www.wealthandfinance-news.com Management Consulting Awards 2026
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Contents 4. Meredith Consulting Services LLC: Best Holistic Systems Strategy Consultancy 2026 – USA & Structural Synergy Excellence Award 2026 – USA 6. Reinventing Organizations: Best Change Management Consultancy 2026 – Germany 8. Studio Quarta: Best Project Finance Advisory Firm 2026 – Italy 9. 4Improvement: Best Process Improvement Consultancy 2026 – Netherlands 10. SteM Advisory Ltd. (t/a Eggcelerate): Best Growth-Stage Execution-Led B2B Consultancy 2026 11. MMG Management Consulting: Leaders in AI-Enabled Business Transformation 2026 – Switzerland 12. Maroubra Consulting: Global Start-Up Growth Consultancy of the Year 2026 – Northern Europe 13. We and Tech Srl: Most Trusted SME Innovation & Digital Transformation Consultancy 2026 – Italy 14. Spectical: Best Sustainability Implementation Consultancy 2026 – DACH
4 | Management Consulting Awards 2026 Best Holistic Systems Strategy Consultancy 2026 – USA & Structural Synergy Excellence Award 2026 – USA An organization is not a collection of isolated functions; it is a living, interconnected system. Leaders must understand how strategy, culture, decision-making, and leadership behavior interact within that system, because greater awareness of those relationships improves clarity, strengthens execution, and helps stabilize business performance. “Once leaders understand how to think in systems and see themselves as part of the system, results become lasting,” Chris told us. “Leaders often think of systems only as structured systems. While I believe strongly in structured systems, a structured system is like the body of a car without an engine. The living system is the engine. Understanding both is essential to the long-term success of a leader and the systems they lead.” Through his consultancy, Chris helps executives see the whole system rather than only its individual parts. This enables them to make betterinformed decisions, strengthen organizational flow, and create more sustainable outcomes. His approach integrates strategic development, leadership discovery and development, and systems awareness into a practical and disciplined way of leading that supports immediate priorities while protecting long-term vitality. Services available through Meredith Consulting Services (MCS) range from one-on-one coaching for C-suite and senior leaders to structured leadership development, strategic planning, execution support, board and executive-team alignment, succession and role transition, and systems-thinking education. Each engagement is designed to create meaningful improvement and measurable change, while remaining tailored to the specific needs of the client and organization. In his own words, Chris explained: “We offer solutions grounded in systems thinking, particularly in strategic planning, execution, and development. We also provide leadership discovery and development from the vice-president level through the C-suite.” Systems thinking is fundamental to MCS, yet it is rarely applied to leadership as deeply as it could be. When applied well, it helps leaders identify patterns, understand the conditions producing those patterns, and address issues in a way that creates long-term stability rather than temporary relief. Chris is extending this body of work through his forthcoming book, ‘Leading the Living System’, and his television program, ‘The Living System’, produced through NowMedia Television. All MCS services are also grounded in Chris’ own experience as a leader. His more than four decades in leadership span military service, insurance, nonprofit work, executive coaching, and strategic consulting. Blending this experience with the knowledge of the executives, boards, and senior leaders he serves, Chris’ work has been shaped by years of success, failure, mentorship, disciplined study, and continued growth in the dynamic field of leadership. This commitment to continuous learning also defines MCS more broadly. The firm stays attentive to changing client needs through ongoing research, close communication, and the development of new ways to deliver highly personalized service. MCS also values feedback loops that reveal better ways to communicate, measure progress, and strengthen each engagement. Chris explained: “I consider us to be a firm that forges its own path. I do not want simply to do what the industry does because every client has individual needs, and our goal is to meet those needs. Many firms say they personalize their service, but we deliver on that promise. Every assessment, coaching plan, board conversation, and C-suite engagement is tailored to the specific situation.” For MCS, client service begins with understanding people, how they think, how they function, what conditions shape their decisions, and what outcomes they are seeking. Chris does not begin with a predetermined solution. He begins by listening, observing, asking disciplined questions, and understanding the organization as a whole before shaping an approach that fits the client’s needs. That discovery process is part of the work itself. As the engagement develops, Chris continually evaluates what the system is revealing and adjusts the approach through ongoing feedback. When specialized expertise outside MCS’ core disciplines is required, he collaborates with trusted professionals or helps the client identify the right resource rather than overstating his own capabilities. Clients value this level of candor in a world where many claim expertise too broadly. All of this converges into MCS’ mission: to shape leaders, align cultures, and ignite long-term transformation, helping organizations move from ideas to execution with clarity and values. The firm’s work is built upon transparency and trust, collaboration, candidness, personalized service, a focus on results, cultural integrity, innovation, accountability, and continual growth. These values also contribute to the structural synergy for which MCS has been recognized. Chris helps leaders align strategy, people, roles, culture, decision-making, and execution so the parts of the organization reinforce one another rather than work at cross-purposes. That alignment creates the conditions for stronger leadership, healthier systems, and more sustainable organizational performance. “Our core values influence the type of clients we work with and the service we provide,” Chris said. “We do not accept every client because the relationship must be a match for us as well as for them.” Ultimately, honest communication, tailored service, disciplined thinking, and impactful solutions that Chris and MCS bring to management consulting is a key to the success of MCS. As the firm continues to align people and purpose, connect strategy with execution, and help leaders Unlocking strategic clarity, leadership depth, and lasting impact for its clients, Meredith Consulting Services is based in Little Rock, Arkansas. For more than a decade, MCS has worked with C-suite leaders, boards, and executive teams, drawing upon founder and CEO Chris Meredith’s more than four decades of leadership experience across the military, insurance, nonprofit, and consulting sectors. We caught up with Chris following the firm’s dual recognition in our Management Consulting Awards 2026.
