Scyne Advisory finalises six-strong national advisory leadership team
Fast approaching its first anniversary, public sector consultancy Scyne Advisory has unveiled its inaugural advisory leadership team, which the firm says now finalises its governance structure.
Headed by interim chief executive Richard Gwilym, Scyne Advisory’s leadership team (ALT) will focus on client delivery, while its recently-settled group leadership team will set and deliver the firm’s enterprise strategy.
“I am confident this team brings the right experience, enthusiasm, and vision to lead during this next phase,” Gwilym said. “They will work to represent each of our practices across every market, ensuring we deliver excellence.”
Scyne’s new ALT replaces the interim executive team established shortly after its break from PwC, and includes new additions Craig Shepherd as strategy & innovation lead and Stephanie Waddon as succession & engagement lead. Existing state and territory leaders Ben Neal (markets & clients), Diane Rutter (practices & assets), and Mark Thomson (operations) round out the team.
Craig Shepherd
Based out of Perth, Shepherd steps up from his current position as national infrastructure & property markets leader to take on the critical strategy & innovation role. Prior to joining PwC in 2017 and being made partner in 2021, Shepherd spent more than a decade between the Nedlands council and as a director at the Western Australian Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage.
Ben Neal
ACT practice leader Ben Neal trades in his defence lead partner hat to take on the markets & clients lead role. He has been a partner/managing director with PwC/Scyne since 2016, prior to which he spent a decade in senior organisational and HR roles within the federal government, including as an assistant secretary in the prime minister’s department, following an earlier decade in the army.
Diane Rutter
Currently lead managing director for NSW, Rutter as practices & assets lead will now also be responsible for building and driving skills and capabilities within Scyne’s advisory business. She first joined PwC in 2008, and prior to crossing to Sycne with her colleagues served as national head of customer experience & insights within the Big Four firm’s consulting practice.
Mark Thomson
PwC veteran and former Adelaide consulting lead Mark Thomson – who had carried over his national infrastructure strategy & economics lead duties to Scyne and has since been tapped to lead South Australia – will now add operations lead to his list of responsibilities. Thomson spent more than two decades at PwC, joining in 2001 following four years with the Victorian Government.
Stephanie Waddon
Promoted to partner five years after joining PwC in Canberra in 2016 from Airservices Australia, Waddon is a workforce transformation specialist, and has now been tasked with "inspiring and nurturing the next generation of future leaders" at Scyne as succession & engagement lead. Prior to her eight years in senior roles at Airservices Australia, she spent a similar length of time at Hays.
