Hudson & Yorke, a leading international ICT management consultancy today announced the appointment of Steve Glasgow to Head of Managed Services. Steve has held the position of Principal Consultant at Hudson & Yorke since his appointment in March 2008 and will now spearhead Hudson & Yorke’s expertise in managed services. Steve has a wealth of experience as a senior consultant in communications technology, with a unique perspective from his time spent operating as both a supplier and client for managed and outsourced services, offering a deep understanding of the respective challenges.
Steve brings over 20 years’ experience in communications technology, with an extensive commercial, technical and delivery background, including experience working with clients such as Diageo, Barclays, ING, BP and Vodafone. Prior to joining Hudson & Yorke, Steve was general manager at a leading service provider, responsible for the global banking sector – an area that grew consistantly under his tenure. Steve will play a crucial role in helping Hudson & Yorke to leverage new business opportunities within the specialist area of managed services.
“Steve has been an integral part of the team since 2008 and has made a significant contribution to the development of our business in the global brands, petro-chemicals and more recently the financial services sector. I am delighted to appoint Steve to Head of Managed Services at Hudson & Yorke, a great testament to his commitment to the growth and success of the company,” said Harry McDermott, Chief Executive at Hudson & Yorke. “We are seeing a growing demand, driven by our clients, for dedicated managed services expertise as they face challenges and complexities in managing ICT suppliers. Steve’s experience and strategic insight will be integral to ensuring we both exceed client expectations and maximise our business opportunity.”
“The team at Hudson & Yorke is both dedicated and dynamic in their approach to advising and delivering a strategy to meet unique business challenges enterprises face in effectively integrating communications technology. I am thrilled to be moving to a new role at Hudson & Yorke, which will allow us to better meet client requirements for managed services.” said Glasgow. “Having worked on both the supplier and client side of the business, this gives me a unique business insight and strong foundation for the delivery of a successful strategy for ICT implementation and management.”
Source: www.top-consultant.com
Hudson & Yorke, a leading international management consultancy today announced the appointment of Chris Hill as Head of the Financial Services Consulting Practice. With extensive experience and a proven track record in the industry, Chris joins Hudson & Yorke’s senior team, taking responsibility for the company’s financial services clients and practice growth.
With over 20 years’ experience, Chris has held senior consultancy positions at Cambridge Technology Partners and more recently, Detica, where he was instrumental in achieving year-on-year revenue growth for the firm. Chris will play a significant role in helping Hudson & Yorke drive results for its growing financial services consulting practice and capitalising on opportunities in the evolving environment of communications technology.
“It is great for Hudson & Yorke to have someone of Chris’ calibre join the company to drive forward our Financial Services consultancy practice and assist in establishing Hudson & Yorke as a leading international management consultancy in the specialist area of communications technology,” said Harry McDermott, Chief Executive at Hudson & Yorke. “We are seeing increasing demand from clients within the financial services industry for consultancy on significant ICT projects. Chris’ wealth of experience as a senior technology consultant provides him with the required knowledge and strategic mindset to contribute significantly to our clients and our future business strategy.”
“The experience and passion of the team at Hudson & Yorke was a major factor for me taking on this new opportunity to help the company excel within the financial services industry and wider markets,” said Hill. “Hudson & Yorke has an excellent reputation for its specialist knowledge in a number of vertical sectors. The company is driven by its ambition to help large enterprises better integrate their ICT requirements to achieve tangible business benefits. I am excited to join such an enthusiastic and driven team and look forward to further developing the business in 2012.”
Source: www.top-consultant.com
Analysis from PwC’s annual global survey shows that despite variable confidence levels, UK CEOs are continuing to invest despite the continued uncertainty, and in the face of unprecedented levels of cost cutting; 60% of UK CEOs said they had also increased headcount globally in the past 12 months, compared with India (55%) and China (51%).
