MCA ANNOUNCE THE FIRST CHARTERED MANAGEMENT CONSULTANT OF THE YEAR FINALISTS FOR MCA AWARDS 2022

  • New category for 25th year of the MCA Awards 2022 
  • The Award will recognise an exceptional consultant who has recently been awarded Chartered status 
  • Individuals from Arup, EY, IBM Consulting and PwC all make it to the the interview stage  

The Chartered Management Consultant Award (ChMC), developed through an innovative partnership between the MCA and the Chartered Management Institute (CMI), has enjoyed remarkable growth since its official launch in April 2021. To recognise the success of the award, the MCA Awards 2022 has inaugurated the first Chartered Management Consultant of the year award.   

The MCA Awards represents and celebrates the best of the consulting industry, with 25 award categories, 7 individual awards and 15 project awards as well as an award for Best New Consultancy, The Times Consultant of the Year and Project of the Year. New for this year is the Chartered Management Consultant of the Year, which recognises exceptional consultants who have been awarded Chartered since the official launch in April 2021.  

The Chartered Management Consultant (ChMC) Award is the highest recognition of a management consultant’s expertise, experience and talent given within the profession. It was developed to set and maintain the highest standards in management consulting and to reward consistent, high levels of professional competence and achievement and it is an appropriate new category. The Chartered Management Consultant of the Year is awarded to a Chartered consultant who has shown they have all those qualities required for the award and knows how to apply them as well as having an overall impact on their clients and colleagues.  

To date, over 600 consultants have been awarded Chartered status with more than 3,000 currently on the journey. Accredited firms range in size from larger firms such as PwC, EY, KPMG and IBM Consulting, Arup and Moorhouse to smaller firms including PPL and Akeso and Co.   

Ann Francke OBE, Chief Executive of the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) and judge, added:   

“We see Chartered Management Consultant status as an accolade to help improve firms’ performance and their wider positive economic and social impacts. To see it growing so rapidly is very encouraging and these awards show what chartered can do for leading practitioners within consultancies. We look forward to seeing the impact these highly impressive individuals have in the future and seeing the wider influence chartered status has on helping consultancies meet the needs of their clients, staff and wider society. Congratulations to all the finalists.” 

Tamzen Isacsson, Chief Executive of the Management Consultancies Association (MCA), said:

“We are really impressed with the response from the industry for this new award which recognises the talented individuals adopting the new Chartered Management Consultant Award across our sector. Congratulations to all the finalists who made it to the interview stage in such an important year for our industry, the 25th year of the awards and for our sector with the scale up of this important new ChMC award which recognises expertise, experience and talent. 

The Chartered Management Consultants that have progressed onto the finalist stage for the MCA Awards are Ann Bicknell from Arup for her method-driven approach to helping organisations improve and transform to meet some very different futures by growing organisational capabilities and democratising knowledge. With a career that spans over 20 years, Ann has maintained the balance between applied collaboration and research roles and consulting.   

Also from Arup is Raghuveer Ramkumar with his background and experience in corporate and business strategy. Raghu’s work with the Global Parliament of Mayors (GPM) is driving effective urban governance across cities. Having collaborated with global organisations to research and develop a position paper on rethinking global governance.   

Jennifer Low from EY is a transformation specialist who has devoted her time to two areas: i) transforming public services and improving outcomes for citizens, and ii) nurturing talent and advancing the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) agenda in the consulting industry. Jennifer is known for fearlessly advancing the gender agenda and her work around DEI is improving both recruitment processes and representation across EY.  

Matt McCabe, from EY is recognised for his relentless client focus and experience working on the most complex programmes. Recently he led the data and design aspects of the largest technology-enabled transformation programme in global policing within the UK’s largest police force – the Met.   

From IBM Consulting, Louise OSullivan who Specialises in Transformation and dedicating her efforts to the Public Sector, she is well-known for her expertise and knowledge in supporting Government organisations through complex change. Consistently demonstrating exceptional programme delivery, with an outstanding sales and business development record.  

Susannah Lindsay at IBM Consulting a fierce advocate for developing female talent in technology and is a shining role model through her work leading the people agenda and LBGTQ+ Ally programme. Susannah’s career as a transformation and strategy consultant has spanned several of IBM’s most prestigious clients.  

Guy Watmore from PwC started as a graduate consultant in 2012 and over the past decade has moved onto becoming a Director and has led engagements across Europe, America, Asia and Australia, selling and delivering programmes across all aspects of finance transformation. Guy has demonstrated leadership, integrity, competence, curiosity and attitude.   

The common theme amongst all finalists is how their recent chartered status has had an impact with their respective clients and teams, both in the UK and globally.   

All finalists will be interviewed by an independent panel of judges will take place next month and will also interview with clients and the firms of all finalists. Judges of the Chartered Consultant of the Year category are Bev Thacker-Fell, Procurement Category Director for HR, Marketing and Professional Services at Barclays Bank. Bev has had a career in Procurement for over seventeen years.  Ann Francke OBE, the Chief Executive of the Chartered Management Institute (CMI), holds several Board positions and five Honorary Doctorates for her work in management and leadership. Rob Garner, with over of 25 years’ experience in consulting, technology, and business service organisations will also be judging. He has over 15 years in executive leadership roles, during which time he led successfully the set up and growth, or transformation of a range of organisations including his own award-winning business.  

The MCA Awards 2022 awards ceremony itself will take place on Monday 14th November.  Full details, including information on early bird ticket and table bookings, can be found at www.mca.org.uk/mca-awards.   

To find out more about the Chartered Management Consultant Award (ChMC) can be found at https://bit.ly/3wDlZDu.  

(L-R Ann Bicknell, Raghuveer Ramkumar, Louise O’Sullivan, Jennifer Low, Matt McCabe, Susannah Lindsay, Guy Watmore)