International
United Kingdom
United States
Saudi Arabia
Australia
The MCA Awards – a prestigious event in the UK consulting calendar for more than 20 years – is an opportunity to spotlight the very best of the consulting industry and features prizes for firms, projects and individuals. Charles Newhouse, Global Consulting Director, was thrilled with our success so far.
“This year saw a huge rise in submissions with a 50% increase and so to get through to be a finalist is a huge achievement for all our nominees,” he said.
“As a company we continually strive for excellence by constantly innovating to provide our clients with a competitive edge. Over the course of a year that was utterly transformed by Covid-19, our three nominees all showcase our commitment to putting our clients at the very centre of what we do. We’re all looking forward to the awards ceremony this December!”
Introducing our finalists: Projects
Exceptional Support and Delivery to a Client During COVID-19: Foreign, Commonwealth Development Office
At the start of the pandemic, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) was faced with twin priorities. Hundreds of thousands of British citizens were trapped overseas and needed repatriation, fast. And its staff at locations across the UK and around the world needed to be able to work from home, fast.Starting shortly before the first national lockdown, we were tasked with helping deliver a ten-fold increase in capacity for the department’s remote working capability, moving from 2,000 to 20,000 users. We also were asked to lead efforts to enable its suite of IT suppliers to work remotely – something not previously possible due to security concerns.
Operating under the most challenging of circumstances, our team succeeded in delivering this critically important project. In just six weeks:
- 20,000 departmental staff were able to work from home
- 550 IT supplier staff moved to work remotely, some with a new privileged remote access system
- A new internet data centre connection was established in record time
- No business disruption occurred with critical services maintained throughout.
These upgraded IT systems and the FCDO’s biggest ever crisis response enabled the government to fulfil its key pledge to ensure that hundreds of thousands of British nationals were able to safely return home.
Introducing our finalists: Individuals
Young Consultant of the Year – Jemma Goldstein
Nearly five years into her career with BAE Systems Applied Intelligence, Jemma has operated across Defence and Financial Services, staying aligned to her values and using her bespoke blend of security savvy and consulting excellence to make a real difference. She demonstrates an unparalleled work ethic and her passion for using cyber security to protect and empower individuals and organisations is woven into her consulting DNA.Jemma takes strategic security concepts and translates them into tactical endeavours, challenging security cultures and driving sustainable organisational change to deliver long term benefits for clients and colleagues. This was exemplified through her recent work with a Tier 1 Financial Institution where she led technical delivery of a new suite of industry-leading Security Standards, reflecting not only modern technological challenges but the client’s ethos as a values-driven organisation that puts its customers first.
An outstanding consultant, Jemma champions collaboration, is deeply trusted by clients, and continuously strives to innovate and implement tangible solutions. In just five years, she has accelerated from a graduate to leading strategic security initiatives – a trajectory which, to the relief of clients and colleagues alike, shows no sign of slowing down…
Young Consultant of the Year – Saher Naumaan
A Threat Intelligence Analyst at BAE Systems Applied Intelligence for just a few years, Saher Naumaan has wasted no time in rendering old assumptions obsolete and has already proven a trailblazer in every sense.Not for her the old ways of communication. Using a blend of storytelling prowess and journalistic flair honed during her time working in foreign policy and international development in Washington, DC, Saher has helped transform how we tell our clients about the latest threat intelligence affecting their organisation. But that’s not all.
As a rising woman leader in cyber security, Saher was not content to merely register the lack of speaker and attendee diversity at events. Instead, she took action by creating and hosting two conferences in London, the first in Europe to feature an all-female speaker line up, and which attracted hundreds of attendees, gender-balanced across every level of industry.
Aged just 29, Saher’s story has already taken her across the Atlantic and has seen her straddle two very different sectors, inspiring colleagues and clients at every level.
See how we solve our customers’ challenges with a unique blend of technology, industry knowledge and domain expertise
Please tick the boxes below to opt-in to receive our latest email updates.
