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ICAEW Outstanding Achievement Award

Overview

ICAEW's Outstanding Achievement Award celebrates the work of ICAEW Chartered Accountants across all the fields and disciplines in which they have an impact and recognises their efforts to benefit the accountancy profession and / or society at large.

Awarded each year, it recognises one ICAEW member from the profession, business, academia, the public sector – any walk of life – who has served the community in the broadest sense. It is recognised as the profession's most prestigious award.

The Outstanding Achievement Award, in the form of a statue of Economia, was presented to ICAEW in 1980 to commemorate its centenary by the four founding societies: Liverpool, London, Manchester and Sheffield.

The statue of Economia, made of sterling silver and weighing 45 Troy ounces, was designed by Charles Halliday and commissioned from Liverpool silversmiths Boodle and Dunthorne. Economia herself is an allegorical figure who has always appeared in ICAEW’s coat of arms: a professional lady crowned with olive, holding dividers in her left hand, a rod in her right, behind her a rudder. The rod symbolises command, the rudder guidance, and the olive garland, that the good economist must necessarily maintain peace. The dividers represent her unique powers of measurement and assessment, as well as her ability to draw perceptive insights from the world around her.

The recipient also receives a replica of the statue, and a citation specifically prepared by the College of Arms.

The Rt. Hon. Justine Greening

The forty-seventh award, that for 2026, has been conferred on:

The Rt. Hon. Justine Greening

in recognition of her outstanding achievements in public service and for exceptional leadership in advancing social mobility and equality of opportunity across the United Kingdom. 

Justine Greening is a Chartered Accountant whose career has combined senior financial leadership, Cabinet-level public service and, most notably, a sustained and influential commitment to improving social mobility. Through her work she has reshaped how business, government and education collaborate to expand opportunity and address entrenched inequality across society.

Qualifying as an ACA in 1995 with Price Waterhouse, she established a strong foundation in financial and strategic leadership through senior roles with GlaxoSmithKline and Centrica, including as Head of Sales and Marketing Finance. This commercial experience informed her rigorous, evidence-based approach to public policy and later underpinned her work in embedding purpose-led, outcome-driven frameworks across both public and private sectors.

Elected Member of Parliament for Putney, Roehampton and Southfields in 2005, she served for fourteen years, including over six years in Cabinet. As Secretary of State for International Development from 2012 to 2016, she led the United Kingdom’s response to the Ebola crisis and played a significant role in shaping the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, demonstrating a commitment to opportunity and inclusion on a global scale. As Secretary of State for Education and Minister for Women and Equalities from 2016 to 2018, she placed social mobility at the centre of government policy, championing skills, access and fair opportunity, and becoming the first holder of that office to have been educated at a comprehensive school.

Since leaving Parliament in 2019, Justine has made social mobility the defining focus of her career. As Founder and Chair of the Social Mobility Pledge, she has built the largest business-led campaign of its kind, now adopted by more than 800 organisations representing millions of employees and students. The Pledge has created a practical and scalable framework enabling employers and educational institutions to widen access, improve progression and measure outcomes, helping to embed social mobility as a core organisational priority.

Through her leadership of The Purpose Coalition, she has further driven systemic change by bringing together major employers, universities, NHS bodies and local authorities to deliver tangible action on levelling up and equality of opportunity. Her development of the Purpose Goals framework has provided organisations with a structured approach to identifying and addressing barriers to opportunity, influencing policy and organisational practice across the United Kingdom.

Her thought leadership has been instrumental in reframing social mobility as both an economic and societal imperative. She has consistently advocated data-driven approaches, cross-sector collaboration and long-term accountability, ensuring that efforts to improve opportunity are measurable, sustainable and impactful.

Alongside this work, she continues to contribute extensively to public life and governance. She serves as Joint Chancellor of the University of Southampton, Chair of the Sutton Trust Education Advisory Board, and Non-Executive Director of On the Beach Group plc, where she chairs the Remuneration Committee. She remains a highly regarded commentator on social mobility, economic inclusion and purpose-led leadership.

Justine has also made a significant contribution to the accountancy profession, championing access to careers in finance and supporting initiatives that broaden entry pathways into the profession. Her work has highlighted the profession’s vital role in driving inclusive growth and enabling individuals from all backgrounds to succeed.

A first-class graduate in Business Economics and Accounting from the University of Southampton, and an MBA graduate of London Business School, she exemplifies the values of the profession at its best. Her career is distinguished not only by high achievement, but also by a sustained commitment to expanding opportunity and enabling others to fulfil their potential.

This award by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales acknowledges Justine Greening’s outstanding achievements in public service and her exceptional leadership in advancing social mobility and equality of opportunity across the United Kingdom.