John Fletcher, Project and Programme Management Award, 2006
What was your role then?
I was the BREW programme manager, leading the programme office to orchestrate a set of high‑impact initiatives designed to help businesses reduce their energy consumption and waste, saving money in the process. Together with my team, we set priorities, distributed funding, developed and maintained the metrics framework to measure impacts, and managed the day‑to‑day tracking of initiatives. We also convened fora to align national government policy interests with business priorities, ensuring funding decisions were evidence‑based and the programme remained responsive and coherent.
And where are you now?
Twenty years on, I am a consultant with Deloitte, working with central government clients. My role now focuses on driving a range of people‑centred changes, helping organisations transform at pace while maximising value.
You won the award for the BREW Programme Office Team – can you tell us more about what that involved and how it came about?
The BREW Programme was a national initiative that required a strong centre of gravity. We built a programme office that could balance technical delivery with stakeholder engagement, ensuring funding was targeted where it would have the greatest impact. It was about creating coherence across diverse interventions, while also giving businesses confidence that their efforts were aligned with wider policy goals.
What are you proudest of when you look back at that work?
I’m proudest of the tangible impact: businesses saved money, reduced waste and contributed to national sustainability goals. Saving money for businesses went hand in hand with reducing environmental impact and helping to power the engine of the green economy. Equally, I’m proud of the way the programme office created a bridge between government and business, ensuring priorities were genuinely shared.
Were there any particular challenges that you recall?
A particular challenge was reshaping the programme in the face of changing fiscal and policy priorities. Balancing government imperatives with the practical realities of business required constant negotiation and clarity. Ensuring that metrics were robust enough to demonstrate impact, while keeping the programme agile, was demanding but rewarding.
And what are the most important lessons you took from that time?
Being BREW programme manager was a career‑defining moment. It helped me discover my strong organisational skills, play to my strengths, and establish a career in programme management that I have since taken further. BREW was also a place where I further developed my passion for sustainability, seeing how environmental impact and business value could be aligned in practice.
What is your strongest memory of the night you won?
I had a strong sense of pride in the team’s efforts and in the impact we had achieved. Seeing that work recognised was a meaningful moment for all of us.
Who did you tell first?
I first told my team and celebrated with them. It felt right to share the recognition immediately with the people who had made it possible.
What impact did winning have on you, personally or professionally?
It gave me confidence that programme management could be both rigorous and impactful. Personally, it validated the path I was on and gave me the courage to take programme management further as a career. And even now, the award continues to carry meaning – while sorting through my “memories drawer” recently, I came across the magazine edition that featured the award. My young son has enjoyed looking at the award, and it is now in pride of place next to his Lego.
Do you have any advice for this year’s winners and shortlisted teams about making the most of their achievement?
Treat it as more than a trophy. Use the recognition to amplify your approach, share your lessons and build confidence in your methods. Celebrate properly, but also see it as a platform to shape the future of your profession.