MCA Awards announces short-list for 2026 ceremony

Finalists for the 2026 MCA Awards have been announced. 45 firms will now be interviewed by an independent panel of experts to pick the winners in October.

On the 12th of October 2026, hundreds of professionals, industry experts and clients will gather in London to celebrate the best of the UK consulting industry. Taking place at the Grosvenor Hotel, the 29th annual Management Consultancies Association (MCA) Awards will see prizes dished out across 21 main award categories, plus Best New Consultancy, Times Consultant of the Year and Project of the Year.

According to the organisers, this year’s shortlist demonstrates where consulting is adding value by improving productivity, strengthening cyber resilience and embedding AI and where it is delivering lasting social value for our communities and supporting organisations to meet their sustainability goals.

MCA CEO Tamzen Isacsson said, “Consulting continues to play a central role in helping organisations navigate complexity and deliver real-world impact, and this year’s MCA Awards finalists reflect the very best of our industry’s efforts. Across sectors, these projects demonstrate how consulting brings together deep expertise, innovation and delivery capability to help clients tackle their most pressing challenges: driving productivity, strengthening resilience and delivering meaningful outcomes for communities. We are proud to see over 90 leading organisations working in partnership with consulting firms to showcase the impact the sector is having across the UK economy and society, and we look forward to celebrating the achievements of these outstanding teams and individuals.”

In total, forty‑five consultancy firms have reached the finalist stage for the 2026 MCA Awards across both project and individual categories. SMEs represent 60% of all finalists, and the individual categories reflect strong diversity, with 57% of finalists being women and 26% from ethnic minority backgrounds.

From the large firms, PwC has 33 projects and individuals at finalist stage, followed by KPMG (24), Capgemini Invent (20), Deloitte (14) and EY (12). Smaller firms also have a strong presence including finalists from Inner Circle Consulting (6), Enfuse Group (4) and Nous Group (4). In the prestigious Best New Consultancy category, Kindred Consulting and Trimstone Partners have both reached the finalist stage.

Judging interviews will take place in June and July with consulting firms joining their clients from brands including McClaren, Deliveroo, the British Heart Foundation and National Grid. Once again, a panel of independent judges will be assessing among them Maryam Moshiri, Chief News Presenter at the BBC, Dame Penny Mordaunt and Cecil Adjalo, Co-Founder of Foundervine.

MCA Awards 2026 Finalists List

Best Use of Thought Leadership

Capgemini Invent
CF with Boehringer Ingelheim
Deloitte with Anglo American
Deloitte with McLaren
Inner Circle Consulting
Ipsos Strategy3 with HSBC
Nous Group with the Association of Chief Executives
PwC
Sopra Steria Next            

Change and Transformation in the Private Sector

Capgemini Invent with Unilever
CBRE with Nationwide
Deloitte with Reckitt Benckiser Group
EY with bp
EY with National Grid
JCURV with Southern Water
Moorhouse with Elexon
PwC with Dwr Cymru Welsh Water
Sharing in Growth with AML Sheffield

Change and Transformation in the Public Sector

Akeso with Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Capgemini Invent with HMRC
Deloitte with the Home Office
EY with Catch 22
EY with the Metropolitan Police Service
PwC with the City of London Police
PwC with NHS England
Resulting IT with NHS-24

Commercial Impact

Capgemini Invent with the Ministry of Defence
Curzon Consulting with Convatec
KPMG with Nomad Foods
Magnus Consulting with a Global Logistics Provider
PwC with Deliveroo
PwC with Unilever

Technology Transformation

Atos Amplify with National Grid
Capgemini Invent with the Imperial War Museum
Capgemini Invent with National Grid
Deloitte with ITV
d-fine with the Guernsey Financial Services Commission
KPMG with a Global Consumer Brand
Leading Resolutions with Bupa UK
PwC with Beazley
PwC with the British Heart Foundation

International

Akeso with Bon Secour
CBRE with Evolus
Curzon Consulting with Sydney Airport
Enfuse Group     with Inchcape Shipping Services
KPMG with a National Government Ministry
KPMG with UBS
North Highland with King Saud University
OutForm Consulting with Iarnród Éireann (Irish Rail

Performance Improvement in the Private Sector

Arup with Heathrow Airport
CBRE with Indurent
Deloitte with Sanofi
Etch with Equiniti
EY with AstraZeneca
Grant Thornton with Greene King
JCURV with Sainsbury’s
KPMG    Mishcon de Reya
Managementors with Amey
PwC with MS Reinsurance
PwC with Yorkshire Water
Sharing in Growth with Sylatech

Performance Improvement in the Public Sector

BAE Systems Digital Intelligence with the Home Office
Capgemini Invent with a UK Government Department
KPMG with the Mid Yorkshire NHS Trust
PwC with the Cabinet Office
PwC with Sheffield City Council

People and Leadership

Arup with South West Water
Baines Cutler
Curzon Consulting with Rolls-Royce SMR
EY with AllChild
Gate One with Boehringer Ingelheim
Grant Thornton with Sheffield City Council
KPMG with Coca-Cola Europacific Partners
North Highland with Haleon
PwC with Standard Chartered Bank

