, AZ, meeting and greeting friends I would not have ever known if I had not been a member of the Association.

What advice do you have for a proposal professional entering our field?

Doing the impossible for the ungrateful can sometimes be very hard. Keep at it, and it can be a rewarding career.

The Executive Summaries Micro-Certification exam was easy to follow and clear in what was required. I found the learning materials to be very informative, and they will be a great tool to use while in the exam and for future executive summary tasks.

Sarah Chapman, CP ES-M APMP

APMP is an organization full of hardworking, enthusiastic professionals who are dedicated to promoting their industry and practicing their craft.

Heather Finch, CF APMP

Acquiring the executive summary micro certification has helped to build my confidence in producing best practice Executive Summaries. I also benefit from the social media badge for my LinkedIn profile and certification to add to my resume. Both of these allow me to verify my Executive Summary capabilities.

Laura Rispin, CP ES-M APMP

The Executive Summary is the key element of each proposal, literally the most important part of the response next to the price – this is why my focus was on this micro certification. Understanding the principles of Deal-Strategy, Win-Strategy, Competitor-Analysis, Ghosting, Persuasive Writing, Features/Benefits/Discriminators, and many more is essential and beneficial for so much more than just the Executive Summary.

Florian Lamisch, CF ES-M APMP

I love that my high scores in English and grammar from grade school finally paid off! I understand where I fit in professionally with a career that is rewarding on many levels. I owe all of this to APMP!

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Bette Sturino, CP APMP

This topic, Executive Summaries, is way underrated. The Executive Summary is the most eye-catching document, which almost everyone on the customer side reads. Yet, in most bid teams, we don’t dedicate the attention it deserves. I want to learn about something I can immediately put into practice at my workplace, which provides a “quick win” to the team and is a long-term benefit for the company.

Dénes Máthé, CF ES-M APMP

Acquiring this micro-certification allows me to expand my aperture regarding the collaboration between capture and proposal management to develop more robust, customer-centric Executive Summaries for future pursuits. It allows me to advance my skill set, evolve my knowledge, and reflect my commitment to continuous learning.

Stephen Yuter, ES-M APMP

For the first time since I started my career, I felt like I was not alone in my struggles to meet deadlines, wrangle SMEs, and answer impossible questions. I’m grateful to have this community to share our wisdom and experiences.

Anthony Rossi, CF APMP

Receiving Practitioner-level certification boosted my confidence and validated my experiences and professional growth in the bid and proposal industry. The badge is something that I see each day, and it motivates and encourages me to keep networking, learning, and elevating others in our combined professional development goals.

Kim Ruff, CP APMP

Being a part of APMP, I get access to the knowledge and experience of great leaders and mentors from the community. I have learned a great deal from the webinars and conferences I attended on diverse topics from career progression in Proposal Management, trends (such as automation) in PreSales to achieving work-life balance, and handling burn-outs – all real-life experiences.

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Shubhada Kulkarni, CP APMP