Managing Director

Expertise: Business Strategy, Mergers & Acquisitions, Investments, Corporate Finance,
Organisational Design

As a corporate advisor, Tri has served clients in Australia and Asia in various industries, including manufacturing, resources, fast moving consumer goods, real estate, technology and investment funds. 

He has also worked directly for the owner of Visy Industries, the largest private packaging and recycling company in the world as a Strategy and Mergers & Acquisitions adviser.

Tri recently developed strategic options for the defence of a global corporation with a market capitalization exceeding $50 billion. He has advised on the restructure and recapitalization of a mid tier ASX listed mining company, the buyout of a $300m engineering firm, and acted as originator, negotiator and execution coordinator in the acquisition of two multi-million dollar enterprises.

Tri has a Bachelor of Materials Engineering with First Class Honours and a Bachelor of Commerce (Finance and Management) from The University of Western Australia and was the recipient of the Sir Russel Dumas Medal for the top Engineering graduate in his year. A Fulbright Scholar, he attended Columbia University in New York studying Executive Education in Master of Business Administration and Mergers & Acquisitions. He has a Graduate Diploma of Applied Finance and Investments from the Securities Institute of Australia.  Tri currently lectures corporate finance and investments at Kaplan-Finsia and University of Western Australia. Tri is a member of the Young Presidents' Organization. Tri is also on the General Council of HBF Ltd, a leading private health insurance company in Western Australia.

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Senior Adviser

Rich was previously an elected Partner (Principal) at McKinsey & Company, a global management consulting firm, where he served clients in various countries including Canada, Australia, South Africa, Indonesia and New Zealand. During his 10 years at McKinsey, he assisted clients in capital-intensive basic material industries, including mining & metals, pulp & paper, oil & gas, and building materials. His work encompassed strategy, operating performance and capital productivity improvement. He also worked extensively on business-to-business marketing issues.

Rich also co-headed McKinsey's Perth office in the early to late 1990s.

In 2000, Rich joined Wesfarmers Ltd as the inaugural Group Director, E-Commerce, reporting directly to then Managing Director Michael Chaney. With Wesfarmers, Rich was also a member of the Group-wide Executive Committee and the convenor of the Group-wide IT Council.

In the past 7 years, Rich has also been heavily involved with the board of several listed companies and with non-profit organisations, including his roles as: Former Chairman, and current Director and Chairman of the Audit Committee, of Conquest Mining Limited, an ASX-300 gold company; Former Director and member of the Audit and Remuneration Committees of Grange Resources Limited, which operates the Savage River iron ore pellet plant in Tasmania and is developing the Southdown iron ore project in WA; Membership of the Curtin Business School Advisory Council; General Councillor of Health Benefit Fund (HBF) of WA; the ICT (Information & Communication Technology) Industry Forum established by Hon. Clive Brown, WA Minister for State Development; as well as 10 years serving on the Council of Methodist Ladies College, Perth.

Rich holds a BA in economics from Cornell University and an MBA with high distinction from Harvard Business School.

Director

Expertise: Leadership & Change Management, Decision Analysis, Commercial Negotiation, Project Management & Services

Brian has extensive international experience in business development and project management from his 15 years in the energy industry with Shell, Woodside and Origin Energy. He has held several senior executive commercial, project management and services roles, reporting directly to executive boards and JV partners.

His commercial experience covers a wide range of areas from major international gas contracts in Africa to project investment decisions and project alliance contracts in Australia to post-merger integration strategies in Europe. In his capacity as an owner-entrepreneur Brian has also founded, managed and raised capital for two international start-up companies that achieved profitable exits for their shareholders.

Brian has recently advised on acquisition strategies and valuations for several regional energy companies and has overseen major change management initiatives for our international clients. He provided hands on support in the transformation of a Regional JV’s operations and performance, including its strategy, customer focus, leadership and supporting culture and management systems.  For an Integrated Energy Company he recently developed a stage gate decision making process for opportunity investment and project delivery and worked closely with the client over an extended period, resourcing and establishing the new organisation.

Brian has an MBA (honours list) from the International Institute of Management Development (IMD) in Lausanne, Switzerland and Chartered Engineer status from the Institute of Mechanical Engineers, Brian also holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree from Bristol University.

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Director

Expertise: Business Strategy, Project Management and Implementation, Mergers & Acquisitions and Corporate Finance

As a strategy consultant, for over 4 years with the Boston Consulting Group and then as independent consultant for Eden McCallum in London, Amar has served clients in North America, Europe, Middle East and Asia across various industries including Hospitality, Pharmaceuticals, Energy, Media, Airlines, Financial Services, Private Equity, Consumer and Industrial Goods, Freight and Information Technology.