With 79% of UK CEOs more upbeat about revenue growth in the next year compared with 64% of CEOs in those eurozone countries surveyed, there are encouraging signs that the UK may be faring better, in confidence terms, in the face of continued uncertainty in European and global markets. While only 29% of UK CEOs are very confident of growth in the next 12 months, 46% are very confident of growth in the next three years and at least 92% somewhat confident of growth over three years.
However overall, UK business leaders say the outlook for global economic conditions remains challenging, with 89% of UK CEOs believing it will not improve, or decline further in 2012. Further cost reductions are anticipated, as UK CEOs focus on reinforcing and building share in existing markets rather than expand into new ones.
UK CEOs are sticking with what they know, saying their best chance for growth in the next 12 months is more likely to come from increasing their share in existing markets, with less than a quarter (22%) looking for growth from new products or services, and 18% from new geographic markets.
Given that 53% plan to increase global headcount in the next 12 months, and 21% say they expect to cut their global workforce in the coming year, it is encouraging to see that 85% of CEO’s say they have access to the talent needed to deliver their company’s strategy over three years.
The major concerns on the minds of UK CEOs in the 15th annual survey include uncertain and volatile economic growth (86%), the Government’s response to the fiscal deficit (74%), lack of stability in capital markets (72%) and over-regulation (60%).
Ian Powell, PwC’s Chairman and Senior Partner, commented: “Our prognosis is that CEOs should expect the current pattern of volatile financial markets and relatively slow growth in western economics to continue. The challenge for the UK CEO is ensuring that their companies remain flexible, maintain cost controls and restructure to adapt to this slower growth environment.
“Growth opportunities still exist, particularly in faster growing emerging market economies and where new technology is opening up possibilities – in areas as diverse as online retailing and low carbon energy. The challenge now is to ensure that the experience of slower growth in traditional markets and the uncertainty created by more volatility does not prevent them taking advantage of these areas of new opportunity. Many CEOs are saying that they have already taken action to mitigate the ongoing eurozone debt crisis and it is hoped that this will have built resilience and competitive advantage into their businesses.”
“In the UK, there is little doubt that the outlook remains tough and complex but the UK benefits from having a credible and robust plan for bringing our public sector deficit down. Essential to UK growth is confidence in UK SMEa where fears remain about liquidity, regulation and the Eurozone. A consequence of this is that cash held in companies as a protection against these factors is not being invested, which could damage UK competitiveness in the longer-term.”
For UK CEOs the majority of their key business outside the domestic market is in Western Europe, with 45% engaged in North America, 28% involved in the Middle East and 8% in Africa. An interesting development this year is that although China is still perceived as an important territory for growth, this is at a lower level than last year’s survey with just 26% of CEO’s saying that they see the most important growth opportunities in China compared with 42% in 2011. Interest in Brazil has also dropped off from 15% to 5% in the12 months, with interest in India at 12%.
Source: www.top-consultant.com
Groan. Not Boris too.
Poor old Stephen Hester has taken a kicking from all the usual sources. The Guardian is in full hate mode. The Mail is blathering about “widespread fury”. Even the level-headed Peter Oborne in the Daily Telegraph says Hester’s bonus is a symbol of the nation’s moral degradation – it is “outrageous and insulting”, etc.
Now London’s mayor has picked up his pitchfork and torch and joined the baying mob. Boris says it is “absolutely bewildering” that Hester should get a bonus of nearly £1m.
Okay. Enough.
Here is why it is entirely fit and proper for Hester to get a bonus.
1 We agreed to give him a bonus.
The guy left the top job at British Land in 2008 to take on the most difficult job in British business. He did so out of a spirit of adventure, no small sense of patriotism and in the full awareness that he would be insulted for his association with a pariah organisation. Pay was also a factor. Without the right offer on the table he’d have stayed at British Land. It is simply infantile for the government to lure him to the job with various promises, and then to whinge when those promises are fulfilled.
2 His bonus is completely in accordance with his contract.
Oh, you’ll hear a lot of garbage about the failings of RBS. Shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna says the chancellor “promised a year ago that bank chief executive pay would be linked to SME lending” and that Hester’s bonus should thus be denied.
