The Association for Consultancy and Engineering (ACE) has announced that its chief executive Hannah Vickers is stepping down to join major construction firm, Mace. 

Vickers will move to Mace in July as chief of staff where she will directly support CEO Mark Reynolds and the company’s executive board, embedding its new 2026 business strategy. ACE has already started the process of finding a replacement.

Commenting on Vickers’s departure, Paul Reilly, ACE chair and managing director - infrastructure and buildings at Stantec UK, said: “On behalf of the board, I would like to thank Hannah for her huge contribution and wish her all the best in her new role. Successfully navigating the organisation through the pandemic, she leaves ACE in an excellent position, financially robust, with a strong pipeline of impactful projects and an influential voice with policymakers.

“I will be working with the board to find a new CEO who can build on these firm foundations to further grow ACE’s influence across the UK. Whether in Westminster, Holyrood, Stormont, the Senedd, or at a local level with metro mayors, ACE will continue to make the case that its members are key delivery partners for government on issues such as levelling-up, net zero and building back better post-Covid.”

Reilly thanked ACE members in advance for their understanding as the board goes through its process for finding the right replacement and promised to update them on progress as soon as is possible.

Hannah Vickers commented: “I’m extremely proud of what ACE achieved in my time in charge and I am sure that my successor will be able to take our good work to new heights. I’d like to thank colleagues for helping to bring my ideas to life. Whether providing a space for members to discuss the future of consultancy, helping them through the pandemic with relevant and timely support, or moulding the organisation to better reflect the world we now work in, our people always delivered despite sometimes difficult circumstances.

“Finally, I’d also like to thank the board and especially my two chairs Mathew Riley and Paul Reilly, for their never-wavering support through what has been an often-tumultuous period.”

Mark Reynolds, Mace Group chief executive, commented: “Our new 2026 business strategy has set some very bold and ambitious goals for Mace over the next five years and our focus now must be bringing our plans to life across the organisation; driving organic growth in our target markets and embedding our new purpose and priorities. 

“Hannah is a highly effective leader who has delivered a number of major industry change programmes over her time at ACE and has advised ministers at HM Treasury on infrastructure delivery policy. I’m thrilled that she is joining the business at such an important time and I look forward to working with her to bring our plans to life."

Vickers joined ACE in September 2018 from the Institution of Civil Engineers. Prior to this she worked for Infrastructure UK, part of HM Treasury and the Environment Agency.