Synergy Group welcomes investor to accelerate growth and boost tech capabilities
Synergy Group has sold a major stake to private equity firm Centerstone Capital with the aim of further accelerating growth and boosting its tech capabilities.
Established in 1999, the Canberra-based public sector consultancy has since grown to a headcount in the region of 400 professionals with additional outlets in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. In 2024, the firm declared its bold ambition to become Australia’s leading advisory within a decade.
Centerstone was meanwhile founded in Sydney in 2021 by Deloitte’s former global chief strategy officer John Meacock and strategy & innovation managing director Luc Maasdorp, and focuses on high-growth technology startups boosting capabilities within the professional services sector.
“We see a significant opportunity to build on Synergy Group’s strong foundations and create a truly technology, data and AI-enabled consulting firm for the Australian market,” Meacock said. “Our focus will be to invest in Synergy Group to strengthen its capability to make them truly world class, embedding technology into service delivery in a rapidly changing environment.”
Synergy Group already boasts a strong digital transformation practice, and recently bolstered its ERP capabilities, while the firm also provides support to government and defence sector clients across program design & delivery, change management, risk advisory, managed services, and design & innovation through the Australian branch of ThinkPlace, which was acquired in 2024.
“Synergy Group is proud of its history in offering the Australian market an alternative to traditional professional services firms and we are pleased that with this investment we can strengthen our competitive edge,” said Rob Kennedy, who co-founded Synergy alongside Pat Quade and currently serves as chief growth officer, with Meacock now becoming executive chair.
“Centerstone brings deep professional services experience, a clear view of where the market is heading, and the capital and capability to help us continue delivering high-quality outcomes for our clients while building for the future,” Kennedy added, with former Deloitte chief commercial officer Pete Forrester also among the Centerstone mix alongside a highly-stacked advisory board.
Among them from a consulting industry perspective are former NTT Australia CEO Steve Nola, ex-EY Asia Pacific government & public sector leader and Synergy chair Lucille Halloran, former Boston Consulting Group A/NZ and global TMT leader Patrick Forth, and senior Deloitte alumni Tim Phillips and Ian Thatcher, respectively one-time global forensics leader and global financial advisory deputy leader.