But, Chuka, that is not the sole determinant. In fact lending to SMEs is simply one of a whole range of metrics used to determine Hester’s bonus. The remuneration committee used the metrics stipulated in Hester’s contract to determine the bonus. Just like they are supposed to.
The day remuneration committees violate contracts and start using speeches by politicians to determine pay is the day this country goes out of business.
3 If we don’t pay he’ll leave.
As will the entire board of RBS. Bankers are in demand, from other London firms and by financial organisations around the world. Taxpayers will then find their investment in RBS valued at the square root of bugger all.
4 Hester is doing a fantastic job.
No one doubts this. Even Chuka Umunna said so on the Today programme this morning. RBS is a nightmare job, yet Hester is performing wonders.
5 £1m is not a lot of money in the City.
Seriously. Hester is taking £1m bonus as a favour to the taxpayer. He could walk into a job at Goldman Sachs and get many, many times this.
6 The taxpayer gets half.
Income tax is 50 per cent. When he cashes in, the bonus will be taxed.
7 The rule of law is sacrosanct.
When did it become necessary to defend the rule of law? Anyone asking for the prime minister to arbitrarily veto this bonus, in the face of corporate law, is implying that politicians should rule by edict. It’s madness. The really annoying thing is that Hester’s critics know all this. Chuka Umunna knows perfectly well that Hester’s bonus can’t be vetoed by the prime minister. Boris Johnson knows full well why Hester’s got this bonus. The anger is confected and dishonest.
Stephen Hester was hired to sort out the wreckage of RBS and return the billions of pounds sunk into RBS by the taxpayer. He signed a contract, willingly offered by RBS and signed off by the government.
He is keeping his side of the contract. We should keep ours.
And praise him to the heavens for the undoubtedly brilliant job he is doing.
Source: Charles Orton-Jones www.londonlovesbusiness.com/
KPMG Europe LLP (‘ELLP’), the professional services firm providing audit, tax and advisory services, reported that combined turnover grew by 13 percent to reach €4,589 million in the year to 30 September, 2011 (2010: €4,065 million).
On a like-for-like, pro-forma basis and at constant exchange rates, revenues were up 5 percent to €4,718 million (2010: €4,490 million).
This strong performance was fuelled by revenue growth in Russia (CIS) and Turkey, with Spain also performing highly. In the two largest practices in ELLP, revenue grew by 7 percent in the UK to €1,965 million (2010: €1,843 million), while in Germany revenue was flat at €1,179 million (2010: €1,187 million).
During the financial year, KPMG firms in Norway, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait joined the ELLP group, and Jordan voted to join. This takes the number of countries represented in ELLP to 18, with 32,800 partners and staff.
John Griffith-Jones and Rolf Nonnenmacher, ELLP joint chairmen, said: “This was a robust performance by ELLP firms in a challenging economy. ELLP has continued to expand and has demonstrated the resilience of our business model, which has enabled us to deliver continued growth.
“At the same time, the financial crisis has sparked a fierce debate about the future of auditing. Proposed reforms have huge implications for our profession, the high standards of audit quality we have always worked so hard to maintain and the continued development of relevant multi-disciplinary services for our clients. We have approached this debate from a very clear standpoint. We are not interested in special pleading. This is not an argument about our profitability or about protecting the status quo. Instead it is an argument about the functioning of the capital markets and about building better defences against future financial shocks in the modern world.”
Group financial highlights
The strongest performing function in the firm was Risk Consulting, reflecting the need of clients for strategic advice in a challenging business environment. Within Risk Consulting, Financial Risk Management and IT Advisory were the key drivers of growth. Management Consulting also grew strongly, as sales benefited from an expansion in Financial Services work and also from acquisitions during the year. Audit remained broadly constant, while Tax achieved growth consistently across geographies. The trading environment was difficult however for the Transactions business, although Restructuring performed strongly. Among markets, growth across Financial Services, Private Equity and Corporates offset the decrease in work in the Public Sector which was the result of public expenditure cutbacks in many countries.
