Curzon Consulting's Phil Hanson to Chair Young MCA
The wing of the Management Consultancies Association for consultants with fewer than five years of experience in the industry has appointed its next Chair. Following a membership ballot, Phil Hanson, a Senior Consultant at Curzon Consulting, will take on the role for the Young MCA from December.
Founded in 1956, the Management Consultancies Association (MCA) is the representative body for the UK consulting industry, dedicated to supporting member interests and promoting the value of consultancy to the private and public sector, the media and the general public. While the MCA champions consulting on a broad basis in this manner, it also hosts a number of specialist sub-groups which provide best practices and networking experiences for its members. One such sub-group is the Young MCA.
With British businesses facing a myriad of disruptive challenges in the years ahead, providing support to new consultants who assist organisations with adapting to those coming changes is extremely important. Aimed at supporting consultants with under five years of consulting experience, the Young MCA works to engage and develop newcomers to the industry, shaping the future of UK consulting in the process. Members of the Young MCA promote consulting as a profession via numerous university engagements across the UK, while MCA young consultants often appear on panels at career events discussing future career opportunities.
As the Young MCA looks to champion the industry among a new generation of potential consultants, it has appointed a new Chair. Phil Hanson from Curzon Consulting will take over from Josh Hutchison from Moorhouse as of December 2019, following an election by young consultants across the country. Over the course of the past year, the Young MCA has hit a number of significant milestones, with over 150 hours of volunteered time on projects and strong growth in membership, while developing new regional networks across Britain.
Commenting on the state of play, outgoing Chair Hutchison said, “Looking ahead, the youth association now strives to further address challenges with diversity and inclusion across the industry, providing fair and equal opportunities for all. These are initiatives and achievements that I am incredibly proud to have been part of, and which simply would not have been possible without the support of the association and its members.”
Hanson will now lead the organisation as it seeks to maintain this momentum. He brings invaluable insight about non-traditional routes into consulting, including having overseen an apprenticeship scheme. With a degree in Microbiology from the University of Bristol, Hanson transitioned into the Regular Army in 2010, which saw him deployed on combat operations in Afghanistan and military diplomacy and consultancy overseas. He returned to civilian life in 2016 as an Operations Manager with Amazon. Almost two years later, Hanson formally entered the consulting industry, joining Curzon Consulting as a Senior Consultant.
The voice of the young
Commenting on his new challenge, the incoming Young MCA Chair remarked, “Consulting is changing rapidly and I intend to ensure that through the Young MCA, young consultants’ voices are heard… I value the important role the organisation plays in attracting the best talent to the industry, supporting its members and inspiring and developing them. I also recognise the significant opportunity that exists to continue to grow and build on the excellent work the Young MCA is already doing, enabling it to engage in more ways with an even wider member base.”
Speaking on Hanson’s election, Tamzen Isacsson, Chief Executive of the MCA, added, “2019 has been a busy year for the Young MCA with new communication activities, a record number of events across the UK and a growing membership base. We are delighted to have welcomed 13 new member firms this year into the MCA and one of the key benefits for firms is the access their young consultants get to events through the Young MCA… I would like to thank Josh Hutchison for all his hard work in supporting the Young MCA as Chair and welcome Phil Hanson on board in his new role.”