ACE chair to continue for second year in 2019

The Association for Consultancy and Engineering (ACE) has announced that Mathew Riley will continue as chair for a second year to support the organisation through a transitional period, owing to the recent appointment of new chief executive, Hannah Vickers.

While chairs usually hold office on an annual basis, ACE’s articles of association allow for it to extend the tenure of the chair by one year “if considered appropriate to address exceptional circumstances.”

ACE Chair Mathew Riley said: “With Hannah’s recent arrival at ACE, the board felt that maintaining a degree of continuity would be beneficial to the organisation. One of my key roles in 2018 was to oversee a smooth transition between Nelson Ogunshakin and Hannah and I’m delighted to be able to continue to do that over the coming year on behalf of ACE’s members.”

Hannah Vickers, chief executive of ACE said: “I would like to thank Mathew and the board for their support in my first three months and look forward to working together in 2019 to ensure ACE is meeting the needs of its members and speaking in one voice to government and industry stakeholders.”

A number of new appointments were also made to both ACE’s board and advisory board. Vickers added: “I would like to welcome the new members who, as well as bringing with them new ideas, energy and enthusiasm, add a wealth of experience which will be crucial as we navigate issues such as Brexit and launch our Future of Consultancy campaign, ensuring our industry is ready to meet both medium and long-term challenges.”

New appointments to the ACE Board 2019:

Vice chair (SMEs and devolved nations) – Simon Innes, Goodsons

Vice chair (Future of Consultancy) – Craig Huntbatch, Royal HaskoningDHV

Vice chair (Voice of Consultancy) – Rajiv Sudan, WYG

Chair of Large Consultancy group – Geoff Hunt, Arup

Chair of Progress Network – Georgia Hughes, Arcadis

Chair of Wales – Catherine Wenger, Arup

They join existing board members:

Chair 2019 – Mathew Riley, Ramboll

Immediate past chair – Mike Haigh, Mott MacDonald

ACE treasurer – Paul Reilly, Peter Brett Associates

Chair International Business group – Clive Anderson, WYG

Chair Major Projects group – Dave Barwell, AECOM

Chair SME group – Steven Hale, Crofton Design

Chair ACE Business Academy – Mark Naysmith, WSP

Chair ACE Midlands – Ruth Jeffs, Waterman

Chair of Scotland – Mark Arthur, Hurley Palmer Flatt

Chair of Northern Ireland – Stuart MacKenzie, JCP Consulting