Group net sales by function, as reported internally
Audit: €1,889 million – down 2percent
Tax: €1,003 million – up 9 percent
Risk Consulting: €479 million – up 16 percent
Management Consulting: €443 million – up 11 percent
Transactions & Restructuring: €654 million – down 2 percent
Group net sales by market sector, as reported internally
Financial Services: €1,357 million – up 7 percent
Corporates: €2,613 million – up 4 percent
Public Sector: €351 million – down 14 percent
Private Equity: €147 million – up 18 percent
Richard Bennison, ELLP Chief Operating Officer, said: “This year has seen a very creditable performance in difficult economic conditions. Our focus throughout the year has been on striving to understand our clients’ needs, to exceed those needs and consistently add value while doing so. Looking ahead, we remain committed to investing in our growth areas and priority sectors. No imminent recovery is expected in the M&A and IPO markets and our plans are built around an expectation of continuing volatility in the financial markets. However we expect our Risk Consulting and Management Consulting businesses to continue to capitalise on the market opportunities that are likely to exist across all sectors.”
Investments
ELLP made some significant acquisitions during the year, mainly in the Management Consulting business. These included EquaTerra, a market-leading advisory business in sourcing with a strong US-presence; Plexus, a specialist healthcare consultancy business based predominantly in the Netherlands; Xantus, an IT consulting firm based mainly in the UK (this completed just after year end); and the integration of the personnel of several legal boutique practices in Spain.
Highlights
Other highlights in the year included:
• For the second year running, KPMG was ranked second amongst the world’s most attractive graduate employers – leading the way amongst the Big Four
• ELLP firms once again demonstrated the importance of community involvement, with cash and in-kind donations to projects rising to €20 million, up from €15 million in 2010. Nearly 10,000 staff across ELLP firms volunteered over 77,000 hours of time supporting community programmes
• A new initiative, Project Bright, saw 58 people from across ELLP firms contribute more than 2,400 hours with a value in excess of €500,000 to three leading development organisations in Africa – a scheme that KPMG has pledged to continue over the next five years
Leading the way amongst accountancy firms in corporate reporting
With corporate reporting a key issue for organisations across sectors, this year’s KPMG Europe LLP Annual Report is more transparent than ever before on strategy, risks and performance. Although ELLP firms are not listed entities and therefore not subject to the same reporting requirements as organisations with external shareholders, this year’s ELLP report mirrors best practice from the quoted corporate sector in complying with the UK’s Audit Firm Governance Code. Key new disclosures include:
• Strategic objectives and performance measures;
• Risks, potential impacts and mitigations; and
• Key Performance Indicators
The Annual Report also includes for the first time a report from the Public Interest Committee, the committee of independent non-executive directors which has just completed its first year in operation.
Sir Steve Robson, Chair of the Public Interest Committee, said: “The external environment is clearly unusually challenging at present in terms of both economic growth and volatility, and regulatory developments. The Public Interest Committee has encouraged management to be guided in these difficult times by a clear and determined focus on audit quality.”
Source: www.top-consultant.com
The annual MCA Awards, organised in association with The Times, celebrate outstanding client-consultancy partnerships and projects, as well as the achievements of individual consultants. The 19 different award categories, plus two overall awards: the Platinum Award and The Times Award for Best Client-Consultant Relationship, are judged by a panel of high profile and independent judges from business, public sector organisations, business schools and journalism.
Alan Leaman, Chief Executive of the MCA said: “The MCA Awards are the industry’s benchmark for quality and excellence. All of the shortlisted entries show how clients and their consultancies create value for the British economy.
“The awards evening in April will be a showcase for the best performers in the private and public sectors – all of them supported by consulting of the highest quality.”
The final winners will be announced at The MCA Awards ceremony on 19 April 2012 at the prestigious Hilton Hotel, on London’s Park Lane. All award winning projects and consultants will be featured in a special supplement published by The Times.
In total 27 management consultancies have been shortlisted for these awards.