In addition to providing advice and leading projects on strategy (including market entry, consumer segmentation, implementation), business development, project management and implementation, Amar has held several (secondment based) roles at clients, reporting directly to executive management.As a key member of the Corporate Finance and Strategy team at BCG, Amar was involved in a number of corporate value creation, M&A assessment, portfolio management and private equity due diligence projects.

Recently, Amar has spent close to 2 years working for one of the largest Global Hotel companies leading numerous projects including leading and managing 14 teams for the rollout of a US$1 billion brand relaunch, developing the 10 year growth strategy for the Middle East and African region, followed by a 6 month secondment implementing the strategy. More recently, he has helped a Multinational Renewable Energy company with all the required financial due diligence, investor proposal development and operational support required for a successful Stock Exchange listing. In addition,he has developed the Generics focused Middle East growth and operational strategy for one of the largest Global Pharmaceutical companies.

Amar has a Bachelor of Commerce with First Class Honours in Finance and a Bachelor of Law from the University of Western Australia. 

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Senior Manager

Expertise: Investment & Hedging Strategy, Valuation, Financial Modelling 

Russel’s recent experience includes working as a project leader structuring a proposed US$1 billion Listed Investment Company. His work has involved evaluating fund structure and composition, analysing the investment style and strategy of a number of listed and unlisted managed funds, conducting statistical analysis of foreign exchange options as well as leading studies on hedging strategies.

His prior experience includes working as a research assistant at Curtin University.  He has conducted data and statistical analysis of foreign exchange options and led studies into hedging strategies and the limitations of value at risk policies and models when determining trade limits.  He has also spent time working for the United Credit Union as a quantitative market researcher, where he conducted market research, gathered information and communicated product development and future strategic implications for the United Credit Union.

Russel graduated with first class honours in Finance and earned a distinction in his Bachelor of Finance and Marketing from The Curtin University of Technology.   He was a member of the Vice Chancellor’s List for the top 1% of graduating students and was nominated for Highest Academically Achieving Graduate for 2006. Russel was also awarded the Golden key International Honour Society in 2005.  He also has a Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance from FINSIA.

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Manager

Expertise: Strategic Planning, Technology & Innovation, Corporate Finance, Project Management

Melvin's consulting experience includes working in strategic planning, business analysis, commercial due diligence, business development and growth management for companies primarily in the resources sector. He was also responsible in the valuation of technology projects and the formation of a technology and innovation division for a global mining company.

Recently, he has been involved as a project leader in a strategy consulting engagement for a global mining company conducting industry analysis, business valuation, developing and implementing strategic plans, and providing advice in business development. Most recently, he has assisted a large Australian gold mining company in investigating the implementation of new technologies across its operations.

Melvin has implemented reporting, planning, cost tracking and forecasting mechanisms across various industries. He has worked extensively preparing financial valuations and business cases for clients. He acted as originator and negotiator in the investment/acquisition of companies and he has also been involved in raising capital for investment and mining projects.

Prior to consulting, Melvin held posts as a lecturer and research assistant with Curtin University. Whilst at Curtin, he was involved as a course developer in implementing a pilot e-learning project with the School of Economics and Finance. He was also a part time lecturer at the Australian Institute of University Studies (AIUS).

Melvin has a Doctor of Philosophy degree, Masters of Commerce degree (majoring in Economics and Finance) and a Bachelor of Commerce (majoring in Finance) graduating with First Class Honours from Curtin University. He is an honorary member of Golden Key International Honour Society. He has jointly written a number of working papers and articles, which were presented both domestically and internationally. His main research areas include equity raising, corporate restructuring and corporate governance. Melvin is a Senior Associate of the Financial Services Institute of Australasia (FINSIA) and a lifetime member of the Western Finance Association.

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Associate

Expertise: Mining (particularly in Indonesia), Due Diligence, Investment Analysis, Project Management

Norm is a Mining Engineer(BSc) with over 30 years experience,15 of which were with BHP Minerals, having specialized in new mine development and operations. Norm assisted in developing two thermal coal properties in Northern New Mexico, the immense Escondida copper mine in Chile (BHP) and also initiated the development of the Satui Mine in S. Kalimantan and associated properties on behalf of PT Arutmin. Norm recently performed a coal investment analysis and negotiated potential JV arrangements between an international client and an Indonesian domestic coal lease (KP) owner on a multi million dollar S. Kalimantan producer. 

He has directly managed the due diligence and review of both operating and exploration components of Indonesian coal investment opportunities.

