INDIVIDUAL AND PROJECT WINNERS ANNOUNCED AT 25TH MCA AWARDS

• Around 1000 guests gathered at the Park Plaza in London for the biggest ever MCA Awards Ceremony and Dinner in history
• 85 client organisations from across the private and public sector joined MCA member firms to champion the work of consultants across the economy and society
• For the first time, the Times Consultant of the Year goes to a young consultant highlighting the great young talent in the consulting sector and the future of our industry. Marnie Grant from PwC secured her winning place as Young Consultant of the Year for her exceptional work in the public sector and serving local communities
• Project of the Year and winner of the Performance Improvement in the Public Sector category is CF with the NHS England Breast Screening Recovering programme. The SME consulting firm worked to address the most significant challenge ever faced by the country's breast screening service and to help them improve the lives of women with early breast cancer diagnosis.

LONDON, Nov. 15, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The winners of the MCA Awards for 2022 have been announced at an event in London in front of nearly 1000 guests including government officials, national media and clients from across the private and public sector. In its 25^th year, the MCA Awards saw a record number of entries from 50 leading consulting firms of all sizes. An independent judging panel of over 50 judges from business, academia and media conducted the interviews and large, medium and small firms were all recognised for their exceptional work across the sector. The ceremony was hosted by broadcaster Sir Trevor McDonald OBE with performances by musician Izzi Bizu and speeches by the CEO and President of the MCA and MCA Awards Judge, broadcaster Justin Webb.

The Times Consultant of the Year was awarded to Marnie Grant from PwC who impressed the judges in the category of Young Consultant of the Year. They described Marnie as "a terrific consultant, creating great impact with an eye constantly on the higher purpose". She was awarded Times Consultant of the Year in recognition of her role as a true ambassador for the consulting sector - the first time a young consultant has been given this prestigious accolade.

The Project of the Year and winner of the Performance Improvement in the Public Sector category went to SME consulting firm CF for its work with the NHS England Breast Screening Recovery Programme. The impact of Covid-19 presented a serious challenge for the service with less women starting treatment for breast cancer during the pandemic. The CF team worked with data to articulate the scale of the screening backlog and how it varied across the country, leading to targeted initiatives and extra support. This resulted in a 35% increase in the number of women beginning treatment for breast cancer in December 2021 compared to December 2020 alone which judges described as a 'true cultural transformation that had a huge impact with its data led approach.'

Business Minister Kevin Hollinrake, said:

"The MCA Awards highlight the opportunities for talented individuals to drive transformation and innovation for clients across the public and private sectors. The strength of the finalists in the MCA Awards 2022 is a testament to the sector's strength and shows why this UK expertise is admired and respected globally."

Tamzen Isacsson, Chief Executive of the MCA, said:

"This is our biggest ceremony ever. We have never had so many awards and we have never had so many entrants competing for them. And our industry has never been this size before. But the evening is about even more that. It is a celebration of all we do to make our industry better. To deliver for clients. To deliver for our communities. To raise our standards. To improve ourselves as individuals."

She continued:

"The consulting industry is meeting the challenges of our times. Not just in what we deliver but in how we deliver it. The growth of our sector continues with clients needing support during periods of major change, digital transformation and focus on sustainability with the value of the trusted adviser rising in times of uncertainty. Our exports are increasing with the world turning to MCA members here in the UK for expert advice and new jobs are being generated across our sector with new opportunities for graduates, apprentices and school leavers across the nation."

President of the MCA Yunus Ozler from EY said:

"As President of the MCA I feel incredibly proud and excited by our industry. On behalf of myself, the MCA and all of us, I would like to congratulate all the winners and the finalists. The talent, the expertise and achievements we have seen tonight shows what a vibrant industry we have, making such a vital contribution to the UK economy and society as a whole."

The evening saw larger firms pick up numerous awards including 12 wins and highly commended accolades for PwC, 10 for EY and 6 for IBM Consulting while KPMG and Deloitte also were recognised. But many medium and smaller firms also secured winning entries for finalists in both project and individual categories including wins for Atkins, Bearing Point, Curzon Consulting and many others. Overall, 13 smaller firms were awarded 11 winning awards and 11 highly commended awards including health consultancy CF with four, Proxima with 3 and Arca Blanca with 2.

In a new category for 2022, the Sustainability Award, sponsored by Ipsos UK, was awarded to IBM Consulting with the UK Fashion and Textiles Association (UKFT). IBM helped the fashion industry to meet their sustainability challenges in their supply chains. The judges felt that the "team worked on an incredible project which had a huge reach and impact on sustainability in the fashion industry."

Many winning projects were with leading private sector businesses across a variety of sectors. Proxima with Baxters were the winners in the Performance Improvement in the Private sector award for helping to reduce costs and deliver long term impact by embedding sustainable best practices across the business. The UK's largest retailer, Tesco, with KPMG received a Highly Commended in the same category for its work delivered on a huge scale at a critical time in the pandemic when the organisation was scaling at significant speed. PwC were the winners for their technology transformation work with London South Bank University that ultimately helped to improve the learning experience for thousands of students while SME Coeus Consulting were highly commended in the same Technology Transformation Award for its work with Shell Energy in providing a technology transformation needed to offer renewable energy to the retail market.

Best New Consultancy was awarded to Blurred, a global strategic and creative firm delivering work that drives positive impact for clients, people, and the planet with a strong focus on sustainability and its own diversity and carbon targets. The Best New Consultancy is the only category open to non- MCA member firms and is strongly competitive. Details for entering the MCA Awards 2023 can be found at www.mca.org.uk/mca-awards

Overall, there were 25 award categories in this year's MCA Awards with 12 project awards, 10 individual awards and 3 overall awards. Individual consultants were recognised for their achievements, reflecting the varied and long-term opportunities a career in consulting brings. Apprentice of the Year was Alicia Leavitt from PwC while the Rising Star category, sponsored by Grayce, was awarded to Yeshua Carter from EY and Lifetime Achievement went to Michael Robinson from KPMG.

New for the awards this year was the Chartered Management Consultant of the Year category (ChMC). Created by the MCA and CMI, the first recipient of this inaugural award went to Susannah Lindsay from IBM Consulting. Another new category for 2022 was the Inclusion award for an individual who had excelled at championing and building an inclusive workplace and demonstrating the impact of their work in their firm. Sonia Sharma from EY was announced as the winner for this first award.

Sponsors of the MCA Awards 2022 were Deloitte, EY,  Equiteq, Grayce, Ipsos UK, Sage and Savanta as well as media partner, The Times who will be publishing details of the finalists on 28^th November.

A full list of the MCA Awards 2022 winners and details of the MCA Awards 2023 is at www.mca.org.uk/mca-awards

Notes to Editors:

The Management Consultancies Association (MCA):

The MCA is the representative body for the UK's leading management consulting firms. For over 65 years, the MCA has been the voice of the consulting industry, promoting the value of consulting to business, the public sector, media commentators and the general public. The MCA's mission is to promote the value of management consultancy for the economy and society as a whole. The MCA's member companies comprise over 50% of the UK consulting industry work with the vast majority of the top FTSE 100 companies and almost all parts of the public sector. The UK consulting industry is amongst the best in the world and a vital part of the business landscape. Click to see the full list of current MCA members see link.  

Compliance with the MCA's tough entry criteria and adherence to the principles of Consulting Excellence means that MCA member companies are widely acknowledged to provide high quality services to their clients. Many of their achievements are recognised in the annual MCA Awards.