Asset
Development
at Scale.
Done Right.
Independent advisory for owner-operators building and managing capital asset portfolios — from asset development strategy and portfolio governance to risk management, operational excellence in capital deployment, and AI-enabled project delivery.
Asset
Development
Advisory
McCarthy Consultancy Services B.V. is an independent advisory practice founded by David McCarthy — a senior capital projects executive with more than two decades of leadership across some of the world's most demanding asset development and industrial capital programmes.
The practice specialises in helping owner-operators build and manage capital asset portfolios with discipline and confidence: from the establishment of Capital Projects Groups and asset development strategies, through portfolio governance, risk management, and operational excellence in capital deployment. Engineering, Procurement & Construction contractors and engineering firms also engage the practice for commercial, operational, and strategic advisory.
A defining focus of the practice is the integration of advanced technology and AI-enabled delivery into capital project organisations — helping clients build the capability to make AI a genuine competitive advantage across the full asset development lifecycle.
Who We Work With
Capital Projects Leadership
Typical Client Profile
Advisory &
Consultancy
Services
Ten service lines spanning owner asset development, portfolio management, risk management, operational excellence in capital deployment, and AI-enabled project delivery.
EPCM, General Contracting & Project Development
Over 60% of large capital investments fail on budget, scope, or schedule — most often due to fragmented responsibility, weak project structure, and insufficient execution focus. McCarthy Consultancy provides embedded, senior-level delivery leadership across three models: Engineering, Procurement & Construction Management (EPCM), where the owner retains direct contracts and McCarthy leads the management layer; General Contracting (GC), where a single contractor holds full delivery accountability; and Project Development, covering the full lifecycle from concept and feasibility through permitting, financing, and execution readiness. In each model, the engagement is defined by active ownership — not advisory from the sidelines — with full accountability for scope, cost, schedule, and handover.
Asset Development Portfolio Management
Strategic advisory on asset development portfolio composition, capital allocation, and programme prioritisation for owner-operators managing multiple concurrent capital investments. Covers the full portfolio lifecycle: from asset development strategy and investment sequencing, through portfolio governance design, PMO establishment, and stage gate discipline, to portfolio-level risk management and performance reporting. Ensures the CAPEX portfolio is aligned to corporate strategy, balanced across risk and return, and structured for consistent, efficient delivery at scale.
Project Assurance & Health Checks
Independent review of projects at critical stage gates — from concept through FID and into execution. Structured assessment of engineering maturity, cost estimate quality, schedule realism, contractor performance, risk management, and governance readiness. Provides investment committees and boards with an objective, evidence-based view of project health before committing further capital.
Front-End Loading (FEL) Optimisation
Poor front-end definition is the single largest driver of cost and schedule overruns on capital projects. McCarthy Consultancy improves the quality of project definition before FID: FEL index assessment, scope completeness review, engineering maturity evaluation, estimate classification, and stage gate discipline — reducing execution risk before it becomes execution cost.
Cost & Schedule Benchmarking
Independent benchmarking of CAPEX estimates, schedule durations, and productivity assumptions against comparable projects and industry norms. Identifying optimism bias, missing contingency, and estimate classification gaps before investment approval. Provides boards and investment committees with the independent challenge that internal project teams cannot provide themselves.
Risk Management & Governance Advisory
Establishing and embedding robust risk management and governance frameworks across capital project organisations. Covers quantitative and qualitative risk assessment, probabilistic cost and schedule analysis, risk register design and quality review, stage gate governance, PMO design, and contractor management protocols. Builds the organisational backbone that keeps large asset development programmes in control — from concept through execution and into operations.
Engineering & Construction Contractor Advisory
Strategic and operational advisory for Engineering, Procurement & Construction (EPC/EPCM) contractors and engineering firms — covering commercial strategy, bid leadership, contract structuring, claims management, P&L turnaround, business development, and market entry into new geographies or sectors. Drawing on direct experience leading engineering and construction businesses across four continents and multiple industrial sectors.
Business Development & New Market Entry
Advisory for organisations seeking to grow revenue, enter new markets, or establish a presence in new sectors or geographies. Drawing on direct experience building and converting major opportunity pipelines, leading complex bid campaigns, and structuring market entry strategies across LNG, petrochemicals, data centres, semiconductors, and advanced manufacturing. Covers go-to-market strategy, client targeting, partnership structuring, joint venture design, and first-contract capture in new markets.
Operational Excellence in Capital Deployment
Structured performance improvement for capital project organisations — addressing the three levers that determine whether an organisation deploys capital consistently and efficiently: its people, its processes, and its tools. Covers organisational design, competency frameworks, standard operating procedures, project delivery playbooks, PMIS selection and implementation, and the cultural change required to make improvements stick. Includes AI-enabled tooling integration, digital workflow design, and talent development programmes that build lasting internal capability for operational excellence across the full capital deployment cycle.
The Industry Is
Changing.
Be Ready.
Artificial intelligence is moving from the periphery to the core of how large capital projects are planned, executed, and controlled. The organisations that will lead the next decade of industrial development are those building the capability to adopt these tools now — not after their competitors have.
The challenge is not a shortage of AI technology. It is the absence of experienced project leaders who understand both the technical realities of large Engineering, Procurement & Construction delivery and the practical application of AI within those environments. That intersection is rare.
McCarthy Consultancy brings that intersection to your organisation. Drawing on direct experience shaping AI-enabled delivery frameworks within a major steel manufacturer's Capital Projects Group, David McCarthy helps clients move from aspiration to implementation — building the governance, data infrastructure, and organisational capability required to make AI a genuine competitive advantage on capital programmes.
Planning & Feasibility
Execution & Controls
Reporting & Governance
"The organisations that integrate AI into their capital project delivery today will set the cost and schedule benchmarks that everyone else will be measured against tomorrow."
— David McCarthy, McCarthy Consultancy Services B.V.
Industry
Expertise
Advisory capability across the full spectrum of capital-intensive industries — from established energy and process sectors to the emerging industrial infrastructure of the digital economy. Engagements are calibrated to the specific delivery challenges of each sector.
From LNG to data centres — capital projects at the frontier
A Career of
Functional
Leadership
More than two decades of senior leadership spanning ten distinct functional disciplines — across the world's most demanding capital programmes and industrial organisations.
David McCarthy's career has been defined by the breadth of senior functions he has led — not within a single discipline, but across the full spectrum of what it takes to deliver, govern, and grow capital-intensive businesses. From project controls on billion-dollar LNG programmes to C-suite P&L responsibility, global business development, and the design of AI-enabled delivery frameworks, his experience spans the complete lifecycle of capital projects and the organisations that execute them.
This breadth — rare in a single practitioner — is what enables McCarthy Consultancy to engage credibly at every level of a client organisation, from investment committee to project controls team.
Sectors Delivered
Engage
McCarthy
Consultancy
Whether you are an owner-operator building a Capital Projects Group, managing a complex asset development portfolio, seeking independent risk management or project assurance, or looking to drive operational excellence across your capital deployment — David McCarthy is available for a confidential initial conversation.
Registered Entity
McCarthy Consultancy Services B.V.
Registered in The Netherlands