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Top talent rewarded as Consultancy and Engineering Awards 2018 winners revealed

Diamond Award winner Charlotte Jones being presented with her award at the Consultancy and Engineering Awards in London on 6 June 2018.

Leading professionals from across the infrastructure sector gathered at the Marriott Grosvenor Square in London last night for the unveiling of the winners of the 2018 Consultancy and Engineering Awards.

Organised by the Association for Consultancy and Engineering (ACE), the annual event celebrates the best that the industry as to offer, recognising remarkable companies, industry projects and initiatives, as well as exceptional individuals and the next generation of sector leaders. 

The judging panel, made up of eminent individuals from across the industry and chaired by Sir Terry Morgan, chairman of Crossrail, had the difficult task of choosing the winners. 

In addition to the previously advertised awards, the Diamond Award celebrated the “best of the best” on the night, and two honorary Ambassador Awards were bestowed to former vice-chancellor of Aston University Baroness Brown of Cambridge and Mike Brown, commissioner of Transport for London. In response to an extremely competitive process, the judging panel also chose five highly commended companies and individuals.

Charlotte Jones of AECOM won the Apprentice of the Year Award and was also announced as the Diamond Award winner. In the winner's citation, the judges said: "Charlotte is a classic example of the benefits of apprenticeships in the construction sector. She is very personable, self-motivated and passionate, accessible and welcoming and has a personality that really draws you in. Modest amenable and humble, people in a similar position will be able to recognise themselves, thinking “if she can do it than so can I”. She is a real inspiration. We need more Charlottes."

The Best UK Business Performance Award for large firms went to Turner & Townsend, while Curtins won the award for midsize firm. The award for Best UK Business Performance for SME firms went to Dougal Baillie Associates. Arup won the Diversity and Inclusion Champion of the Year Award, Curtins won the Learning and Development Initiative Award, IMC Worldwide won the Social Impact Champion Award and Ramboll took the prize for Technology Champion.

The winner of the Emerging Professional of the Year Award went to Rhys Coombs of Stantec, who impressed the judges with his cutting-edge innovation in his field of dams and flooding. "Clear and confident, Rhys epitomises the spirit of the engineer," the judges said. "He doesn’t just accept things, he challenges them and there is real energy behind the interest. Really passionate and articulate and highly proficient in the digital arena and data use, Rhys has already accomplished a lot for someone who is only seven years post-graduation," they said.

Speaking at the awards, ACE chief executive, Nelson Ogunshakin said: “Once again it was a huge pleasure to welcome the industry for our gala event and awards ceremony. As in previous years, the winners were of exceptional quality - truly the best of the best. I am proud to have shared the stage with them and delighted that the awards continue to highlight what makes our industry great.”

The full list of 2018 Consultancy and Engineering Award winners appears below.

Best UK Business Performance – SME

Winner: Dougall Baillie Associates

Highly commended: Geo-Environmental Services

Best UK Business Performance – Mid-size

Winner: Curtins

Best UK Business Performance – Large

Winner: Turner & Townsend

Emerging Professional of the Year

Winner: Rhys Coombs, Stantec

Highly commended: Najwa Jawahar, WSP

Apprentice of the Year

Winner: Charlotte Jones, AECOM

Highly commended: Amelia Flood, Arup

Learning and Development Initiative of the Year

Winner: Curtins

Diversity and Inclusion Champion of the Year

Winner: Arup

Highly commended: Arcadis

Social Impact Champion of the Year

Winner: IMC Worldwide 

Technology Champion of the Year

Winner: Ramboll

Highly commended: Crofton

Diamond Award

Charlotte Jones, AECOM

Ambassador Award

Baroness Brown of Cambridge

Commissioner Mike Brown MVO, Transport for London

If you would like to contact Andy Walker about this, or any other story, please email awalker@infrastructure-intelligence.com.