understand the living systems they shape, we are delighted to celebrate its achievements with two well-deserved titles in this issue. More on Chris Meredith and Meredith Consulting Services can be found below. Contact: Chris Meredith Company: Meredith Consulting Services LLC Web Address: https://thinkmcs360.com/ Best Holistic Systems Strategy Consultancy 2026 – USA & Structural Synergy Excellence Award 2026 – USA
6 | Management Consulting Awards 2026 Best Change Management Consultancy 2026 – Germany Frauke Christiansen established Reinventing Organizations in 2010 with the aim of enhancing the courage and capability to change on both an organisational and individual level. She provides exceptional management consulting in the fields of change management, leadership topics, team performance, and communication, including crisis communication, communication in restructuring projects, conflict resolution, writing texts and presentations, and performance coaching for managers. Through Reinventing Organizations, Frauke undertakes a wide range of management consultancy work. Clients turn to her expertise with myriad queries, from adequately preparing their operations prior to announcing a redundancy and reshaping organisational structure to designing and implementing module-based training and managing teams. Frauke’s core values of clarity, pragmatism, and reliability are central to everything she does on a daily basis. She told us: “My clients quickly feel understood and that they can confide in me. I listen without judging, prefer clear words, and avoid technical terms from the management world or psychology jargon. That way I include everyone!” Furthermore, by staying true to these values, Frauke not only approaches each client with the same base level of respect and care but she also understands how to go the extra mile in tailoring solutions to them as individuals to produce the best outcome for unique needs. Regardless of the client’s enquiry, Frauke will always adjust her solutions accordingly. “My approach is very much dependent on the individual assignment,” she told us. “I always advocate for a handson and interactive approach – that is, including team members without leadership responsibility – when designing the programme or measures. This creates a lot of buy-in and provides valuable insights into the real problems, or the problem behind the problem.” Many new clients express reservations about management consultants when they first interact with Reinventing Organizations, having witnessed the ineffective results of the “big five” conducting projects within their companies. With this in mind, Frauke strives to make a difference from the very beginning of their engagement, demonstrating her unwavering commitment to her signature values of clarity, pragmatism, and reliability. Clients soon realise that they can confide in Frauke, trusting the way she listens without judging, uses clear words, and avoids technical jargon. “I know what works and what doesn’t,” she explained. “I don’t need lengthy – and costly – diagnosis phases to find out what the problem behind the problem is. I focus on actions that are feasible and match the company’s culture and speed of change, not on actions that are trendy. I refuse to produce piles of PowerPoint slides, but talk to people instead. I have developed pretty good workshop methods and communication formats to establish a trusted partnership and working relationship.” Throughout every offering, whether that’s tailored solutions for individual managers, entire teams, or company structures, Frauke focuses on expertly building trust even during a significant short ramp-up time. She leans on her decades of experience to quickly and accurately assess a wide variety of business models, cultures, leadership styles, and willingness to evolve. As transparency and accountability play such integral roles within any business relationship, Frauke strives to offer clear, addresseeoriented communication that is deeply ingrained into the process at every level. Frauke’s pragmatic approach, while keeping things simple and straightforward, results in uniting teams to create a highperforming organization. Frauke is a master in reconnecting individuals in business, to futureproof a company and its success. She added: “I have everything and everyone in view - even in large workshops. I don’t just mean center stage, but also notice what is happening “on the sidelines”. With me, everyone gets their say and their due. I get people talking again! Even if there are more differences than similarities in the team. The teams learn that what everyone brings to the table can be respected and appreciated. It is a gain to be able to use different strengths productively.” Supporting corporate clients from all around the world, Frauke enriches the effectiveness of communication in the business landscape, increases innovation in services delivered to end users, and improves the way we see the management consulting industry overall. Ultimately, Frauke prides herself on her wealth of expertise which she weaves into each interaction with her clients but there’s so much more to her approach. Though never one to chase trends, Frauke does ensure that Reinventing Organizations remains informed of industry changes. Alongside her work as a consultant, Frauke has been a regular author For over three decades, Frauke Christiansen has been working as a management consultant and executive coach for corporate groups and medium-sized companies from around the world. Through her consultancy Reinventing Organizations, she works in close collaboration with her clients, helping them to find the right answers and achieve clarity regarding communication, expectations, and transformation. We spoke with Frauke to learn more about her empowering work as Reinventing Organizations is named in the Management Consulting Awards 2026.
