Forget Ashridge, Cranfield and even Insead. Britain's top managers all went to ASDA

Management school - who needs it? As Heather Tomlinson discovers, the cream of today's business high-flyers cut their teeth on the shop floor of the supermarket chain

The senior executives of Asda must be used to leaving parties. They are more in demand than the cheap Harry Potter merchandise in one of its stores.

Last week another farewell drink had to be written into the social diary. Richard Baker, chief operating officer at Asda, announced he was going to Boots, where a £644,000 signing-on fee awaits him as the chemist's new chief executive.

There are no hard feelings, and Mr Baker received a large case of champagne from Tony DeNunzio, Asda's chief executive, when he heard the news.

For defections come as no shock to the supermarket group. Asda's diaspora of staff have penetrated all areas of the retail industry and one or two other sectors besides.

The tale begins in 1991 when Archie Norman, then Kingfisher's finance director, came in to rescue the company and led one of the most remarkable turnarounds in retailing history, eventually selling it to US retail giant Wal-Mart for £6.7bn in 1999. Mr Norman, who is now a Conservative MP and chairman of Energis, thinks it was the difficulty of this task that has made Asda's staff hot property. "If you experience a turnaround like that, it's a very demanding test," he says. "People who go through it become much more experienced managers."

He brought in many young, ambitious fledgling businessmen who cut their teeth on the Asda shop floor. But a more important quality to Mr Norman during the recruitment process was that these people wanted adventure. "At Asda we had a failed company," he says. "Half the job interview was a selling process – to encourage someone to leave a safe job and join a decidedly risky company."

"They were all quite young," he remembers. "I started in 1991, when it was a shipwreck, and people don't swim towards the Titanic. We needed to hire people who were being offered a real step up, and who weren't risk averse, and who wanted a challenge."

One such find, Steven Cain, who quit Asda to be chief executive of Carlton Communications (albeit briefly), recalls difficult times. "There were two phases. First there was the reviving of Asda, and until 1995 it was very tough," he says. "A good deal of the head-office management was changed. It was an autocratic environment and there wasn't much time for debate. But between 1995 and 1998, it became more collegiate."

And the bonds forged by the employees then still hold today. "We are very pally," says Mr Baker, who has been contacted by several ex-Asda staff to congratulate him on his appointment at Boots. "There's a tremendous esprit de corps at Asda."

He thinks the tough times brought the staff closer. "In the darker days of Asda, we all got our hands dirty working in the trenches."

The young recruits were moved around divisions at a rapid pace, giving a valuable training for the rough and tumble of the retail trade. "I did a different job each year. We got a very rounded experience in marketing and finance, and I worked as a regional managing director," says Andy Hornby, now head of retail banking at HBOS. "That range of experience was extremely valuable. I do believe one of Asda's success factors was the culture it built.

"People were encouraged to spend most of their time in the stores understanding what the customers were experiencing."

There is no doubt that the Asda environment has provided the retail industry with a plethora of young talent. "It has been a very good finishing school for retail management," says Paul Smiddy at Robert W Baird, the stockbroking firm. "That seems attributable to the talent- spotting skills of Allan Leighton [now chairman of the Post Office and Lastminute.com] and Archie Norman.

"Archie was a very meritocratic guy. He wanted people who had strong intellects, with youth and ambition."

As Mr Norman takes on another turnaround job at the telecommunications company Energis, he looks back with pride at his Asda recruits. "It's one of the things I feel really pleased about," he says. "Richard Baker's fantastic appointment and the others ... it's terrific."

Where are they now? Archie's old boys

* Archie Norman. Chief executive of Asda from 1991 until 1996, when he became chairman until leaving in 2000. In 1997 he was elected to Parliament as Conservative MP for Tunbridge Wells, and has held senior positions at Conservative Central Office. He now chairs Energis.

* Allan Leighton. Initially marketing director at Asda, he was made chief executive in 1996 and left in 2000. He now chairs Bhs, health club Cannons, Lastminute.com, housebuilder Wilson Connolly and the Post Office. He is deputy chairman of Leeds United, and a non-executive director of BSkyB, Dyson, Trackdean Investments (Philip Green's bid vehicle for Safeway) and George Weston, a Canadian food group.

* Phil Cox. Finance director of Asda from 1992 until 1998. He has gone on to be a director of Punch, the pub company, was briefly chairman of Virgin Rail in 1998, and is commercial director at Allders, the department store.

* Steven Cain. He was at Asda from 1992, becoming a director at the age of 30. He was chief executive of TV giant Carlton during 1999. Mr Cain now runs a small start-up company, Going Green, which sells cars that operate on electricity.

* Andy Hornby. Retailing director at Asda and latterly running its George clothing brand until 1999. He runs the retail banking side of HBOS, the merged Halifax and Bank of Scotland group.

* George Davies. Joined Asda after resigning from Next and launched the supermarket's George range. He left in 2000 to join Marks & Spencer, where he is behind the Per Una fashion collection.

* Mike Coupe. Taken from Tesco in 1993 by Asda's management, he became trading director before leaving in 2001. He is now running the Iceland supermarket chain.

* Justin King. Joined Asda in 1993 and rose through the ranks to run the large hypermarkets. He is now head of foods at Marks & Spencer.

* Tony Campbell. Spent 15 years at Asda, finishing his time there as deputy chief executive in 2000. He holds senior positions at the pub group Punch and Virgin Wine, and part-time positions at Ted Baker and First Choice Holidays.

* Steve Johnson. At Asda he worked in buying, marketing and corporate development until 2000. He now runs the Focus chain at DIY group Focus Wickes.

* Gwyn Burr. Marketing director at Asda, but followed Allan Leighton to Bhs. She now works with him at a small consultancy company, The Resultant Team.

* Mark Gregory. Previously chief accountant at Asda, now human resources and communications director at Legal & General.

* Paul Mason. At Asda from 1994, he left the post of managing director in 2001 to join Matalan as chief executive. However, he left in March after a disagreement with its chairman. He is now a non-executive at Rentokil.

* Andy Clarke. At Asda from 1992 until poached by Matalan in 2002. He was retail director but left with Mr Mason.

* Phil Dutton. A senior finance executive at Asda, he left to become finance director of Matalan, and he remains in this role.

* Roger Burnley. Joined Asda in 1996, and left in 2002 to become supply chain director of Matalan.