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Winners announced at APM Project Management Awards 2020

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Project professionals from around the world celebrated at the annual Association for Project Management (APM) Awards, as winners were announced at a live virtual event.

The Awards, sponsored by RPC UK Ltd, recognise the very best within the project profession, from aspiring young project managers to complex and transformational projects and programmes, both in the UK and internationally.

For the first time ever, the event was held exclusively online and streamed live across the APM website and social media. BBC presenter Michelle Ackerley hosted the Awards, commenting: “These awards highlight the greatest achievements in a high achieving professional world.

“These really have been unprecedented times – a challenging year for so many. But one thing that has really struck me is how creative and resilient we can all be during times of hardship.”

Debbie Lewis, APM chair, added: “These awards recognise and celebrate excellence in both people and projects, and provide positive stories that shine a light on excellent individual and team contributions that will inspire others – particularly the next generation of project professionals.”

The winners on the night:

Outstanding Achievement Award

Winner: Lieutenant-General Tyrone Urch, Standing Joint Commander, British Army

“Bringing 36 years of experience in the army and project delivery training has, in a programmatic sense, genuinely delivered success. It’s a great honour and a privilege to receive the recognition, but I receive it on behalf of all the amazing men and women in the Royal Navy, the British Army and in the RAF.”

The Mike Nichols Award for Inspiration

Winner: Babcock – Ventilator Challenge UK (Zephyr Plus)

“I am very proud to be part of the team winning the Mike Nichols Award for Inspiration. It shines a light on the collective efforts of those who, having no prior medical knowledge, worked so very hard to innovate, design and build a working ventilator in what seemed like an impossibly short timescale. From the offset given the skills at our disposal, we knew this was a challenge that we could take on to help support the national effort. It was a real privilege to work alongside the whole team, all of which made huge personal sacrifices to do the right thing, and this award recognises their achievements.” – Andrew Howard, senior project manager

Shell Health, Safety, Security and Environment (HSSE) Award

Winner: Sellafield Ltd – Project Delivery Directorate

“Winning awards of this nature, and being recognised by such a respected body as the APM, shows that our delivery performance and professional capability is UK leading.

“This means we have now won five APM awards which is testament to the hard work and efforts of our team and supply chain partners. Our success demonstrates the ambition and capability of our teams working across the enterprise.” - Neil Crewdson, interim project delivery director

Innovation in Projects Award

Winner: Arup - Collaborative, Lean and Integrated Project Delivery of a World-class Innovation Centre

“We’re ecstatic. We couldn’t have done it without such a progressive client and the wider support from Arup, which was fantastic. We’re collaborative by nature. In terms of being recognised, this is absolutely a team effort.” – Stefan A van Dijk, Senior Project Manager

Social Project of the Year

Winner: Cayman Islands Government - Cayman Islands COVID-19 Field Hospital

“There were some big, fantastic projects in our category so we’re very pleased to have won. What has been really pleasing is the local reaction – all the social media messages coming in because the UK is talking about us. That has been great to see” – Graeme Jackson, director of workforce development

Transformation Project of the Year Award

Winner: Allianz Insurance PLC – Allianz Motor Engineering Services (MECS) Project

“This award wouldn’t have been possible without the whole project team working so collaboratively together.  They were all phenomenal in their approach, achieving a truly transformational change for Allianz that at times felt almost impossible. For our project to be recognised externally by a professional body such as APM means so much internally at Allianz. We are absolutely delighted with this win!” – Susan Ferry, senior project manager

Engineering, Construction and Infrastructure Project of the Year Award

Winner: Defence, Equipment & Support / Ministry of Defence - The delivery of HMS Prince of Wales and completion of the QEC Programme

“Given the amazing level of competition, the team were really thrilled to win this prestigious APM award. It is great recognition for the thousands of people who have worked on this programme which was truly a national endeavour and had delivered world class capability to the Royal Navy for generations to come.” – Vice Admiral Chris Gardner, director general ships

Contribution to the Profession Award: Company

Winner: Rolls-Royce PLC

“We’re all absolutely delighted to have won. I had a fantastic team and we’ve had fantastic support to deliver what we have. What we set out to achieve was to revolutionise our function within Rolls-Royce...For us, it’s about enabling people to be the best they can be.” – Leanne McCulloch, programme manager for civil aerospace project management function

Contribution to the Profession Award: Consultancy

Winner: PA Consulting

“It’s fantastic to have won, especially as there were so many strong contenders in our category. At PA, we believe in the power of ingenuity to build a positive human future, and our experience in delivering complex transformation programmes is critical to how we achieve that both internally and for our clients.” – Kalpesh Patel, business transformation expert

Programme of the Year Award

Winner: HMRC – COVID-19 programme

“The COVID-19 programme required HMRC to turn around on a sixpence, from tax-gathering to supplying the kind of financial support normally expected from a bank.

“It was an extraordinary response from HMRC to extraordinary times, helping businesses and individuals across the UK to be as well placed as possible to weather the pandemic. The judges described the programme as ‘well-constructed’ and ‘tied in very well with existing delivery and operations’.”  – Michelle Ackerley, APM Awards host

PMO of the Year Award

Winner: Government of Montserrat - Montserrat's Programme Management Office

“We’re absolutely thrilled. The kind words from the judges were greatly appreciated. We’re a small PMO so to win in this category is brilliant.” – Martin Parlett, head of Programme Management Office

“It’s absolutely amazing. To be able to watch the awards event live and know that we had won was fantastic.” – Linda Dias, deputy head of Programme Management Office

Young Project Professional of the Year Award

Winner: Emma Simpson, Highways England

“I am honoured to have won the APM Young Project Professional of the Year 2020. It means so much to have been recognised for my achievements and it is a great start to my career in the professions.

I’m also extremely grateful to Highways England for their support and encouragement in my role, also to the judges for their generous comments.” – Emma Simpson

Project Professional of the Year Award

Winner: Theresa Sloan, Allianz Insurance plc

“From its inception nearly three years ago, Theresa has successfully led the Allianz Contact Centre International (CCI) programme every step of the way. The programme has transformed the telephony infrastructure and, very importantly, the customer experience at Allianz UK.” – Michelle Ackerley, APM Awards host

Technology Project of the Year Award

And

Overall Project of the Year Award

Winner: Heathrow Airport - Counter Unmanned Aerial System at Heathrow

“We are delighted to have won these awards, in a year which has seen technology accelerate in times of such change. This project has been a collaborative effort, and I would like to thank all the team at Heathrow involved including OSL our lead technology partner. Many thanks to APM and the judges for this incredible recognition.” – Ben Hooper, project manager, and Tom Putman, programme manager, Counter Drones Systems at Heathrow 

WATCH THE VIRTUAL CEREMONY ON-DEMAND

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