for a German HR specialist magazine since 2018, as well as a visiting lecturer in Change Management and Organisational Behaviour for a private university in Heidelberg since 2018. This enables her to remain in constant contact with two universities, browsing specialist magazines and conducting regular research that she also utilises for articles. Furthermore, Frauke participates in an annual Peer Coaching weekend with long-term partners and colleagues to discuss best practices and raise standards across the industry. She has attended a number of workshops that cover how to best integrate artificial intelligence into consultant work, recognising it as a powerful tool with the potential to have a significant impact. Outside of this, however, she maintains that the general scope of her work remains the same. “To be frank, and I know this may be controversial, there is nothing new in how one runs a change management or communication project,” she shared. “Apart from AI, as a great tool that changes my way of doing my own work, the actions or measures in a project basically don’t change; they just sometimes get a fancy name. I’d rather see myself as someone who goes her own way and sets her own standards, based on 32 years of professional experience. I know that clients don’t care whether an approach is ‘new’ or ‘trendy’; they want their problem solved.” Setting out to solve the industry’s most pressing problems herself, Frauke has commenced work on a book that will focus on fostering good and effective communication in the workplace. This is a topic she is incredibly passionate about, having witnessed first-hand how rapidly communication skills have been deteriorating on all levels in recent years. This is a regression that has been spurred by the opportunity to work remotely, in addition to the introduction of alternative communication channels within the workplace. Through this book, Frauke hopes to mitigate this emerging challenge before it takes root. But that’s not all; together with a long-time consulting colleague, Frauke is currently preparing to publish her first book this August. Entitled EINFACH MACHEN, this book will primarily address the C-suite executives and managers of the German Mittelstand, a segment very specific to Germany and an essential backbone of the country’s economic development. Sadly, with the economic downturn and politically induced deindustrialisation, the Mittelstand currently faces significant hardship. At the same time, the sector simply does not have the financial means to hire big consulting companies. This is the gap Frauke and her colleague seek to fill, providing successful concepts and methods so that Mittelstand businessowners can learn to “do it yourself” and identify their inefficiencies independently. The pair will send out the first edition to designated companies and then, after collecting feedback from readers, will provide the second condition for all. Additionally, they will offer sample sheets, questionnaires, and other practical materials via a website that has been especially created to operate alongside the book. After 32 years in the business, Frauke has seen her fair share of ups and downs, especially over the last 16 years of running her own show. While it has been difficult to see the significant challenges facing the German economy, and the downward spiral this has caused for many companies on the market, Frauke and Reinventing Organizations remains motivated to persevere, reinforcing its position as Germany’s Best Change Management Consultancy 2026. Frauke shared: “When clients say, ‘We couldn’t have managed the project without you’ or, even better, ‘You came as an external consultant, you leave as one of us’, it has always felt like a second fee or income. It can’t get better than that, can it?” As another shining example of a satisfied client, Melanie Bernroitner shared: “Frauke Christiansen showed a deep understanding of the challenges our company faced after the acquisition and during the integration. Her extensive expertise and commitment were critical to the success of our change initiatives. She worked closely with our Best Change Management Consultancy 2026 – Germany leadership team to clearly define the goals and scope of the changes and to ensure that all stakeholders were well informed and engaged. Frauke was an asset to our team and a key player in the successful integration. I highly recommend her as an expert in organisational development and change management.” Going forward, Frauke continues to establish trust as the first part of each connection. She has a passion for what she does but her personality always shines through too. Often, people can seem so wrapped up in the business world that they lose their love for those simple pleasures of life. Frauke’s passion is also around the world of icebergs and oceans, which have always fascinated her. She has been particularly influenced by her trips to Antarctica (2010, 2020), Iceland (2016) and the Arctic (2017), where she experienced overwhelming nature and many thousands of years old, eternal ice. She added: “An often calm sea in different shades of blue paired with absolute silence: this makes you humble and open to changes of perspective and new paths.” Frauke’s consulting work is just the tip of the iceberg which makes her who she is. Passionate about her position as a proud “godmother” to two Humboldt penguins at Frankfurt Zoo, supporting research and species conservation, and her endless commitment to making a positive impact on the whole of our natural world, Frauke is an inspiration. Sharing valuable insights on the complex world of organizations, there’s plenty to be found via the website when we’re looking for a promising way towards success. Despite all the ups and downs that Frauke has experienced over the past three decades, she is living proof that determination and skill will prevail. With such rich experience behind her, and such a promising future ahead, Frauke is sure to continue building her awe-inspiring legacy. From the tip of the iceberg right through to the unseen complexities below the surface of any business, Frauke is devoted to delivering comprehensive services and support that is truly unparalleled. She will continue to pour her energy into providing change programmes, leadership support, and restructuring/post-merger solutions that make all the difference for companies across the map. Contact: Frauke Christiansen Company: Reinventing Organizations Web Address: www.christiansen.company
