Former EY leaders launch public sector consultancy Lumenia

A new public sector consultancy has been launched by former senior EY leaders Mark Galvin and Melissa Kaltner. Based in Sydney, Lumenia has lofty ambitions.

Freshly launched Lumenia will support clients in the human services sector on the design, implementation, and evaluation of services and programs. Together, Galvin and Kaltner bring over four decades of relevant experience spanning the consulting, academic, and public sector landscapes.

Mark Galvin spent six and a half years as a partner at EY, where he established and led the firm’s Oceania evaluation practice network.

Prior to his decade with EY, Galvin also spent more than a decade between KPMG and PwC, for the most part advising governments, ministerial councils, and not-for-profits.

Kaltner meanwhile joined Ernst & Young as a director in 2019, having spent the previous five years as a manager with the NSW Department of Family and Community Services. A doctorate-holder in paediatrics from the University of Queensland, Kaltner has also spent time as an adjunct senior lecturer at the University of Sydney and University of New England, and earlier served as senior research fellow and allied health research chair at Queensland Health.

With expertise in areas such as child protection, housing, justice, education and international aid and development, the pair will be looking to serve community sector organisations as well as state and federal governments in refining existing programs and processes and designing, implementing and monitoring new services. Speaking to the AFR, the co-founders said they were hoping Lumenia would generate revenues of as much as $5 million within 18 months.

Such immediate success would mirror two local consultancies also founded by former EY leaders – Australian Strategy Partners and sustainability advisory Rennie Partners. The latter recently welcomed private equity powerhouse Pemba Capital Partners after being launched in 2021, while Australian Strategy Partners recently hooked up with global firm OC&C Strategy Consultants.

The Lumenia co-founders also haven’t been shy in stating their intention to capitalise on shifts in public sector consulting procurement since the PwC tax breach scandal, and the difference in their boutique offering as compared to the Big Four. Kaltner told the AFR the firm “represents the new wave of consulting, where consultants have to have a depth of specialisation while working more closely with clients so they develop skills throughout the engagement.”