Q5

About you

Tell us about your business. What sets you apart?

Q5 is an award-winning global consultancy specialising in organisational health, performance, and transformational growth. At its heart we build better businesses.

We have deep expertise in strategy, organisation design and development, culture, and transformation, helping clients navigate complex challenges and seize market opportunities.

In the energy sector Q5 takes a practical, partnership-led approach. We immerse ourselves in each organisation’s context, co-creating solutions that ensure our clients can thrive, not just survive.

Headquartered in London with seven global offices across Australia, the US, the Middle East, and Asia, our reach is international but our approach remains personal and hands-on.

What projects are you working on, and how do they contribute to the company’s mission and vision?

We are working with clients across the globe, from the super majors and international oil companies, through to small to medium sized independents and private equity backed high growth businesses.

A few examples of our work and recent clients in the energy sector can be shown below:

ORGANIZATION DESIGN DELIVERY: We’ve clients with both rapid and long-term organisation design projects—from enterprise-wide cost reduction and M&A, to setting businesses up for growth. Our award-winning Metro Map framework delivers value from Day 1. Recent clients: Centrica, National Grid, Aggreko, Shell.

PROCESS REDESIGN & SIMPLIFICATION: We’ve streamlined key operational and support processes—reducing handoffs, clarifying ownership, removing duplication, and embedding discipline for more agile, standardised operations. Recent clients: Pemex, British Gas, National Grid.

PEOPLE, TALENT & CULTURE DEVELOPMENT: Partnering with HR, we’ve delivered talent development, cultural integration, and leadership enablement, establishing COEs, driving upskilling, and embedding HR capabilities across markets. Recent clients: BP, Saudi Aramco, ACWA Power.

CHANGE MANAGEMENT & IMPLEMENTATION: We’ve delivered major organisational changes and transformational programmes, always seeking to build change capability to ensure our clients can ‘go it alone’. Recent clients: Shell Energy,
Severn Trent, AusGrid.

TRANSFORMATION TOOLKITS: We’ve built comprehensive organisation design and transformation toolkits, refined through global experience and now adopted as standard across many global clients – for example at Neptune Energy, BKV Energy, Shell.

What opportunities and challenges lie ahead for you?

Operating in the energy sector offers Q5 both exciting opportunities and complex challenges, shaped by the dynamics of our three global hubs: London, Houston, and Riyadh.

In the UK, as the industry transitions toward low-carbon and renewable sources, organisations are rethinking strategies, structures, and cultures. Q5 is well positioned to support this, shift helping clients get “match fit” for the future and pivot their operating models. However, the declining breadth and depth of activity in the North Sea has created an increasingly competitive consulting landscape for us and similar organisations.

By contrast, our hubs in Houston and Riyadh sit at the heart of energy-driven economic growth agenda, presenting significant opportunities. These offices not only open wide markets for our services but also give our people exposure to new cultures and corporate ways of working.

We hope that with a resurgence of North Sea interest further opportunities will present themselves in the near future.

About your OEUK membership

How is OEUK membership benefiting your business, whether in terms of networking, resources, or industry insights?

Being a member of OEUK has enhanced our ability to connect with a broad spectrum of organisations across the energy sector. Attending events, such as the Forum in June, provided a valuable platform for networking, allowing us to build new relationships and test our thinking with energy organisations of all shapes and sizes.

Have you participated in any recent OEUK events? Which events are you looking forward to this year?

We recently attended the Future of the North Sea conference in June, which brought together a strong lineup of speakers, including Dan McGraill, CEO of GB Energy, Steve Nichol from Wood Group and Anasuria CEO Richard Beattie. The event provided valuable insights and excellent networking opportunities with suppliers, potential clients, and fellow consultants.

Looking ahead, we’re particularly excited about two upcoming sessions: Data and Digital—where we have a compelling offer for CTOs—and Safety and Resilience, a topic central to the future of the energy sector.

Future of industry

What notable changes towards achieving net-zero emissions have you observed in our industry in recent years?

I returned from living and working in Houston in September 2024—and I have to admit, there wasn’t much talk of Net Zero in the corridors of energy companies there! The term ‘Drill Baby Drill’ really is happening and it has been fun to be part of a city that is built on recent and former successes in the industry.

Despite this, I have also been fortunate to work with several clients making real contributions toward Net Zero. One, in the district heating space, is introducing a new model for servicing residential and civic buildings in the UK. While commonplace in Scandinavia, it’s exciting to support their development and help envision a greener future where individual boilers (a huge polluter) are no longer the norm.

Another example, a business formerly focused on shale gas extraction, has worked tirelessly to vertically integrate its business—making bold moves into CCUS and offering carbon-rated gas products. In positioning itself as the “greenest gas company,” this client is setting the stage for broader transformation in how traditional businesses operate within the energy sector. It has been exciting to both learn and advise on how to navigate this new future.

How is your company contributing to the industry’s transition to a net-zero future?

Beyond my terrible personal green credentials (I fly a lot!), as a firm we are deeply committed to supporting a net-zero future across multiple clients and sectors. Our dedicated sustainability team has redesigned some of the world’s largest organisations’ sustainability functions, embedding net zero into strategy, operations, and culture—ensuring it is more than a passing initiative.

In the energy sector, much of our work focuses on helping organisations in transition towards a net zero future: some responding reactively to net-zero requirements, others seizing the moment to proactively redefine their offerings, operations, and positioning. A strong example is our work with ACWA Power in Saudi Arabia, supporting their pivot toward renewables, but across almost all our clients net zero is part of a constant transformation dialogue.

How do you see the industry looking in 20 years? 

I’m no crystal ball gazer, but after a lunch with Julian Leslie from the UK’s National Energy System Operator, I’m optimistic about a more decentralized and localized energy future in the UK. As a proud Scot, I understand the frustration over high electricity costs when we have such abundant resources on our doorstep. In 20 years, I hope a localized system will better support communities and drive industry north of the border.

Looking further ahead, the race to commercialize fusion is gathering pace. Could the next Apple or Nvidia be the firm that makes fusion commonplace in our energy mix?

Find out more: Organisational Health | Management Consultancy | Q5 Partners

Connect with Q5 on LinkedIn: Q5: Overview | LinkedIn