8 | Management Consulting Awards 2026 Best Project Finance Advisory Firm 2026 – Italy Located in Lecce, Studio Quarta supports companies, entrepreneurs, professionals, and both public and private entities in the management of economic, fiscal, financial, and strategic choices. It offers concrete support for ordinary activities as well as the most important moments of corporate life, such as investments, development programmes, access to credit, and subsidised finance. In the field of management and business consulting, Studio Quarta supports companies in the planning, organisation, and control of their growth processes. Its activities include economic and financial analysis, assessment of the sustainability of investments, preparation of business plans, economic and financial plans, feasibility studies, analysis of financial needs, and assistance in accessing subsidised finance instruments, public contributions, loans, and business support measures. The team also takes care of accompanying the customer in reading company data by transforming numbers, balance sheets, and forecasts into useful tools for making informed decisions. In this work, Studio Quarta aims to ensure that the client company understands where it is, what margins for improvement it can activate, and what opportunities it can seize. When embarking on a new client project, Studio Quarta first begins by listening to the customer and understanding their real needs. Its team understands that each company comes with its own unique history, structure, and objective, which is why the firm aims to build customised solutions capable of combining economic sustainability, administrative correctness, and strategic vision. This approach is informed by Studio Quarta’s corporate DNA. “Our core values are professionalism, reliability, transparency, confidentiality, and result orientation,” Antonia explained. “These principles guide every professional choice, because we believe that effective advice should not be limited to solving a single problem, but should help create lasting value for the company.” A key element of creating lasting value requires Studio Quarta to stay ahead of industry advancement. Its team constantly follows the evolution of regulations, tax, financial, and facilitations, monitoring tenders, incentives, national, and regional measures, as well as tools for innovation, digitisation, energy efficiency, and competitive development. Continuous updates and improvements in these areas, combined with invaluable experience gained in the field, enables the Studio Quarta team to offer prompt, concrete advice consistent with market needs. “Our method is based on study, market observation, and continuous comparison with companies belonging to different sectors,” said Antonio. “This allows us to intercept the main trends, understand their practical impact, and translate them into useful solutions for customers. We do not necessarily define ourselves as ‘pioneers’ in the abstract sense of the term, but we prefer to consider ourselves professionals capable of tracing a concrete, pragmatic, and personalised path for each company.” Digitalisation has certainly emerged as an area of significant interest for Studio Quarta, as it is profoundly transforming the ways in which companies manage data, processes, documents, communications, and strategic decisions. For a firm that operates in business, financial, and tax consulting, the adoption of digital tools represents a fundamental opportunity to improve efficiency, precision, and speed of intervention. The Studio Quarta team is adapting to this change by utilising digital tools for document management, data analysis, monitoring of subsidised finance opportunities, preparation of forecast plans, and sharing information with customers. Digitalisation has allowed the firm to work in a more organised way, reduce response times, and offer a more transparent and accessible service to clients. At the same time, Studio Quarta aspires to ensure that the human relationship with the customer remains central. “Technology is a tool, not a substitute for counselling,” stated Antonio. “Our goal is to use digital to make the service even more effective, without losing the personal attention, listening skills, and professional evaluation that remain the basis of our work.” For almost three decades, Studio Quarta has played an instrumental role in supporting the development of growth, innovation, and improvement processes in countless client companies. The firm has carried out 329 projects, activated €293 million in investments, and intercepted €127 million contributions since its inception, and is showing no signs of slowing down its momentum. For the incredible impact it has had on countless clients to date, Studio Quarta has been named Italy’s Best Project Finance Advisory Firm 2026. Contact: Antonio Quarta Company: Studio Quarta Web Address: www.studioquarta.it Studio Quarta was founded in 1998 with the sole mission of becoming the most successful, most creative, and most innovative consulting agency. The professional firm specialises in commercial, tax, and financial consultancy, taking an approach oriented towards the growth and development of companies. As Studio Quarta is named in the Management Consulting Awards 2026, we heard more from Owner Antonio Quarta below.
