(Left to right) Industry veterans Luc Maasdorp, John Meacock and Peter Forrester lead Centerstone Capital, an Australian venture capital powerhouse that has just acquired a majority stake in Canberra consultancy firm Synergy Group. Inset, Synergy Group chief growth officer and co-founder Rob Kennedy. Photos: Cornerstone/Synergy.
Major backing for a Canberra consultancy firm from an Aussie venture capital powerhouse is set to create a new tech-and-AI-driven challenger to traditional professional services.
Synergy Group has announced that Centerstone Capital has acquired a majority ownership interest in the Canberra-headquartered consultancy, enabling it to aggressively scale its national footprint.
Founded in 1999, Synergy Group has long been a major player in advising the Australian public sector,
The sovereign-owned consultancy firm is known for its deep expertise across technology, data and AI transformation, strategic risk advisory, program design and delivery, managed services and strategy, design and innovation through its ThinkPlace brand.
Centerstone Capital, led by industry veterans John Meacock, Luc Maasdorp and Peter Forrester, specialises in funding professional services firms that leverage technology to scale.
With ambitions to build the “next generation of high-performing value-adding professional services businesses” over the past three years, the investor has targeted companies integrating AI and data platforms into traditional service delivery.
John Meacock, who serves as both Centerstone Capital’s chair and Synergy’s executive chair, said the investment reflected strong confidence in Synergy’s market position and its sovereign ownership model.
“We see a significant opportunity to build on Synergy’s strong foundations and create a truly technology, data and AI-enabled consulting firm for the Australian market,” he said.
“We believe that clients see the value in partnering with a firm that not only has world-class capabilities, but that is Australian-owned and where decisions are made locally in Australia.”
Mr Meacock added that the capital injection would be used to embed advanced data and AI tools directly into Synergy’s client services to adapt to a rapidly changing regulatory and technological environment.
“Our focus will be to invest in Synergy to strengthen its capability and transform its services to make them truly world-class,” he said.
While headquartered in Canberra, Synergy Group has a national presence with offices in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney.
Centerstone Capital’s ownership acquisition is expected to sharpen the firm’s competitive edge.
Synergy Group chief growth officer and co-founder Rob Kennedy said while Synergy Group had long offered the Australian market an alternative to traditional professional services firms, the acquisition secured both the capital and the strategic oversight needed for national expansion.
“Centerstone brings deep professional services experience, a clear view of where the market is heading, and the capital and capability to help us continue delivering high-quality outcomes for our clients while building for the future,” he said.