CIL promotes Liam McGuinness and James de la Salle

As the firm prepares for heightened demand in the built environment and consumer retail segments, CIL Management Consultants has promoted two senior professionals in its UK wing. Liam McGuinness has been made Partner in the firm’s consumer and retail wing, while James de la Salle has been appointed as Director in its built environment practice.

Lack of supply has long been a feature of the UK housing market and people have been calling for more affordable housing for years. As authorities and housing developers look to meet with demand, there has been a growing demand for consulting services specialising in the built environment.

Thanks in part to this, CIL Management Consultants has announced the promotion of James de la Salle to Director of the built environment practice. De la Salle joined CIL in 2012 from Parabis Group, where he was a Graduate Project Manager. He has since focused on construction and building projects, and has significant experience in business services, particularly legal services.

De la Salle said of the news, “I look forward to helping to grow CIL’s Built Environment practice. It is a fascinating sector to be involved with, particularly as we are finally seeing growth in construction and infrastructure investment.”

CIL has also seen its retail wing grow rapidly, with demand from clients to support management teams across a range of sectors. Amid a time of acute change in the sector, Liam McGuinness has also been promoted at CIL, and now takes up the role of Partner in the consumer and retail group of the management consultancy. 

Speaking on his promotion, McGuinness said, “I am delighted to join the senior management team. The business is growing rapidly, and we are seeing increasing demand for advice from investors and corporates. I look forward to further developing our consumer and retail consultancy offer.”

McGuinness takes the position of Partner having joined CIL in 2007 and has been instrumental in building the firm’s expertise in the sector. He has in-depth knowledge across the sector, with recent clients including UK and European holiday operators, branded and private label food and drink manufacturers, gym chains, fast casual dining chains and D2C subscription businesses. He provides due diligence advice to private equity investors and strategic support to management teams, helping them develop growth plans.

Commenting on the two promotions, Giles Johnson, Managing Partner at CIL, said, “Liam is a great example of CIL’s home-grown talent. He joined our graduate scheme and has successfully developed our consumer practice, advising household names and fast-growing businesses… James has established himself as a truly credible expert on the built environment and has worked for some of the leading businesses in the sector. His promotion is recognition of the contribution he has made to the growth of the practice.”