Best Process Improvement Consultancy 2026 – Netherlands Many businesses are aware that there is something impacting their growth and processes, but lack the expertise, manpower, or time to identify and fix it alone. Enter 4Improvement, a trusted process improvement partner to corporate clients across the Netherlands, renowned for taking a personcentred, multidisciplinary approach to consultancy. We heard more from Founder Tony Huyzer below, as 4Improvement is named in the Management Consulting Awards 2026. Since its inception in 2018, 4Improvement has provided insight into processes and rapidly identified the elements that makes a business stall. The consultancy has dedicated itself to reviving medium- to large-sized companies from all sectors, from automotive and industrial to consumer and hospitality. Regardless of their size or industry, these clients are united in their suffering of similar pain points, whether that is inconsistencies in their policies or clashing corporate cultures. 4Improvement is led by Tony Huyzer, a selfproclaimed jack-of-all-trades who takes a no-nonsense, multidisciplinary approach to business consulting. Tony describes himself as “a people person with a business slant” and maintains close attention to the human aspect in his work, understanding that it is the people who carry out the processes within a business. When undertaking consultancy work through 4Improvement, Tony strives to deeply connect with each client. He sinks his teeth into every project he begins, whether improving processes, applying structure, or recording procedures. “In order to provide the best possible service, it is key to listen very well,” he told us. “In most cases, there is an underlying story which you can only discover by listening, especially to what has not been said.” While many businesses’ goals and strategies are typically similar, Tony recognises that every business is unique to itself. He looks at the entire business operation before asking the important questions, interacting with everyone from management to the warehouse. He combines different disciplines to create tailored solutions, as many processes within a company are often interlocking and overlapping. If necessary, he will pull together a team from his network to fill any disciplinary gaps. “Through my expertise in procurement, process management, and change management, I will always connect with other disciplines, build bridges and trust, and lay the foundation for open communication on every level of the business,” he explained. “I connect people and let them see that joint efforts to reach a common goal makes life significantly easier.” Steered by Tony’s informed perspective, 4Improvement offers a comprehensive suite of process improvement solutions to its clients. Its interim management solution is designed to guide companies through phases of growth and transformation, whether temporarily replacing management or seeking a fresh look at the purchasing process or stock management. For companies seeking change, 4Improvement offers exceptional change management services. 4Improvement empowers its clients by ensuring that every member of their team is on the same page for the impending changes, enabling them to visualise the improvements and step away from their fear. Tony leverages his experience to unite teams in the face of transformation, whether they are growing in size, expanding their portfolio, or evolving in alignment with new laws and regulations. 4Improvement’s process improvement solution provides clients with a clear view of the entire organisation, accounting for all elements such as business strategy, finances, mission and vision, communication, and even building management. This service is essential for enacting true improvement and optimisation, empowering clients to take control of their processes, identify their strengths and weaknesses, and ensure that all people are in the right places. Finally, 4Improvement’s procurement and supply chain management solution is key to streamlining processes. From product demand, purchasing, price-quality, control, and stock management to delivery, taking a critical look at the process can often result in significant savings. 4Improvement helps clients ensure that their procurement processes and supply chain management runs smoothly and in complete order. In less than a decade, 4Improvement has established itself as a trusted partner for businesses of all sizes and sectors. Tony has delivered essential process improvement consultancy to a wide range of clients, empowering them to take control of their processes and improve their organisational structure. For the significant impact it has made on countless companies across the Netherlands, 4Improvement has been rightfully recognised as the Netherlands’s Best Process Improvement Consultancy 2026. Tony is projected to finish his current project at the end of September, and will be free to take on more assignments. He shared, “If you feel that there is a lack of progress in your company, or you would like to change certain ways of working, but you are stuck or don’t know where to start, contact me and we will discuss your situation.” Contact: Tony Huyzer Company: 4Improvement Web Address: www.4improvement.eu
10 | Management Consulting Awards 2026 Best Growth-Stage Execution-Led B2B Consultancy 2026 “The future belongs to consultancies that don’t just tell clients what to do but help them make it happen.” Located in London, Eggcelerate is a dedicated UK-based team helping B2B technology startups and SMEs activate their growth strategies. Since its inception, the consultancy has been on a mission to help leaders build businesses that perform better, scale sustainably, and become less dependent on heroic effort. With this mission, its work is designed to benefit founders, employees and, ultimately, customers. Within this field, the Eggcelerate team embeds itself as a fractional Chief Operating Officer or Chief Commercial Officer, working alongside leadership teams to address their challenges directly. Never one to advise from the sidelines, Eggcelerate operates with the core belief that consulting should not create dependency for businesses but instead instil capability across the entire team. “I want every client to feel that we’ve left them stronger than we found them.” At its core, Eggcelerate is driven by its philosophy of “Think. Commit. Grow.” It maintains that complexity is the enemy of growing businesses and strives to create clarity for clients without adding another layer of process. For the Eggcelerate team, Think means understanding before acting; Commit means having the courage to prioritise; and Grow means executing relentlessly whilst learning and adapting. Over the years, the team has learned that most leadership teams already possess more opportunities than they can pursue, and do not need to