CEO Spotlight: Joseph Ashford, Founder K4 Global
By: Joseph Ashford Ellis
Tags: Entrepreneur, CEO

Joseph Ashford is a businessman and philanthropist based in London. Joseph is best known as the founder and owner of K4 Global, a multi-faceted marketing firm. He is also the founder of The Butterfly Foundation, which supports children with epidermolysis bullosa (EB).

Early Career

Joseph’s childhood was difficult, and he later lost his mother, father and sister and brother in law within a very short period of time. However, he believes these adversities have helped shape his character and given him an appreciation for the small things in life. Joseph worked in a range of industries during his early career, providing him extensive experience in financial investment strategies. His primary expertise is in implementing scalable solutions for small businesses, allowing them to achieve their next level of growth. Joseph travels extensively and regularly speaks about marketing at conferences throughout the world.

The desire to help others is one of the recurring themes in Joseph’s life. He’s very grateful for his accomplishments in both his personal and professional life, which he expresses through his work to help others achieve their career goals.

K4 Global

Joseph Ashford founded K4 global in January 2014. The firm serves businesses in many sectors, including media, property, service and technology. K4 Global recognizes people with drive and passion and it nurtures and inspires its team members to drive the company vision forward.

Joseph insists that close collaboration within the team is essential for obtaining the maximum return on the firm’s investments and K4 Global staff conduct extensive research to ensure they have a thorough understanding of the client’s needs before beginning a project. They also continue to gather information during the project to make adjustments for changes in market conditions. K4 Global has expanded its service portfolio considerably during its six years of existence, allowing the firm to provide a range of services which includes (but is not limited to) Opulence which handles the firm’s work in property management for commercial and residential property development within the UK, K4 Media which provides a range of services in the film and music sectors and 4 Star Classics, a separate arm of the company that deals with the restoration of sports cars made during the 1970s to the 1990s

Company Culture

Company Culture is a buzzword that often conjures images of startups with ping-pong tables in their break rooms. However, an organization’s culture goes much deeper than simply entertaining employees in the workplace. It’s the shared ethos of that organization, including its attitudes, goals, practices and values. An organization with a strong culture provides employees with a clear understanding of their leaders’ expectations of them.

Joseph Ashford established a strong culture and K4 Global from the beginning by developing a set of tenets that all the members are expected to follow and kept these values in mind when choosing the people he hired to maintain consistency in the firm’s culture.

Maintaining client focus is essential to K4’s business and this philosophy means that Joseph is always looking for ways to go above and beyond for clients, which often means creating a bespoke strategy for them. He also expects team members to always do their best to exceed client expectations and ensure this client-focused mindset remains a priority at each level of his company.

Communication also ties into K4 Global’s culture of accountability and purpose, which is why Joseph encourages team members to create a collaborative environment by voicing their opinions and asking questions. Joseph conducts regular one-on-one sessions and reviews with his employees, in which he provides specific, actionable feedback for meeting expectations.

These practices extend to the firm’s clients by ensuring they remain well-informed with proactive communication. Team members also make a deliberate effort to avoid jargon, thus ensuring that all clients understand them regardless of their technical background. Active listening is another essential practice for allowing team members to provide the best outcome for Joseph’s clients.

Joseph Ashford actively supports the community and environment where K4 Global is located, which also keeps employees focused on the fact that they’re working towards a larger goal. Examples of this practice include encouraging environmentally-friendly forms of commuting such as bicycling or taking the tube. Joseph also significantly reduced paper usage at K4 Global by printing on both sides of the paper and using an electronic memo system. Additional practices that support the environment include issuing reusable water bottles team members and distributing dedicated receptacles for wastepaper throughout the office. These practices help maintain a focus on sustaining the planet, which will provide long-term growth opportunities for K4 Global.

The Butterfly Foundation

Another passion of Joseph’s is The Butterfly Foundation which he founded after learning about Mason White, a young boy who suffers from EB. This rare genetic disorder inhibits the production of proteins that connect the epidermis and dermis, causing the skin to be extremely fragile. People with EB develop blisters and painful sores from very minor friction that normally doesn’t injure the skin. These sores increase the risk of skin cancer and are particularly dangerous when they occur on the esophagus or inside of the mouth. The Butterfly Foundation provides education, social awareness and financial support for those affected by EB, helping to improve their quality of life.