Collaboration, impact, innovation and value took centre stage at the 2026 ACE Awards Gala held on Thursday 5 November at Shed 10 in Auckland.
This year’s winners competed across nine categories, including new awards recognising excellence in collaboration, impact, innovation, relationships, sustainability and value, alongside categories designed to celebrate consulting businesses of all sizes. An additional four awards recognise emerging leaders, diversity and inclusion, future-focused thinking, and commitment to Te Ao Māori.
ACE New Zealand Chief Executive Helen Davidson says this new era of the ACE Awards celebrates the value and impact of engineering consulting. “They recognise that consulting excellence can come from firms of any size, from specialist advisers through to large multidisciplinary organisations. What matters is the value being created and the positive impact being delivered.”
Ace of Collaboration
Collaboration in Action: Delivering Sustainable Health and Education Outcomes in Kiribati
Consultant: Egis NZ Limited
Working across distance, culture and language, Egis built trusted relationships that enabled communities, government agencies and delivery partners to shape sustainable health and education outcomes in Kiribati.
The team created collaborative structures where none existed, demonstrating how consultants can bring together diverse stakeholders, make complex information accessible and enable better decisions in challenging environments.
The judges were particularly impressed by the way local voices shaped decisions and outcomes, and by the lasting legacy created through mentoring, coaching and knowledge sharing.
Egis is recognised for its deep commitment to partnership and practical capability building, which has created benefits that will continue well beyond the consultant’s services.
Ace of Impact
OARC Capacity & Conveyance
Consultant: Jacobs
OARC Capacity & Conveyance demonstrates a transformational approach to flood resilience and climate adaptation.
Jacobs brought together land use planning, stormwater management, environmental outcomes and long-term infrastructure investment into a single decision-making framework, helping communities and infrastructure owners understand risk in a more integrated way. This approach supports better investment decisions, improves long-term planning and provides a scalable model for future resilience challenges.
Jacobs’ entry stood out because of the scale and significance of the outcomes achieved, and the way its work strengthened understanding, informed investment decisions and improved resilience for the communities it serves.
By translating complex technical information into practical action, the framework has the potential to influence how catchment-scale adaptation is approached across New Zealand.
Ace of Innovation – sponsored by Stantec
Wind Farm Digital Design Optimisation Platform
Consultant: Riley Consultants
Riley Consultants has redefined how wind farm infrastructure is designed, bringing geological modelling, engineering, environmental considerations and visualisation into a single integrated workflow.
By enabling rapid optioneering and better-informed decision-making from the earliest planning and design stages, the platform delivers faster design, reduced delivery costs and lower environmental impacts.
Riley’s ability to transform innovation into practical impact stood out, and the judges were impressed by the way digital capability, technical expertise and commercial understanding were brought together to create a solution that is already delivering measurable benefits.
Through combining specialist expertise with innovative digital tools, Riley has created a scalable approach that is helping redefine how complex infrastructure investments are delivered.
Ace of Relationships
Thirty Years of Trusted Partnership – Delivering Enduring Value
Consultant: Egis NZ Limited
For nearly 30 years, Egis has partnered with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade to support development outcomes across the Pacific.
Built on trust, shared purpose and a deep understanding of community needs, the relationship demonstrates how consulting can strengthen organisations, build local capability and create lasting value for people and communities.
An outstanding feature of Egis’ entry was not a single project or achievement, but the depth and longevity of the relationship itself. The judges were particularly impressed by the enduring trust, shared commitment and lasting value created over many years of working together.
Through a long-term commitment to knowledge transfer, governance, and workforce development, the partnership continues to deliver benefits well beyond individual assignments.
Ace of Sustainability
O Mahurangi – Penlink Forest Duff Regeneration Strategy + Te Ara Tupua
Consultant: Tonkin + Taylor
Through O Mahurangi and Te Ara Tupua, Tonkin + Taylor demonstrates how consulting can drive meaningful sustainability outcomes by combining innovation, environmental stewardship, cultural knowledge and long-term thinking.
By challenging conventional approaches and creating solutions that can be adopted and scaled more broadly, Tonkin + Tayor has delivered lasting benefits for biodiversity, climate resilience, ecosystem restoration and communities.
Its ability to show that sustainability can be both ambitious and practical stood out. The judges were impressed not only by the outcomes achieved, but by the potential to influence future practice across our profession.
The submission showcases the important role consulting plays in advancing more sustainable outcomes for Aotearoa New Zealand.
