KPMG strategy chief Dennis Krallis to soon lead Synergy Group?
KPMG’s chief strategy officer Dennis Krallis, a three-decade Deloitte veteran recruited only last year, is departing the firm to ‘run’ Synergy Group, according to the AFR’s ‘street talk’ column.
Established in Canberra in 1999, Synergy Group has been led by co-founder Rob Kennedy under various titles for the majority of its existence, but recently sold a majority stake to private equity firm Centerstone Capital, which is chaired by John Meacok.
Meacock himself spent two decades at Deloitte, including time as global chief strategy officer and deputy chair, having earlier handed over Sydney office managing partner duties to Krallis, before the latter also later went on to become chief strategy officer for Australia.
While none of the involved parties have yet to provide any sort of official confirmation, and Krallis’ KPMG bio remains online, the close connection between the pair does lend a chunk of credence to the AFR report that Krallis would soon cross to ‘run’ Synergy. Meacock has also served as Synergy’s executive chair since its purchase, with Kennedy moving into a chief growth officer role.
According to the AFR, Krallis had been given responsibility for implementing KPMG’s governance response to the firm’s client data sharing scandal – with half the C-suite and board already out the door, including chief executive Andrew Yates, COO Eileen Hoggett, and chairman Martin Sheppard– but had waited until the issuance of delayed profit distributions before then resigning.
What might have felt like a dose of regret after jumping from Deloitte to KPMG only just last year – citing the firm’s tech-focused restructure – may ultimately turn out to be serendipitous for Krallis. Synergy has somewhere in the region of 400 professionals across Canberra and further outlets in Melbourne, Brisbane, and Sydney, but is now looking to accelerate growth through Centerstone.
Deep connections
Krallis first joined Deloitte back in 1997 after gaining a B.Sc. in mathematics and statistics at UNSW (later complemented by a UTS MBA), and was made a partner just six years on. After heading up the firm’s Sydney office, he was appointed national managing partner for risk advisory, and then as chief transformation officer in 2021 – with chief strategy duties later added to his remit.
“He is not afraid to challenge convention and understands how to manage constant change, particularly the increasingly complex ecosystems of business,” Meacock said of Krallis when handing over back in 2015, notably adding, “He is also an advocate of good corporate governance as an essential ingredient for efficient capital markets and investor confidence.”
Centerstone was established by Meacock in 2021 alongside CEO Luc Maasdorp, previously managing director for global strategy & innovation at Deloitte, with former Deloitte chief commercial officer Peter Forrester the third of its leaders. One-time Deloitte partner, Lucille Halloran, Synergy board member and former chair, has long been a Centrestone strategic advisor.
