Gihan Mallawaarachchi and Tony Sanfrancesco return to Protiviti

Protiviti has seen two former members return to the firm in leadership positions, strengthening its Public Sector consulting team.

Gihan Mallawaarachchi returns to Protiviti as a Managing Director with 18 years of experience working closely with the public sector to strengthen program and service delivery. His career spans delivering business advisory, program and project management, probity, and assurance services for Australian government entities.

Having served Protiviti for a decade between 2010 and 2020, Mallawaarachchi spent the past years holding senior roles at Sententia Consulting and Synergy Group. “I’m excited to re-join Protiviti and work with our talented professionals, who share my commitment to the public sector and in delivering a positive, meaningful impact on the Australian community.”

“Returning to Protiviti feels like coming home and I am grateful to work with people I trust and respect to further elevate Protiviti’s longstanding reputation in the Canberra market. Protiviti is unique in its ability to combine its global reach and capability with the personalised service and deep commitment of a local firm. Put simply, we are big enough to deliver and small enough to care.”

Tony Sanfrancesco previously spent five years at Protiviti across two spells, and now re-joins as a Director with further experience at PwC and Sententia Consulting. He brings over a decade of experience providing risk management, project assurance, and internal audit services. He has successfully led teams delivering solutions for a diverse range of government and private sector clients.

“Coming back to Protiviti is an incredible opportunity to continue making a difference in the public and private sectors. I’m looking forward to partnering with clients to deliver assurance and project solutions that not only meet their needs but also help to maximise the value of government expenditure for the Australian community.”

“It’s exciting to rejoin a firm that values personalised service, long-term relationships and has the ability to bring private sector insights and experience to the public sector,” added Sanfrancesco.

Commenting on the hires, Lauren Brown (Australia Market Lead) and Shane Silva (Canberra Market Lead) both said that their expertise and deep understanding of the public sector will strengthen the firm’s ability to support the Australian government in delivering impactful programs and services to the community.

In Australia, Protiviti has offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane and Perth. The US-headquartered consulting firm is a wholly owned subsidiary of publicly listed company Robert Half.