Ace of Value
Enduring Value, Exceptional Outcomes for Allevia and Rydges
Consultant: Initia and Structure Design
Working alongside Rydges Hotel Queenstown and Mercy Hospital, Initia demonstrates how consulting creates value by understanding the real challenge facing a client, not simply the presenting issue.
By challenging assumptions, identifying smarter solutions and maintaining business continuity during critical periods, Initia helped its clients avoid significant disruption, reduce commercial risk and protect revenue.
The willingness to challenge conventional thinking distinguished this entry. Rather than accepting the obvious solution, the team took the time to understand what success truly looked like for their client and then found a better path forward.
The submission highlights the value of trusted advisers who align technical expertise with client priorities to achieve exceptional business outcomes.
Ace of Small Business
Arc Advisory: Strengthening the Client-Consultant Connection
Consultant: Arc Advisory
Arc Advisory demonstrates the powerful contribution small consultancies can make when specialist expertise is combined with trusted relationships, knowledge sharing and a genuine commitment to client success.
By working closely alongside clients, the firm helps organisations build capability, make informed decisions and navigate complex challenges with confidence.
Arc Advisory is recognised for its unwavering focus on client success. The judges saw a consultancy that has built trusted partnerships, created long-term value and consistently put the needs of its clients at the centre of everything it does.
The firm showcases how deep expertise, strong communication and a values-led culture can elevate client performance while strengthening the reputation and impact of the consulting profession.
Ace of Medium Business
Regional Resilience: Setting the Benchmark for Medium-Scale Consulting Excellence
Consultant: Riley Consultants
Riley Consultants demonstrates what consulting excellence looks like when expertise, leadership and community impact come together.
Through trusted client relationships, a commitment to developing future talent and active contribution to the profession, the firm consistently creates value that extends well beyond individual engagements.
The judges recognised the balance of Riley’s consulting approach. It performs strongly across every measure of consulting excellence, and is developing people, strengthening clients, contributing to the profession and creating meaningful value for communities.
Riley exemplifies how consulting can strengthen organisations, build capability, support resilient communities and help shape the future of the profession.
Ace of Large Business
Aurecon
Consultant: Aurecon
Aurecon is helping shape the future of consulting through leadership in sustainability, inclusion, technical excellence and capability development.
Across the business, initiatives such as Design Academy, Q-Factor and technical communities that support professional growth, cultural capability, innovation and client success, are creating positive outcomes for communities, clients and the wider profession.
Aurecon stood out for the way it used its scale not simply to grow its business, but to create opportunities for others. The judges were particularly impressed by its commitment to capability building, inclusion, professional leadership and its contribution to a stronger consulting profession.
Aurecon demonstrates how a large consultancy can use its influence to advance industry practice, strengthen partnerships and contribute meaningfully to the future of Aotearoa New Zealand.
Ace of the Year
Riley Consultants
The ACE of the Year award recognises the consultancy that most exemplifies agility, creativity and excellence, and best represents the contribution consulting makes to clients, communities and Aotearoa New Zealand.
Riley consistently stood out because of the way it embodied consulting excellence across every aspect of its business. The judges saw a consultancy investing in future talent, building trusted client relationships, contributing to the profession and creating lasting value for communities.
Riley is recognised for how it matches expertise with generosity, innovation with purpose, and commercial success with a genuine commitment to helping others succeed.
Among an exceptional field of category winners, Riley emerged as the business that most powerfully reflects the values of the ACE Awards and the very best of our profession for demonstrating agility, creativity and excellence in a way that elevates clients, communities, future talent and the consulting profession itself.
He Tohu Auroa
Infrastructure Belonging: Te Mauri o te Wai, Te Mauri o te Whenua, Te Mauriora o te Tangata
Consultant: Mahi Maioro Professionals Ltd
Through its Infrastructure Belonging approach, Mahi Maioro Professionals challenges conventional thinking about how infrastructure relates to people and place.
Grounded in the Mauri Model Decision Making Framework, the approach brings mātauranga Māori, science and community wellbeing together to support decisions that enhance the mauri of waterways, whenua and communities.
Developed over nearly two decades and applied across Aotearoa and internationally, the framework helps shape environmental restoration, governance and infrastructure outcomes, while strengthening Māori participation, capability and leadership in decision-making.
Mahi Maioro Professionals is recognised for its relationships built on trust, reciprocity and shared stewardship.
Emerging Leader Award – sponsored by Tonkin + Taylor
Joanna Park, Tonkin + Taylor
Joanna Park is an emerging leader recognised for her thoughtful, inclusive approach to leadership and her commitment to creating positive outcomes for people, communities and the profession.
