KordaMentha launches Major Projects Advisory practice
Australian restructuring consultancy KordaMentha has launched a new major projects advisory line, which will be led by recent PwC recruits David Ballantyne and James Wijemanne.
The pair joined KordaMentha as partners earlier this year after having spent the prior three years in PwC’s infrastructure partnership in Brisbane and Sydney, and together bring more than four decades worth of professional experience.
The new major projects practice will sit within KordaMentha’s existing real estate division, with services spanning the complete project life-cycle from early strategic advisory and planning through to delivery and operationalisation.
“David and James bring a visionary approach and commitment to excellence that is a valued addition to our senior team,” said company co-founder Mark Korda. “Their leadership and pragmatic ways of working will be instrumental as we continue to evolve our advisory practice, building on our strong track record of supporting clients through complexity in some of Australia’s most challenging environments.”
The practice leaders
With more than 20 years of experience in major infrastructure projects, David Ballantyne served as an executive director at Monash Health prior to joining PwC’s in 2021, before which he spent a decade in senior roles with NSW Health Infrastructure. Earlier in his career, he worked as a senior project manager for Turner & Townsend in the UK and project engineer for RailCorp in Sydney.
“It’s an exciting time to join the team here at KordaMentha, with fantastic projects already delivered,” Ballantyne said. “The delivery of major projects can be challenging, with the need to balance competing interests, funding constraints and risks. My approach is rooted in collaboration, working with clients to solve their most complex infrastructure problems.”
James Wijemanne likewise brings more than two decades worth of private and public sector infrastructure experience to the new practice, including six years early on as a transportation engineer with Christchurch City Council. Since then, he has spent time with MWH (now Stantec), the Brisbane council and AECOM, before crossing to PwC in 2017 and being made partner in 2021.
“I’m delighted to join the firm during an exciting phase of growth,” Wijemanne said. “By working across geographically diverse locations and a range of industries, the major projects advisory is strongly positioned to enable our clients to capitalise on emerging opportunities across Australia by supporting the delivery of projects and programs across their entire life-cycle.”
Wijemanne and Ballantyne will be supported in growing the new practice by three other senior recruits from PwC, executive directors Sarah Goulding and Tom Scott, and director Michael Randle, who all joined KordaMentha at the end of last year.
