Consultancy Projects Assured celebrates five years in business
Projects Assured, a Canberra-based consulting firm specialised in the delivery of complex programs and projects, is celebrating five years in business. Since launching, the firm has rapidly grown in both its headcount and revenues – something which saw it become the subject of a $43 million acquisition.
Projects Assured is a growing management consulting firm based in Canberra. Founded in 2015, the firm is now staffed by over 200 professionals, and brands itself as a strategic advisor and delivery partner to clients. It also points to a strong reputation for working on the “most challenging business problems” facing organisations today.
Following its launch, 2016 proved to be a pivotal time in Projects Assured’s history. It was the year the company formally defined its business model, defining six key pillars of the business to define and measure future success by. These are Culture, Service Delivery, Consulting Excellence, Operations Excellence, People Engagement, and Sales and Marketing.
Building on this key part of the firm’s ‘Win Plan’, 2017 saw Projects Assured experience significant growth. The consultancy’s team doubled in size over the course of the year, with multiple key accounts established to provide staff with a diversity of rewarding engagements. As the business grew, Projects Assured’s leadership saw it as a sign the six pillars were a solid basis to work from, and have ensured they remained at the heart of the firm ever since.
Projects Assured’s rapid success saw it attract the attention of suitors, looking to bolster their own organisations with its service offering. In 2018, this saw ASX-listed Australian company DWS agree a deal to buy the firm, paying $30 million initially funded by cash reserves and debt, with a further $13 million in payments expected conditional on the earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) performance of Projects Assured over a five-year period.
Founded in 1991, DWS specialises in cloud, digital transformation and business intelligence solutions, alongside system integration and managed services. The firm was willing to commit such a large sum towards acquiring Projects Assured in part due to its buoyant financial performance. DWS said it expected the 2019 financial year revenue for Projects Assured to be approximately $35-40 million, diversified across a range of clients.
The new investment in Projects Assured enabled the firm to provide a new, larger refurbished office to meet the growing needs of its (flexible) workforce, implementing staff performance feedback into its established professional development processes and investing in staff well-being.
At the same time, as it sought to strengthen its pipeline of new workers into the firm amid a competitive talent market, 2019 saw the launch of Projects Assured’s new Consultant Development Programme for university graduates.
While this has helped the firm to seek and retain the most skilled talent in the Canberra market, it has also offered invaluable experience to graduates entering the workforce in the area. According to co-founders David O'Rourke and Greg Sly, however, the firm’s commitment to Canberra goes further than the office walls.
Corporate social responsibility
The co-founders explained, “We started in 2015 with a vision to become Canberra’s premier management consultancy and Canberra’s best place to work… As proud Canberrans, we are committed to give back to the Canberra community – we take our social responsibility very seriously.”
Projects Assured’s Community Working Group gives its staff a platform to drive support for causes that are close to their hearts and make a real difference. Meanwhile, the firm supports a range of grassroots initiatives, such as Ronald McDonald House, Hartley Lifecare, DonateLife, the Cancer Council ACT, MS Australia, Malkara School and the Stella Bella Little Stars Foundation – and sponsors Canberra’s AFL team, the GWS Giants. The arrangement includes joint efforts to promote DonateLife, a cause close to the hearts of the Projects Assured team.
As the firm celebrates its fifth anniversary in business, Projects Assured is keen to celebrate its prior achievements, but it also remains focused on the goals it is yet to fulfil.
A release from the firm's co-founders noted “we’d like to thank all our Projects Assured staff, families and clients who have made this all possible”, before reminding readers it remains the firm’s goal to become “Canberra’s premier management consultancy.”
Acknowledging the firm’s milestone, O'Rourke and Sly concluded, “Here’s to another five!”