Through her work on complex infrastructure and resilience challenges, Joanna demonstrates an ability to bring diverse perspectives together, build trust across stakeholder groups and help teams navigate complexity with confidence and clarity.
Alongside her consulting work, Joanna is passionate about developing future talent and strengthening understanding of the value consulting brings to society. Through mentoring, technical leadership and community initiatives such as the Wonder Project, she is helping to inspire the next generation while creating opportunities for more diverse voices to be heard and valued.
Drawing on her own personal journey and lived experience, Joanna has developed a leadership style grounded in curiosity, empathy and continuous learning. She is recognised for her ability to turn knowledge into practical action, support others to grow, and foster collaboration that leads to better decisions and stronger outcomes. Her commitment to inclusion, resilience and developing others reflects the qualities of a leader who is helping shape the future of consulting in Aotearoa.
Joanna’s ability to bring people together around a common purpose is outstanding. She has consistently created opportunities for others to succeed through her thoughtful and inclusive leadership, which is grounded in a belief that better outcomes come from listening, learning and working collaboratively.
Diversity and Inclusion Award – in association with The Diversity Agenda
Jenny Harrison, WSP
As a Principal Planner and Business Manager of WSP New Zealand’s Whanganui office, Jenny Harrison leads a multidisciplinary team of around 30 people while contributing decades of experience to the consulting profession. Having spent more than 35 years in planning and business leadership roles, she is widely respected for her practical, people-focused approach to leadership and her commitment to creating workplaces where others can succeed.
Alongside her business and professional responsibilities, Jenny has demonstrated exceptional leadership in advancing diversity and inclusion by bringing visibility, understanding and support to an often-overlooked workplace issue. Drawing on her own lived experience, she recognised the impact that perimenopause and menopause can have on wellbeing, participation and career progression, and turned that insight into meaningful actions.
Through Jenny’s leadership, menopause has become an increasingly recognised part of workplace wellbeing and inclusion discussions, and the judges said her willingness to shine a light on this often overlooked and rarely openly discussed issue stood out. Jenny led the drive to develop educational initiatives, support networks, practical resources and organisational guidance that have strengthened understanding, increased psychological safety and provided meaningful support for employees and leaders alike.
The impact of her work extends far beyond her own team, influencing conversations across WSP and the wider consulting and engineering sector. By combining courage, authenticity and persistence with the demands of leading a business and multidisciplinary team, Jenny has helped create lasting change.
Jenny’s leadership demonstrates that inclusion is not simply about policies or programmes. It is about creating environments where people can thrive at every stage of their career.
Futurespace Award – sponsored by AECOM
Steve Abley, Abley
Steve Abley has demonstrated leadership in challenging traditional consulting models and creating new ways to deliver value through technology, data and automation.
Anticipating major shifts in the profession long before they became mainstream, he led the development of innovative, repeatable consulting solutions that combine expert judgement with digital products and decision-support tools. The judges said this ability to predict where the profession is heading and act on it set him apart.
Steve’s leadership has shaped how expertise is applied within his business, while also helping shape wider conversations about the future of consulting in New Zealand and internationally. Through industry thought leadership, practical innovation and the successful expansion of New Zealand-developed solutions into international markets, he has shown how future-focused thinking can create lasting impact.
By empowering others to embrace new approaches and demonstrating how innovation can strengthen both professional practice and client value, Steve is helping to prepare the consulting sector for the opportunities and challenges ahead.
President’s Award
The ACE New Zealand President’s Award recognises outstanding service to ACE New Zealand and the engineering and consulting sector. Its recipients are people whose leadership, commitment and influence have left a lasting mark on our profession and helped shape a stronger future for our sector.
This year, we are proud to recognise Ian Fraser, Executive Chair GHD, whose leadership, vision and unwavering commitment to ACE have helped transform both the organisation and its impact. Ian served on the ACE Board for around six years, including as President from 2020 to 2022.
During his tenure, Ian led ACE through one of the most significant periods of change in its history. He brought ambition, courage and clear strategic direction, helping reposition ACE, strengthen its membership and influence, expand its services, and deepen relationships with government, industry leaders and decision-makers. He also championed ACE’s growing international presence through FIDIC, ensuring New Zealand’s voice was represented on the global stage. Throughout it all, Ian saw not only what ACE was, but what it could become, and worked tirelessly to help realise that potential.
Exceptional leaders leave more than achievements. They leave a legacy. Through his service, leadership and belief in the value of consulting and engineering, Ian has helped shape the organisation ACE is today and strengthened its ability to serve the profession into the future. It is with great pleasure that we recognise Ian Fraser as the recipient of the 2026 ACE New Zealand President’s Award.
