Face the threat from management consultants, warns ACE Lifetime Achievement winner

Former URS boss Geoff French urges engineers to defend their territory as ACE rewards industry’s top bosses at annual European CEO Awards. 

Antony Oliver
18 December 2015

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European consultancy leaders were this warned to recognise and meet the increasing business threat from global management consultancy firms as they increasing target clients in the growing infrastructure sector.

Speaking at the Association of Consultancy and Engineering’s annual ACE European CEO Conference and Awards this week, Lifetime Achievement winner, former URS chairman Geoff French urged audience of global engineering consultancy leaders to recognise and react to the threat.

“I am going to use every opportunity I get to challenge the industry to face up to the threat from the big four,” said French. 

“I am not yet sure that we have turned this appreciation of engineering into an appreciation of the advantages of doing engineering – the recession and the lack of jobs in the recession set that back.”

“The threat is other people coming into our territory and stealing the more profitable bits of our business and leaving us with just the bits that they don’t want,” he added. “I think that is a real and serious problem and I am not sure that we are taking that enough in to consideration.”

French also highlighted the on-going need to turn the current political impetus behind infrastructure and engineering into real careers in the sector that tackle the on-going war on talent affecting the industry.

“Engineering is recognised a very much a profession that is required,” said French. “But I am not yet sure that we have turned this appreciation of engineering into an appreciation of the advantages of doing engineering – the recession and the lack of jobs in the recession set that back.”

French was speaking after the annual ACE European CEO Award which rewarded the sector’s best performing bosses.

Winners included Gavin English, managing director. IMC Worldwide (Stirling Award), Simon Innes, managing director, Goodson Associates (CEO of the year - small firm), Dominik Courtin, CEO – Basler & Hofmann, Switzerland (CEO of the year - medium firm), Pablo Bueno, President & CEO – TYPSA Group, Spain (CEO of the year -large firm) and Kimmo Fischer, chairman – SITO, Finland who was also awarded a Lifetime achievement alongside French.

“The threat is other people coming into our territory and stealing the more profitable bits of our business and leaving us with just the bits that they don’t want,”

Strong leadership in an increasingly disruptive environment was also highlighted by the winners as critical to success alongside the need to encourage creativity and innovative thinking within an open culture.

“I think there is better opportunity for innovation and creativity in smaller to medium sized  organisations,” said IMC Worldwide’s English, who led the management buy-out of the business from WSP in 2011.

“Sometimes larger businesses don’t allow staff to move forward with freedom to develop ideas – it still happens but you have to work a lot harder at it in larger organisations,” he added. “An open culture means anarchy through freedom. We allow the business streams to develop their own strategic plans to deliver to the wider company goals. It will become more difficult as we grow.”

The six leading consultancy and engineering executives were rewarded at the ACE European CEO Awards dinner held in London on Wednesday 12th November. The awards are part of the European CEO Conference, a forum for discussion and debate between CEOs in the consultancy and engineering industry and recognise bosses from across Europe.

Speaking after the awards ceremony Flemming Pedersen, president of the European Federation of Engineering Consultancy Associations and the chair of the judging panel said the awards celebrated the great work by business leaders across Europe to drive economic growth.  

“I am constantly impressed by their determination, innovation and the personal contributions they make to their companies,” he said. “The individuals honoured at the ceremony will no doubt continue to be the wealth creators of tomorrow, and will play a crucial role in helping Europe’s economy move from being good, to being great in the months and years ahead” 

The full list of award winners are: 

Sterling Award – Gavin English, Manging Director – IMC Worldwide, UK 

CEO of the Year Awards [Small Firm] – Simon Innes, Managing Director – Goodson Associates, Scotland 

CEO of the Year Awards [Medium Firm] – Dominik Courtin, CEO – Basler & Hofmann, Switzerland 

CEO of the Year Awards [Large Firm] – Pablo Bueno, President & CEO – TYPSA Group, Spain 

Lifetime Achievement – Geoff French, AECOM, UK 

Lifetime Achievement – Kimmo Fischer, Chairman – SITO, Finland