Digital consulting start-up Onbord recruits Michael Scott

Perth-based digital consulting upstart Onbord, which emerged out of the local wind-down of Deloitte Digital, has been growing from strength-to-strength since its abrupt mid-year launch.

As reported at the time, Onbord was devised over a few lunch-time commiserations by a crew of suddenly former Deloitte directors and staff grappling with their surprise retrenchments, and quickly became a real thing.

Fast-forward a few months and the bold plunge appears to have paid off, with the firm having already served the likes of Curtin and WA Health while attracting further believers, including former Deloitte partner Michael Scott.

“I didn’t heed your advice to take a break, as the opportunity of a lifetime emerged,” Scott stated of his Deloitte departure. “I’ve joined some of my old crew who earlier this year created Onbord, a digital consultancy already making a big impact on some strategic and transformational projects in WA. I get to keep doing what I love with amazing people who I've worked with for many years.”

A more than two-decade Deloitte veteran, Scott previously led the Deloitte Digital team in Western Australia, and now rejoins former colleagues and Onbord founders and directors Hugh O’Brien and Reece Wagner as a principal consultant. Another co-founder Adrian Cardenosa has also now officially joined the director team, with former Deloitte partner Anthony Robinson serving as chair.

With Robinson having previously been a partner at KPMG acquisition Momentum Partners after joining GEM Consulting in its early days, O’Brien sated; “Anthony brings his knowledge and experience of building and running successful consulting companies, and his expertise is already proving invaluable as we navigate the exciting challenges of rapid growth and expansion.”

Now almost six months in, O’Brien recently gave an update on Onbord’s momentum, including as to the establishment of a permanent office in Leederville after initially operating out of a temporary space in West Perth. In addition to Curtin University and the WA department of health, the firm has also been working on projects for St John WA and health services company APM.

“I have always been a fan of epilogues at the end of movies where they reveal what’s happened to the characters since,” O’Brien joked in a recent post to LinkedIn, concluding; “The best part? We’re still getting to do what we love – human-centred design, agile delivery, and all things Salesforce with a team that continues to impress and humble me with the depth of their talent.”