Simon Benjamin discusses Synergy Group’s expansion in Victoria
Simon Benjamin, recently-appointed managing partner for Synergy Group’s new Melbourne office, discusses the firm’s motivation for launching in Victoria and its initial government focus.
A former partner at Ernst & Young, Benjamin joined Synergy in the middle of the year to lead the expansion of the Canberra-based consultancy’s newest office, which has already grown to a headcount of around 35 professionals.
Among them are fellow partners and former EY colleagues Mark Bainbridge and Dianne Sinclair, while Vijay Tampi joined the local partnership from KPMG late last year. Together, Benjamin says, they bring a broad set of capabilities.
Bainbridge for example advises human services and education clients alongside his significant work in defence, while Sinclair is a qualified engineer focused on risk and compliance requirements of infrastructure together with government organisations. Tampi meanwhile is a former public servant with extensive federal government experience, including work with the department of defence.
As for Benjamin, he was EY’s performance improvement practice lead prior to joining Synergy Group, and head of its portfolio & program management team before that, spending close to two decades at the firm as a partner between Australia and China. He was also previously a partner at IBM Consulting, with a career focus on the public sector as to human services, transport, and telecommunications.
But in terms of Synergy’s expansion to Melbourne, Benjamin noted the firm’s 25-year track record as a government -focused consultancy with a large presence in Canberra; “The logic was to bring some of what has made us successful working in the federal government to the Victorian market, so that’s where we’re all focusing our energy. We’re bringing the Synergy Group magic down here.”
Synergy expansion
Proudly locally-owned, Synergy Group has made no secret of its ambition to conquer the national market, boldly stating its plans to become Australia’s number one consultancy within a decade with a current headcount of more than 400 consultants. First stop on that agenda; making inroads into the state government market, which requires at least a little bit of nuance and local knowledge.
“Some things are similar between government clients across the country, but of course there are dynamics that are emphasised here,” Benjamin said in a wide-ranging in-house interview, citing infrastructure, health, and education as local focal points. “We’re a large economy here in Victoria, and the government has in recent years been focusing on significant social and economic reforms.”
Acknowledging that “a lot needs to be delivered by government in an increasingly cost-constrained environment,” Benjamin also noted that Synergy will continue to strengthen its team as to the above-mentioned sectors in addition to defence, while digital shapes as another near-future focus, with the firm looking to bring in an experienced leader to expand its digital offering to Melbourne.
Point of difference
Questioned on his motivation to join the firm and its point of difference in a crowded local market, Benjamin’s responses were effectively the same; Synergy is still of a size where it’s easy enough to collaborate across practice areas on complex problems as compared to larger consultancies, while still having the necessary capabilities to confidently serve clients without the recent erosion of trust.
“I’d decided that I wanted to remain a consultant but to do it in a different environment, and I liked the fact that Synergy has strong capabilities but is still agile and entrepreneurial. The external environment of consulting has changed so much in the past twelve months, and I felt that Synergy was really well placed to be one of the winners of that change, and I feel that even more now.”
Earlier this year, Synergy Group was named Australia’s top public sector consulting firm.