Social Value

AtkinsRéalis with Southern Renewals Enterprise
Capgemini Invent with the Department for Work and Pensions
Deloitte with DebateMate
Jacobs with Tideway
North Highland with Show Racism the Red Card
PwC with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

Strategy

Capgemini Invent with Network Rail
CF with the NHS South West London Integrated Care Board
Deloitte with Scotia Gas Networks
Inner Circle Consulting with East Midlands Combined County Authority
KPMG with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
KPMG with RenewableUK
Magnus Consulting with Expleo
Propaganda with Powersheds
PwC with National Highways

Sustainability Award

Capgemini Invent with Lightsource bp
Deloitte with AstraZeneca
Deloitte with MiAlgae
EY with the Institute for Grocers Distribution
Jacobs with the Environment Agency
KPMG with Heidelberg Materials
Mott MacDonald with the Environment Agency
PwC with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (CFA)
PwC with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

Young Consultant of the Year

Robyn Young, Akeso
Matt Vandepeer, AtkinsRéalis
Charlotte Jones, Capgemini Invent
Penny O’Donnell, Capgemini Invent
Emily Sweigart, Cowry Consulting
Mia Cooper, EY
Tanushree Agarwal, Inner Circle Consulting
Megan Jones Tinsley, KPMG
Danny Philamond, Magnus Consulting
Seb Biegala, Mason Advisory
Robert Wilson, Mott Macdonald
Abigail Dempster, Nous Group
Kenza Elmrabti, PwC

Apprentice of the Year

Bart Gradzki, Amey
Eleri Jarrold, Arup
Danny Hodges, Deloitte
Rebecca Lyle, Deloitte
Kirat Singh, EY
Jack Preece, KPMG
Mollie Tattersall, KPMG
Eleni Godwin, PwC
Rachael McGinty, PwC  

Rising Star

Robert Thomas, Amey
Isobel Bickerstaff, Capgemini Invent
Honor Millard, Capgemini Invent
Arun Sönksen, Enfuse Group
Camille Kok, Enfuse Group
Sahil Shah, EY
Yuvni Hirani, IMPOWER
Lois Dunesby, Jacobs
Ben Hope, KPMG
Hugo Burkill, Mott Macdonald
Mei Ho, Nous Group
Matthew Dowling, PwC
Lara Shorthose, Sharing in Growth           

Team Leader Consultant of the Year

Jill Sherriff, Capgemini Invent
Shilpa Kanchan, Capgemini Invent
Dhanya Dhiraj, Citisoft
Rosina Murdoch, Deloitte
Jack Stimpson, Enfuse Group
Aoife Bye, Inner Circle Consulting
Claire Hampson, Grant Thornton
Amanda Woodhouse, KPMG
Emily Baines, Moorhouse
Grace Rawcliffe, PwC
Kate Kenyon, PwC
Timothy Wong, Resulting IT
Becky Davis, Sopra Steria Next   

Thought Leader Consultant of the Year

Dr Tim Curtis, BMT
Reza Zaman, Capgemini Invent
Georgina Fraser, CBRE
Hannah McShane, Inner Circle Consulting
Sam Sanders, KPMG
Nic Dillon, Nous Group
Thomas Staley, Sopra Steria Next

Technology Consultant of the Year

Jack Byrne, 4C Associates
Francesca Downey, AtkinsRéalis
Dr Katharina Reusch, Capgemini Invent
Tom Burgess, Deloitte
Jane Fennelly, EY
Yusuf Ermak, KPMG
Caroline McMenamin, PwC
Nils De Jong, PwC

Inclusion Award

Emma Reed, BAE Systems Digital Intelligence
Sanjeev Manaktala, Capgemini Invent
Susan Maginn, Capgemini Invent
Dhanishtha Patel, CBRE
Elizabeth Pawson-Poon, Charlotte Sweeney Associates
Kayode Akinrinlola, Jacobs
Jalpa Dodhia, KPMG
Ugochi Onwuanibe, KPMG
Liza Lirova, PwC
Vince Cuddon, PwC        

Experienced Leader

Lee Shinkin, AtkinsRéalis
Matthew Bennett, Inner Circle Consulting
Caroline Cujic, KPMG
Mathew Ettelaie, KPMG
Joelan Iveson, Moorhouse
Manisha Bhola, PwC
Shaun Boyle, PwC

Chartered Management Consultant of the year

Adam Thwaites, Akeso
Grace Strong, AtkinsRéalis
Alex Crompton, BAE Systems Digital Intelligence
Giles Whitefield, BAE Systems Digital Intelligence
Keith Biggart, EY
Ebony Hughes, IMPOWER
Ollie Pugsley, Ipsos Strategy3
Keith Klain, KPMG
Steven Hall, KPMG
Antoinette Meehan, PwC
Lydia Taylor, PwC
Nick Coburn, Resulting IT