continuously create better ideas. Through execution-led consultancy, its team creates focus, removes friction, speeds up decision-making, and aligns people behind shared priorities. “These qualities are incredibly difficult for competitors to replicate,” said Stefano, “which is why I believe execution is one of the last genuine competitive advantages.” Through its work in execution-led consultancy, Eggcelerate has also discovered that the real challenges truly begin after workshopping finishes. Never confusing activity with impact, its team works alongside clients to ensure that the growth strategies it implements are upheld long after they are developed. Eggcelerate remains at its clients’ side, helping them to make difficult business decisions, align their leadership teams, and build the operational discipline they need to deliver results. “I’ve seen organisations spend months producing strategies that everyone applauds and nobody implements,” Stefano explained. “We measure success through outcomes such as improved profitability, stronger operational performance, and sustainable growth, not the number of slides we produce.” Looking to the future, the Eggcelerate team will be focusing on combining experienced leadership with intelligent technology. Whilst the consultancy will support clients as they evolve alongside their markets, it vows to never pursue advancement for the sake of advancement alone. Instead, it will prioritise developments that promise measurable commercial value over those merely surrounded by hype. A key example of this is the pragmatic adoption of AI; Eggcelerate encourages clients to stop asking, “Which AI platform should we use?” and instead ask, “Where is friction preventing our people from creating value?” It aims to teach clients that technology should amplify a great business, not compensate for weak leadership. Looking forward, Stefano shared, “AI is extraordinary, but it’s not a strategy. Judgement, ethics, trust, and culture remain human responsibilities, and I don’t see that changing.” Beyond this, Eggcelerate will continue to expand its fractional executive model, with the aim of helping more businesses access senior capability when they need it the most. Eggcelerate is also increasing its involvement in the UK quantum ecosystem, particularly around commercialisation, international growth and the operational challenges involved in taking DeepTech innovation to market. For its exceptional contributions to the UK’s B2B technology startup and SME landscape, Eggcelerate has been named the Best GrowthStage Execution-Led B2B Consultancy 2026. Reflecting on this achievement, Stefano said, “Receiving this award is a privilege because it recognises something we have believed from the very beginning: businesses succeed through execution.” He continued, “Awards are wonderful, but what matters most is the confidence clients gain. When a founder tells me they can finally focus on leading instead of firefighting, that is the outcome I’m proudest of.” Contact: Stefano Maifreni Company: SteM Advisory Ltd. (t/a Eggcelerate) Web Address: www.eggcelerate.com For many ambitious businesses, challenges with growth rarely lie in the strategy. Most founders and leadership teams already know where they want to go, but require an expert to transform their ambition into consistent action. Enter Eggcelerate, a SteM Advisory brand working with B2B startups and SMEs that have momentum but are beginning to experience the complexity that comes with growth. We heard more from Founder and Director Stefano Maifreni below, as Eggcelerate is named in the Management Consulting Awards 2026.
11 | Management Consulting Awards 2026 Leaders in AI-Enabled Business Transformation 2026 – Switzerland Artificial intelligence has become one of the defining topics for management teams across Europe. Companies are exploring new use cases, reviewing technologies and preparing their organizations for change, although they rarely begin from the same point. MMG Management Consulting has built its AI offering around that reality. Following the firm’s recognition as a “Leader in AI-Enabled Business Transformation 2026 - Switzerland”, we spoke with Christian Bosshard, one of MMG’s Managing Partners, about the firm’s approach to AI and why organizations rarely need the same answer. Founded in Zurich in 2012 by former PwC consultants, MMG is a European management consulting firm with offices in Zurich, Vienna and Barcelona. The firm combines the agility and senior-level attention of a boutique consultancy with the scale and ambition of a growing international player. With a clear focus on innovation, sourcing and delivery, MMG offers its clients tailor-made consulting services supported by an extensive network of proven specialists and strategic partnerships. MMG tackles today’s challenges by adopting innovative solutions with creativity, experience and a touch of fun. The idea behind the firm has remained consistent over the years. Complex business problems deserve clear strategic thinking, practical solutions and consultants who stay involved until the work is done. That philosophy has shaped MMG’s work for more than a decade and continues to define how it also shapes the firm’s work in artificial intelligence. “There is no single AI playbook,” says Christian Bosshard, Managing Partner at MMG. “Some clients are exploring their first use cases, while others are already thinking about governance, scaling or agentic AI. Our job is to meet them where they are, build the right team around the challenge and enjoy solving the problem together”. An AI Maturity Assessment can help establish where an organization stands and which areas deserve attention next. From there, the engagement is shaped around the client. An initial discovery workshop, for example, can identify and prioritize promising use cases, while organizations further along may require support with strategy, sourcing, implementation or scaling. The conversation always starts with the business. AI programmes can involve technology choices, new processes, governance, and changes to existing ways of working. A client with a well-developed strategy may need support selecting the right technology partner. Another may have successful pilots and need the delivery capacity and business engineering expertise to bring them into production. MMG structures its work around the situation at hand, with senior consultants supporting in every step of the way. The firm’s wider delivery capabilities play an important role. MMG provides programme and project management, business analysis, business engineering, agile delivery and testing. Together, these disciplines allow the firm to stay involved from the early stages of an initiative through implementation and go-live. They also reflect a characteristic of MMG’s consulting philosophy which is that recommendations