Special reception celebrates 2024 MCA Awards finalists
The MCA Awards 2024 has hosted a special reception for its finalists. The event welcomed more than 200 guests from across the consulting industry to Kensington Palace.
For more than six decades, the Management Consultancies Association (MCA) has been the UK consulting industry’s collective voice. Its members make up over 60% of the UK’s £20 billion consulting industry, and employ roughly 45,000 professionals. Each year, the organisation hosts the MCA Awards, which has become one of the key highlights of the UK consulting industry calendar.
Ahead of the big day, the organisation also ramps up for the climax of its awards calendar with a special reception for its finalists. In 2023, this saw the MCA host a gala at attended by consultants and clients from leading organisations at the Tower of London – and keeping with that royal theme in 2024, it has invited 270 finalists and guests to the newly restored Orangery, at Kensington Palace.
Speaking at the reception, Tamzen Isacsson, CEO of the MCA, commented, “Every year the standard of entrants to these prestigious awards keeps on rising to the point where just reaching the final is a win in itself. As an impartial observer, it really is a privilege of my job to hear consultants talking about their work. What comes across so strongly is not just the scale of the challenge they faced or the significance of their achievement, but how much they cared. The job is tough. They’re often working in difficult circumstances, on complex projects, with tight deadlines, sometimes far away from home. Yet the things that consultants are delivering on have such an important impact to so many of us.”
Illustrious heritage
The Orangery at Kensington Palace was originally designed by the visionary architect Nicholas Hawksmoor in 1704, and later enhanced by the renowned Sir John Vanbrugh. It was commissioned by Queen Anne as a lavish greenhouse for her beloved orange trees in winter and, over the years, it evolved into a magnificent 'summer supper house', hosting extravagant royal gatherings.
The event, sponsored by Capgemini Invent, eventually welcomed consultants from over 45 firms to the prestigious venue, along with their clients, media, and government officials. Prominent organisations championing the role of consultancy firms also included BT, Holland & Barrett, The National Trust, Visa, Greene King, and Coca-Cola, NHS England, the Department for Transport, DWP, the Home Office. There were also members of the new government, which the MCA has been building bridges with in recent months.
Speaking on the MCA Awards, Gareth Thomas, minister for services, small business and exports, said, “The MCA Awards demonstrate why the UK's consulting sector ranks as one of the best in the world and why global demand for consulting services has increased significantly in recent years to record levels... The MCA Awards finalists powerfully demonstrate how our sector is working hard to make Britain a leading centre for clean energy, supporting British business to kickstart economic growth and helping NHS trusts to improve patient services for the future.”
The final event of the 2024 MCA Awards will take place in October. During the ceremony, over 86 client organisations from both the private and public sectors will join leading consulting firms to celebrate the impactful partnerships they have forged across various categories.
