Strong client relationships and a reputation for having exceptional talent enable Deloitte to offer fantastic secondment opportunities to its people right across the firm.

Gavin McAlpine, a Senior Manager in our Consulting practice, is one of 130 secondees who joined LOCOG to help deliver one of the most complex and high-profile projects available anywhere.

Gavin’s previous experience on the Vancouver 2010 Organising Committee meant that he was able to anticipate some of the challenges he would face, but nothing totally prepares you for the first-hand experience of delivering such a complex project. His role was to ensure that the teams, structures and processes were ready to perform when the athletes, spectators and the world’s media arrived. Achieving that meant integrating and validating plans across functions as diverse as transport, protocol, spectator services and security; and, across a complex network of delivery partners including commercial sponsors and government departments.

Gavin’s ability to build relationships with diverse groups, to demonstrate relevant experience and to anticipate obstacles and overcome scepticism was central to his success. Identifying issues and risks can easily become a negative process – the outputs of testing and exercising programmes inevitably tend to focus on gaps and problems – so it was important to keep the team focused on the positive impact of identifying and resolving potential problems earlier than had been achieved in previous Games.

Gavin was named Change Management Consultant of the Year at this year’s MCA Awards for his role at LOCOG.