Case Study: Meg Abdy

“Skillfair has helped me access markets I wouldn’t have considered when I started out as an independent”

Meg Abdy had in many ways a classic ‘consulting’ career before starting up as an independent. She has worked for McKinsey, Asda, Laura Ashley and the Henley Centre, specialising in retailing and consumer market intelligence, and her move into independent consultancy was prompted by a desire for a better work-life balance.

Initially Meg continued to work for commercial clients, splitting her time between London and Yorkshire, but increasingly has found her services in demand with clients from the not-for-profit and public sector who see an infusion of commercial experience as the key to improving their services and effectiveness.

Working through the Cornerstone brand (www.cornerstonestrategies.co.uk) on regeneration projects, Meg brings all of her retail knowledge and expertise to bear on the problems of run down city centres. As she says, ‘These projects are no less challenging than many private sector ones and they require experience and understanding of the whole consumer arena, which suits my background perfectly’.


Meg values Skillfair for the regular flow of smaller projects in this area, since these are both more manageable and less likely to be placed with the mainstream consultancies. However, her biggest success via Skillfair came from a completely unexpected quarter. Meg passed a request for suppliers to the NHS Institute for Innovation & Improvement on to a contact with good NHS experience, who suggested that they make a joint bid. As a result Cornerstone has already landed two contracts through this route and Meg has developed yet another string to her bow.

‘I’ve found that public organisations welcome my private sector expertise’, says Meg, ‘ I probably couldn’t have landed the NHS contract without teaming up with other people and the transition has been made much easier by the access to projects that Skillfair provides.