The shortlisted firms and their clients are as follows:
Project categories:
Change Management in the Private Sector
• Boxwood with Grosvenor
• Deloitte with Lloyd’s Banking Group
• Qedis with MCBC
• Quest Worldwide with Barclays
• PwC with Business Growth Fund
Change Management in the Public Sector
• Deloitte with Ingeus
• iMPOWER with Coventry City Council
• Mott MacDonald Department for Education and Islington Borough Council
• PwC with Scottish Government
Customer Engagement
• Ernst & Young with BMW
• IBM with Nationwide
• LOC Consulting with Truvo
• Propaganda with Clipper Logistics
• Transform with Argos
Environment
• Arup with C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group
• Atos with HMRC
Finance and Risk Management
• Challenge Consulting with Lloyd’s Banking Group
• KPMG with London Development Agency
• KPMG with SSI
• Navigant with AXA Wealth
• PwC with Swiss Re
Innovation
• CSC with Marussia Virgin Racing
• Deloitte with London 2012 Olympics
• KPMG with Musgrave
• PA Consulting with Ministry of Defence
• PwC with British Land
International
• BearingPoint with BP Southern Africa
• Deloitte with Pfizer
• KPMG with Alico Investments
• PKF with Department for International Development
Operational Performance in the Private Sector
• Arup with The Crown Estate
• Deloitte with Financial Services Compensation Scheme
• KPMG with Nationwide
• Trinity Horne with Farrow and Ball
Operational Performance in the Public Sector
• Arup with BBC
• BearingPoint with National Institute for Health Research
• Capita with West Sussex County Council
• EC Harris with Scottish Water
• PwC with Newham University Hospitals NHS Trust
Outsourcing
• Hudson & Yorke with Barclays
• PA Consulting with The Highways Agency
People
• Deloitte with National College for Leadership of Schools and Children’s Services
• Ernst & Young with ThinkForward
• Hay Group with Bombardier Transportation
Strategy
• Arup with BAA
• Corpra with CIMA
• Ernst & Young with Xerox
• KPMG with I4
Technology
• Atos with Yodel
• CSC with Telent
• Deloitte with Crossrail
• KPMG with Olympic Policing ACPO
• Transform with NHS Direct
Individual categories
Change Management Consultant of the Year
• Diana Barea, Accenture
• Lauren McClelland, BearingPoint
• Gavin McAlpine, Deloitte
• Ruth Whitfield, Ernst & Young
• Vicky Shillington, Qedis
HR Consultant of the Year
• Parvinder Rehal, Accenture
• John Baddeley, Deloitte
• Nina Kreyer, IBM
• Martin McDonnell, PwC
IT Consultant of the Year
• Stephen Dyke, CSC
• Peter Osborne, LOC Consulting
• Michael Orr, PwC
Marketing Consultant of the Year
• Rod Kay, Accenture
• Daniel Dunleavy, Deloitte
Performance Improvement Consultant of the Year
• Zoe Gilsenan, Capita
• Tas Hind, CSC
• Rob Banham, PwC
• Stewart Wilson, PwC
Strategy Consultant of the Year
• Etka Malhotra, Accenture
• Silvia Rindone, Deloitte
• Chay Pearce-Cochrayne, Ernst & Young
• Celine Herweijer, PwC
Source: www.top-consultant.com
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PA Consulting Group has acquired 7Safe Ltd, a leading cyber security consultancy head-quartered in Cambridge. 7Safe’s expertise in security risk assessment, computer forensics, eDiscovery and education complements PA’s own long-established cyber security, risk and resilience capability, which has been in high demand in securing the businesses of both public and private sector clients.
The acquisition of 7Safe means that PA now offers a market-leading, end-to-end cyber security service – helping organisations become more secure while making the most of the opportunities that cyberspace presents. 7Safe’s deep testing and forensic skills will complement PA’s wider cyber security experience and expertise.