must work in the reality of an organization, with its existing systems, processes and people. That perspective has been shaped by years of work in financial services, insurance, healthcare, retail and other complex environments. In these sectors, new technology must fit established processes, regulatory obligations, security requirements and existing systems. Good ideas still need owners, budgets, governance and people who can make them work. For Christian, this practical approach of consulting is closely linked to MMG’s culture. The firm values creativity, ambition and thoughtfulness, with a preference for direct conversations and plain language. It has little patience for buzzwords without a business case. The humor is deliberate, and so is the standard of work. MMG describes itself as small enough to care, experienced enough to deliver and ambitious enough to keep building. The Wealth & Finance award recognizes MMG’s work at a time when AI is becoming part of mainstream business transformation. MMG has built its AI offering around that range of needs and around a principle that has guided the firm for years: understand the client’s situation, bring the right people together and get the work done with a smile. Contact: Christian Bosshard Company: MMG Management Consulting Web Address: https://www.mmgmc.ch
12 | Management Consulting Awards 2026 Global Start-Up Growth Consultancy of the Year 2026 – Northern Europe Maroubra Consulting comprises an experienced team of management consulting professionals whose focus is on the challenges its clients face regarding strategy formulation, strategic design, and digital transformation delivery. The cornerstone of the consultancy is operational excellence, something Terje and the team believe is a competitive advantage for the companies they work with. Terje explained: “As businesses grow and expand their operations and business ecosystems, higher complexity is inevitable. We see operational excellence as a key source of competitive advantage, highly influencing a company’s ability to compete and win new business.” The companies Maroubra works with are primarily scale-ups in the finance and technology sectors, including fintech and SaaS companies, that are integrating automation, IoT, and AI into their technology solutions and have begun global expansion. Scale-ups at this stage benefit hugely from Maroubra’s services, which help them maintain optimal operational resilience and cost efficiency, understand business complexity, and recognise the importance of both adapting to and taking advantage of the right opportunities. Many of Maroubra’s projects focus on improving clients’ operational core, effectiveness, and resilience, unlocking sustainable growth capabilities and enhancing market credibility. Maroubra’s work in the management consulting sphere can be divided into four categories: strategic design and advisory, digital transformation, cybersecurity compliance management, and AI business adoption. All of these services are grounded in the consultancy’s fundamental aim of supporting operational excellence by creating competitive advantages across business functions. In delivering these services, Maroubra stays one step ahead of the curve, something that is also central to its own business model. Terje told us: “As a global, remote-first management consulting boutique, we have access to a vast pool of experience-based knowledge from our consultants.” Innovation, trends, and proven solutions for increased competitiveness are drawn from regions around the world at an agile pace, without the bureaucracy of a larger organisation. Maroubra, then, is a company leveraging a global knowledge network to its full potential, looking beyond the boundaries created by geography and traditional office structures. Its delivery model is all about freedom, and the flexibility this brings is something its team values. For instance, Marta Serra, one of Maroubra’s co-founders, is an avid surfer who spends much of her time in Asia pursuing this lifestyle, without ever missing a client meeting or deadline as a Business Analyst for the company’s projects in Europe. The company’s approach also has longterm cooperation at its core, and the team invests in the business relationships it has with clients to ensure it remains part of their strategic journey over the long term. By working with clients who are trendsetters and innovators in their own fields, Maroubra stays involved not only in strategic design but also in the long-term implementation of innovative and transformational solutions, adding its own in-depth market research, methodology, and best practices to each client’s competitive agenda. This benefits both its clients and Maroubra itself. “Our own business agenda becomes very tightly connected to the business agenda of our clients, and we consider this a longterm win-win.” These relationships are more crucial than ever, given that businesses across the management consulting sector are witnessing the growing capabilities of AI and its accumulated business knowledge, placing significant pressure on the overall value proposition of consultancies like Maroubra and the management consulting industry more broadly. Rather than shying away from AI, Maroubra has embraced it, partnering with digital pioneers such as Microsoft to leverage the capabilities of Copilot for both itself and its clients. The AI advisory service touched on above is another example of how Maroubra is guiding its clients through these industry shifts without losing the human connections that are essential to success in the world of management consulting. On the back of this, Terje told us in closing: “We will continue to build on our business model to ensure that our global ecosystem of consultants and business partners grows, while continuing to solve high-value business challenges alongside our clients.” More on Maroubra Consulting, the company we have named Global Start-Up Growth Consultancy of the Year 2026 – Northern Europe, can be found at the link below. Contact: Terje Hilde Company: Maroubra Consulting Web Address: https://maroubraconsulting.com/ Built on decades of expertise and competency across a broad range of international markets, Maroubra Consulting is a ‘global-first’ and ‘remote-first’ management consulting boutique. With origins in Bergen, Norway, and experienced management consultants in Barcelona, Amsterdam, Sydney, and San Francisco, the business operations specialists support clients by creating competitive advantages across their business functions. Regardless of where clients are located, this global consultancy sets strategic direction and improves client performance, thriving in today’s world of shifting priorities and complex business environments. Terje Hilde, the Founder and Managing Director of Maroubra, was on hand to tell us more following this recognition.
