Environmental consultancy APEM selects Leah McGimpsey as CEO
Leah McGimpsey has been unveiled as the new CEO of APEM Group, and will continue to oversee a global growth strategy that has seen it rapidly expand its headcount over the last year. She steps into the shoes of Adrian Williams, who will now become an executive director with the firm.
APEM Group began life as a niche boutique advisory firm in 1987, but the following three decades have seen it expand to become a global environmental consultancy.
Providing a comprehensive range of integrated niche services for clients around the world, the firm underwent a management buyout backed by private equity firm WestBridge in 2019.
In the following years, the firm has leveraged mergers and acquisitions, as well as organic growth, to employ over 600 staff across its locations throughout the UK, Ireland and the US.
As APEM looks to build upon that momentum in the years ahead, Leah McGimpsey will take the firm forward as its new CEO, operating from the firm’s UK office. McGimpsey originally joined APEM as chief strategy officer in 2022, and has since helped develop and launch the group’s five-year growth strategy, while delivering an M&A pipeline of global opportunities. In the last 12 months, the firm has added sustainability advisory firms GoBe and Macroworks to its ranks as part of those plans.
Looking ahead, McGimpsey – a former Deloitte vice president in corporate finance, in the Big Four firm’s Vancouver office – will apply her expertise from the scientific, consulting, and private equity sectors on both sides of the Atlantic. She will also continue implementing the group’s business strategy with a focus on organic growth, international expansion, and strategic acquisitions.
Speaking on her new role, McGimpsey noted, “We’re passionately devoted to driving real impact for the environment and communities in which we operate, in partnership with our clients and people. I am thrilled to be leading the next phase of growth, surrounded by a hugely capable leadership team, underpinned by the impeccable reputation established by Adrian, Stuart and the team. The APEM Group operates in markets that have a growing need for our environmental services, and we are poised to deliver.”
Adrian Williams, who has led the business for the last six years, will make way for McGimpsey, taking on the role of executive director instead. Over his tenure as CEO, he helped the firm to achieve “remarkable growth”, for which he thanked the firm’s staff, praising their “unflinching commitment to innovation, progressive science, and technology in their service delivery to clients.”
Williams added, “It has been a privilege to be CEO of the APEM Group. Over the last two years, I have brought together a leadership team with the depth and breadth of experience to take the company to the next level. With Leah’s strategic skills and vision, I have every confidence in the future success of APEM.”
The news follows the recent appointment of three managing directors: Alex Campbell, Darroch Baker and Alistair Davidson, who each joined from Royal Haskoning. The leadership team has also been strengthened by the appointment of Stuart Clough as chief client officer – a newly created position at the firm, reflecting its heightened growth prospects.
The majority of businesses are currently adopting environmental sustainability practices, but many are still struggling to execute their policies effectively. This is leading to an increasing number of organisations turning to consultancies like APEM for support – a trend which recent research suggests will buoy the wider sustainability consulting sector to revenues of $16 billion by 2027.
