Oliver Wyman bolsters Australian presence with Azure Consulting
Perth-based boutique advisory Azure Consulting will join global management consulting firm Oliver Wyman, as the latter continues to build up its practice in Australia.
Global management consulting firm Oliver Wyman has moved to boost its Australian presence through the acquisition of management boutique Azure Consulting, which was founded in 2014 and has a team of 20 experienced advisors across offices in Perth and Melbourne
The purchase was made with a particular eye to Azure’s energy and natural resources expertise in furthering Oliver Wyman’s support for its clients in their efforts towards decarbonisation. “I look forward to welcoming the team at Azure Consulting to Oliver Wyman,” said Oliver Wyman’s Asia Pacific managing partner Jacob Hook.
He continued: “By combining Azure Consulting’s capabilities and assets with Oliver Wyman’s deep industry experience in the industrials, energy and natural resources space, we will further strengthen our firm’s ability to deliver breakthrough impact for our clients across industries and functional areas.”
With the Azure’s team – including managing director Robert Radley and fellow partners Mark Bosnich, Oliver Kerr and Michael Crestanello – expected to join the firm once the deal is finalised next month, Oliver Wyman will be bolstered by some serious consulting pedigree. Radley alone brings upwards of 25 years of industry experience, including stints as an advisory lead at PwC and founding partner of Bain & Company’s Perth office.
“We were attracted by Oliver Wyman’s willingness to invest in the development of leading intellectual capital and its focus on genuine expertise and insight,” said Radley, who further told The Western Australian that the firm had been approached for sale previously, but this was the first time it had genuinely taken notice. “We are very excited by the prospect of introducing the full range of Oliver Wyman’s capabilities and experience to our clients.”
“We weren’t looking to sell, we were on our own path,” he told the publication. “But what Oliver Wyman brings to bear for us is pretty significant. It enables us to take our platform and let it achieve its full potential. In a boutique you just don’t have the capital to make the investments you need to make, especially around global IT and capabilities. This will make quite a big difference to our ability to serve our clients and make a real impact.”
For Oliver Wyman’s part, the firm stated that it sees significant potential for growth in the Australian consulting market, with Azure’s acquisition – its second in recent months following the October purchase of Huron’s life sciences strategy consultancy practice in the US – the latest step in its build-up in the country.
Late last year, the firm bolstered its local Communications, Media, and Technology practice with three highly credentialed partnership appointments.