Most Trusted SME Innovation & Digital Transformation Consultancy 2026 – Italy Founded in Milan, Italy, in 2021, We and Tech Srl is a boutique management consulting firm for industrial innovation across Industry 4.0 and 5.0, cybersecurity, and business finance. It was born from the diverse skillsets of the various professionals behind it, whose experience and expertise covers engineering, IT, and economics. Their knowhow is the foundation of a proprietary methodology that supports SMEs and other businesses as they innovate across the company’s speciality areas. Giuseppe Luca Moliterni, managing partner at We and Tech, caught up with us for more. Beginning with Industry 4.0, or the fourth industrial revolution, this is a shift characterised by the rapid integration of digital technologies like AI, machine learning, robotics, and the IoT. These technologies are changing the way processes work, making them more efficient, flexible, and sustainable. Industry 5.0 is an extension of this evolution, with more of a focus on the humanisation of production. Essentially, its focus is on creating safe, comfortable, and productive work environments for employees, using technology like VR and AR. We and Tech excels across both Industry 4.0 and Industry 5.0, helping clients to unlock increased efficiency, flexibility, sustainability, and comfort across their operations. It helps its clients leave challenges like a lack of digital skills and navigating changing rules and regulations behind, supporting them across every stage of a digital transformation. Similarly, cybersecurity is a major consideration for companies looking to leverage the latest technologies across their processes, and ISO 27001 has been designed to certify that a company has an effective information security management system in place. We and Tech will help its clients to improve the security of their business, and can help with planning an information security management system and achieving the ISO 27001 standard. Last but not least, innovation costs money, and this is something that a lot of businesses do not have just lying around. This is why finance for innovation exists, with this set of financial tools being made available to companies to support them on their journey. Through its expert consulting services, the most trusted SME innovation consultancy in Italy helps companies to find the resources they need to develop and implement these innovation projects. The outcomes of these services are reflected in We and Tech’s mission, which is to support companies as they implement projects that make the most of the opportunities and technologies available to them in this digital age. Its vision is an extension of this, and the aim through these consultancy services is to make innovation inclusive, accessible, ethical, and sustainable. The company’s values of quality, reliability, and professionalism guide it in achieving these aims and transforming the businesses of clients from the ground up. Operating in such an environment, it is vital for We and Tech to stay a step ahead of the curve. The company’s position as a partner within the prestigious Partner24Ore network helps it achieve this, as it allows the team here to exchange insights with the leading professionals and institutions comprising this network. “The very name of our firm, We and Tech, was carefully chosen to reflect the inseparable bond between human capital and technological evolution.” Looking ahead to the next steps for We and Tech, Srl the company is focused on consolidating its position as the benchmark for companies navigating the intersection of advanced technology and fiscal strategy, ensuring that innovation remains safe, sustainable, and accessible. In the immediate future, it aims to actively channel its energy into expanding the capabilities of its proprietary consulting, deepening the integration of AI and data science into its predictive financial modelling for digital transformation projects in particular. Lastly, the rest of 2026 will see the company intensify its dedication to pioneering the Industry 5.0 framework across its entire portfolio. To this end, it is launching dedicated initiatives designed to help businesses optimise their energy consumption and structurally upskill their workforces, in the process proving that technological evolution can go hand in hand with environmental responsibility and human dignity. In closing, Giuseppe told us: “As a final reflection, I want to emphasise that the true victory behind this award belongs entirely to the incredible entrepreneurial community we are privileged to serve. When we look at our client retention rate consistently exceeding 90%, we do not simply see a successful business metric or a point of pride; we see a profound, explicit vote of confidence from the business owners, engineers, and visionaries.” More on this Industry 5.0 transition and digital transformation advisory can be found below. Contact: Giuseppe Luca Moliterni Company: We and Tech Srl Web Address: https://www.weand.tech/
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