Bain & Company launches fourth Australian office in Brisbane
Global strategy consultancy Bain & Company has officially expanded to Brisbane two and a half years after buying local AI specialist Max Kelson, with the practice to be led by four partners.
Described as a specialist AI delivery hub, Bain & Company’s office in Brisbane is the global management consultancy’s 67th worldwide (a fact best not said aloud in front of the kids), following on from the firm’s recent launch in Montreal.
In addition to former Max Kelson CEO Nicholas Therkelsen-Terry and engineering and architecture lead Michael Blake, who were promoted to partner in 2024, the Brisbane office will also be led by Melbourne and Sydney imports Jakob Hasse and Richard Gosper.
“What an incredible energy in the room as we marked Bain’s official arrival in Brisbane,” commented A/NZ managing partner Mohit Wadan following the launch. “The conversations reinforced why we’re so excited to deepen our roots here – in a city brimming with optimism and home to one of Australia’s fastest-rising tech ecosystems and most dynamic talent pools.”
Waterfront Place
Bain & Company’s Eagle Street office at Waterfront Place joins its existing Australian network in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth, the former which was established in 1989 upon the firm’s arrival downunder at a time of global economic integration and the latter in 2011 during the mining boom, with Melbourne set up at the dawn of the new millennium – or height of the last tech revolution.
It’s clear that Bain’s Brisbane entry is also focused on tech, or more precisely the AI rush. Alongside Therkelsen-Terry, who co-founded Max Kelson in 2015 and sold it to Bain in mid-2023, and Blake, who joined from an AI lead role at Google the year prior, another alum, Jacob O’Farrell, has now been promoted to expert associate partner, together with Melbourne-based AI expert John Zheng.
Meanwhile, Hasse and Gosper bring the performance improvement nous. Hasse, who joined from Strategy& in 2019 with an earlier background at Oliver Wyman and has been a partner since the start of 2022, focuses on industrials, transportation, and resources, while mining and manufacturing specialist Gosper became a partner in 2024 after spending over a decade at Bain across two stints.
“Wonderful to celebrate our opening with an esteemed cohort of Queensland’s senior business and tech leaders,” Gosper said of the launch. “Having supported clients in Brisbane for many years, we’re thrilled to now officially call it home, and to deepen our partnerships with the extraordinary businesses and world-class Queensland talent driving the state’s growth and innovation.”