Jon Moynihan, Executive Chairman at PA Consulting Group, stated: “We are very pleased that 7Safe has chosen to join PA, thus rounding out our already extensive set of capabilities in cyber security. 7Safe are our kind of people; they have the same highly professional, ethical and people-focused approach to business as PA. The combination of the two businesses will enable us to meet all of our clients’ cyber security needs. We are delighted to welcome 7Safe into the PA group.”
Alan Phillips, co-founder of 7Safe, says: “We are all excited by the opportunities that this provides to better help our clients. Cyberspace offers great opportunities for businesses; we can help ensure that their operations are conducted safely and with resilience. PA has an enviable market reputation for delivering cyber security solutions. We are delighted to join forces to provide an integrated range of cyber security services to clients.”
Neira Jones, Head of Payment Security, Barclaycard, says: “Barclaycard and 7Safe have been working together for over four years, ensuring the security of online payments around the world from all of our global partners. We look forward to working with PA and 7Safe in the future, as they bring together both specialist technical capabilities and wider cyber security, IT, management and technology expertise.”
7Safe formally became part of the PA Group of companies on 1 January 2012.
Source: www.topconsultant.com
Boxwood, the award-winning management consultancy firm, announced the appointment of Malcolm Fallen as a Non-Executive Board Director. Fallen joins with immediate effect and drawing on his extensive experience in the telecoms and private equity sectors, will be supporting Boxwood’s senior management team as the business expands in both these areas.
Fallen is Chief Executive of Candover Investments PLC. He joined Candover in March 2009 charged with leading a strategic review. Since then he has led the successful restructure of the business. Prior to this, he has worked in a range of business sectors, spending the majority of the last 14 years in the TMT sector. From 2001 to 2008 he was with KCOM Group, a UK-based IT and Telecommunications services business, joining as Chief Financial Officer before becoming Chief Executive Officer in late 2003.
Chris Wakerley MBE, Managing Director of Boxwood, commented: “Malcolm brings with him a proven track record of business transformation and change management coupled with deep understanding of the telecoms sector. Malcolm’s arrival, together with Terry Morgan who joined us in September, generates a powerful and exciting combination of senior business leadership at Board level and an enhanced offering to clients. The past year was a strong one for Boxwood, with major new business wins across our core sectors of retail, media, infrastructure and financial services and we look forward to continuing and building on this success in 2012.”
Fallen added: “Boxwood’s capability to deliver complex transformational change in a range of sectors has impressed me for some years. I am delighted to be offered the opportunity to join the Board and to help build on the strong growth the business is experiencing.”
Source: www.topconsultant.com
LOC Consulting, the specialist in successful project healthchecks, recovery and delivery, has been appointed as an integrator of MeLLmo’s Roambi in Europe. Roambi is an application that offers immersive mobile analytics that can be instantly delivered to any apple device including iPhones and iPad’s, and to some blackberries to keep senior managers connected to the latest business intelligence – including key performance indicators (KPIs), other company information and market data.
Integrating Roambi into the business intelligence (BI) process allows organisations to extract reports and data from existing systems, as well as a wide range of data and information from a variety of external sources and transform it into interactive visualisations and dashboards that can be accessed from any apple device. Depending on how the solution is configured, users can view, analyse, interact with the information, as well as make decisions based on genuine insight delivered in digestible and graphical format, without needing to be in the office.
“For the benefits of BI to be optimally realised, it needs to be accessible and timely,” states Peter Osborne, managing director, LOC Consulting. “The key to smart business decisions is having the right information at your fingertips, when and where you need it. Having access to the latest KPIs relating to critical business processes, products or procedures, allows senior management to make informed decisions using real-time information, thereby offering a tangible competitive advantage.”
Ali Shirnia, VP and general manager, EMEA at Roambi adds: “Roambi is an innovative, industry-recognised solution designed to address the real-world challenges and opportunities posed by an increasingly mobile workforce. We reinvented the mobile business application to improve the productivity and decision-making of mobile workers and we are delighted to have LOC Consulting as part of the Roambi European team. The firm’s proven track record of industry success, project expertise and technology capability made it the best choice for this role.”
Source: www.topconsultant.com
