ESTEEMED NEW JUDGES REVEALED FOR MCA AWARDS 2025 AS NUMBER OF PARTICIPATING FIRMS INCREASES

The Management Consultancies Association (MCA) has announced a number of high-profile new independent judges for this year’s MCA Awards 2025. Among the over 55 independent judges are Paul Terrington CBE, former Head of Consulting at PwC, and Claire Warren, Editor in Chief of Management Today. Other notable judges include former Young MCA Chair Hassan Kamara, Joe Lynam, Business Editor for Newstalk, former Big 4 Partners Karen Briggs and Javid Hamid, Director of Leading4Change Wendy Tipper, Non-Executive Director Mike Fishwick, and Donna Hall CBE, former CEO of Wigan Council. This announcement comes as nearly 50 leading consulting firms prepare their written submissions for the deadline next month – an increase from last year. 

The MCA Awards are judged by over 55 independent judges drawn from academia, the media industry, government, and the private sector. Each submission is independently assessed, and every judge must sign a strict code of conduct and follow a clear marking and interview process. Additional judges include Lord Victor Adebowale CBE, Chair of the NHS Confederation, Dan Figueiredo, Chief Technology Officer at Microsoft, and Tracey Boles, Deputy Business Editor of The Times. The MCA is not involved in the decision-making process; its role is limited to setting the categories, defining the judging criteria, and recruiting the judges. Final decisions are made by the specially selected judges according to established guidelines. Further details on the panel can be found at Judging Panel – MCA. 

The awards are open to UK consulting firms of all sizes and continue to grow. For 2025, there are 25 categories: 10 individual awards, 12 project awards, Best New Consultancy, The Times Consultant of the Year, and Project of the Year. The awards highlight the sector’s talent diversity, including Team Leader of the Year and Rising Star. To aid participants, the MCA offers Masterclasses led by judges and finalists, providing tips on preparing written submissions and finalist interviews. The next Masterclass is scheduled for Friday, 28th February. 

Tamzen Isacsson, MCA Chief Executive, said: 

 “It’s encouraging to see such a significant increase in entries compared to last year as firms compete to reach the finals for the prestigious MCA Awards and demonstrate the impact of their work in partnership with clients. Thankfully, the arduous task of deciding who makes the shortlist and the eventual winners is assigned to a prestigious panel of independent judges from across all sectors.  

“The MCA itself is not involved in the decision-making process regarding the awards; it is only involved in setting the categories, defining the judging criteria, and recruiting the panel of judges. The decision-making process involves thousands of papers being marked and scored by the panel, followed by rankings. Once the finalists are announced in May, the judges interview both the individuals and their clients to decide on the winning entry. Each judge signs a strict code of conduct and must declare any potential conflict of interest.” 

For the MCA Awards 2025, the timeline is as follows: 

For more information on the awards, please go to www.mca.org.uk/mca-awards . Further details including how to apply as well as details of sponsorship packages can be obtained from Natalie Mendez.