Associate Consultant

Expertise: Accounting, Debt-Equity Structuring, Financial Reengineering, Corporate Finance

Rennie is a cross border transaction Associate Consultant at Akamai. His prior work experience includes working at Ernst & Young in the hotels & restaurants, agribusiness, forestry & integrated wood processing divisions. He has also worked for a large listed highly diversified group of companies engaged in forestry & integrated wood processing, oil palm plantations & CPO mills, property and mining. Rennie has managed processing of IPOs, issuance of pre-IPO convertible bonds, commercial papers, floating rate notes and Hermes export financing. He has participated in international Road Shows and investor presentations in Asia, Europe and USA. In last six years, Rennie has been developing and management consulting in cross border transactions in the mining and petrochemical industries in Indonesia, Philippines and Australia in cooperation with private equity and investment management advisory firms.

Rennie has a degree from Manila's University of the East with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration major in Accounting.

Administration Assistant

Justine is the Administration Assistant at Akamai Management Group. She has a wide range of experience in many aspects of organisational administration across several different industries including legal, recruitment and hospitality, giving her extensive and highly varied skill sets.

Apart from attending to Akamai’s day to day administrative needs, Justine also assists in the collection of required information and data through research and helps to develop client presentations.

Senior Business Analyst

Expertise: Accounting, Taxation, Legal, Financial Analysis

Shaun is a Business Analyst at Akamai Management Group. He has prior industry experience in the Corporate Tax division of KPMG and in insolvency at Ferrier Hodgson. Whilst at KPMG he was involved in the preparation of corporate tax returns and providing tax advice. Shaun was also involved in the management of companies under administration at Ferrier Hodgson.

Shaun has been involved in the preparation of an Information Memorandum used for the capital raising of a global diversified resources fund based in Hong Kong. He has also been involved in the due diligence process of potential mining targets and the development of a comprehensive research report for identifying potential investment opportunities in the commodities sector. In addition he has assisted in the modelling of a Coking Coal pricing model for a global diversified miner. Shaun also has experience in the manufacturing industry in a recent high level strategy engagement with a leading national manufacturing company.

Shaun has a double degree from Murdoch University - Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Commerce majoring in Professional Accounting. While completing his degrees, he received a Vice Chancellor's Commendation for Academic Excellence. Shaun is a Chartered Accountant and has a Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice from the College of Law.

Accountant 

Expertise: Accounting

Jun is an Accountant with Akamai Management Group. She deals with all aspects of accounting adminstration and payroll as well as assisting with undertaking research for fellow team members.

Jun graduated from the University of Western Australia, obtaining a Bachelor of Commerce in  Financial Accounting and Management Accounting. She has gained experience with accounts payable, accounts receivable and payroll within the accounts department at Discover West Australia Holidays as an Accounts Officer/Bookkeeper. 

Business Analyst

Expertise: Accounting, Economics, Industry Analysis

Matthew is a Business Analyst at Akamai. His prior work experience includes working at Ernst & Young in the assurance division, where he serviced technology, communications and industrial based clients. He has also worked for Paramount Outdoor Media, a diversified media consultancy firm. Whilst at Paramount, Matthew worked on a range of projects including the development of new product/service offerings for clients based in the discretionary consumables sector.

Matthew has a double degree from the University of Western Australia – Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Economics. His majors include Financial Accounting, Corporate and Investment Finance, Money and Banking and International Business Economics.

Business Analyst

Expertise: Financial Modelling, Corporate Finance and Investment Finance

Navid is a Business Analyst at Akamai Management Group. He has experience working at PricewaterhouseCoopers, where he undertook research and modelling tasks for a number of industries. Other work experiences include a mechanical engineering internship at Hohai University in Nanjing China. This involved working with senior university staff in the development of geological resistivity experimentation. Navid was also employed by AMC Drilling Fluids as a lab technician in the oil and gas division. Whilst working at AMC, Navid mixed and analysed drilling fluids for various global projects.

Navid has a double degree from the University of Western Australia - Bachelor of Engineering and Bachelor of Commerce. His majors include Mechanical Engineering and Corporate, Investment and Quantitative Finance.

Business Analyst

Expertise: Accounting, Marketing, Industry Analysis

Ricky is a Business Analyst at Akamai Management Group. His prior work experience includes working at Keiretsu Forum, the world's largest angel investors' network with headquarters in San Francisco, where he was working in the Asia Pacific chapter as an Associate. Whilst at Keiretsu, he researched deal flows of entrepreneurs seeking funding, analysed and interpreted start-up companies' financials, systems and procedures. He has also worked for Bank of Western Australia in the retail division. In addition, Ricky was a Battalion Publicist with the Singapore Armed Forces.

Ricky holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Western Australia. His majors include Financial Accounting, and Marketing. While completing his degree, his team finished in the top 10 of the Google Online Marketing Challenge in 2009.