M&A consultancy SCD Advisory establishes advisory board

10 April 2024 Consultancy.com.au

A trio of senior professionals have been assembled to serve on the newly-launched internal advisory board of M&A consultancy SCD, bringing on board experience from IBM, McKinsey and KPMG.

M&A and corporate finance boutique SCD Advisory has established a new advisory board made up of former IBM managing partner Doug Robinson, Hypothesis co-founder Grant Hartland, and ex-KPMG veteran Tony Nimac – all who have previously engaged with the firm in their capacity as buyers and sellers.

SCD Advisory said the appointments would ensure it stays at the forefront of the rapidly evolving M&A landscape.

M&A consultancy SCD Advisory establishes advisory board

“Our advisory board comprises senior executives and industry thought leaders across our sector coverage, with expertise in the fields of leadership, investment banking, technology, entrepreneurship, and governance. This expertise is invaluable to SCD’s leadership, staff, and clients,” stated SCD founder and managing partner Pierre Briand, who established the tech and professional services sector-focused business in Sydney in 2019.

SCD Advisory has since gone on to punch well above its weight in the Australian market, judging by the caliber of its clients and deals struck alone. Some of the recent highlights include working sell-side on last year’s purchase of Future Friendly by Ernst & Young, cloud specialist SXiQ’s 2021 sale to IBM (which the tech giant has now fully-integrated), and the acquisition of Hypothesis by McKinsey – the management consultancy’s first local purchase in 50 years.

Now, two senior professionals with front-row seats to those deals on either side of the fence have been drafted in to play an advisory role to SCD, with Doug Robinson having been IBM’s A/NZ and Southeast managing partner at the time of the SXiQ pick up, and Grant Hartland as the co-founder and COO of Hypothesis who then went on to spend two and a half years at McKinsey & Company as venture leader till mid-2023.

SCD’s third new advisory board member – Tony Nimac – also has experience with the M&A consultancy during his three-decade career at KPMG, where, as an audit and deals partner, he previously led the Big Four’s middle-market Enterprise business assisting many of Australia’s leading fast-growth companies to scale. Nimac presently manages his own consultancy and is a strategic advisor for organisational consultancy People at their Best.

While Briand is adding some heavyweight advisory to call on, SCD Advisory has continued to excel in terms of international recognition. Backing up on a previous string of awards, the firm has recently been named as 2024 M&A advisory of the year for Australia by Corporate International Global magazine.

Among other deals closed over the past twelve months, SCD Advisory advised Carnac on its sale to Viseo and Hammond Street Developments in joining Atturra.