McKinsey Digital in Australia has significantly bolstered its digital delivery capabilities through the acquisition of Hypothesis, a 42-strong digital-product development and transformation consultancy, and the acquihire of five colleagues from innovation consulting and business-building company, Venturetec.
Hypothesis will become part of Build by McKinsey, McKinsey Digital’s community of technical experts who help clients create amazing digital experiences and build new capabilities. The Venturetec team will also become part of Build by McKinsey, with a focus on digital-business building through our Leap by McKinsey offering.
Rapidly growing client demand for support building digital products and experiences was a key driver for pursuing inorganic growth on top of McKinsey Digital Australia’s organic growth in Build.
When identifying potential teams to bring in, cultural fit was a critical factor. Rhonda Sweet, head of professional development for Build by McKinsey in Australia, is helping to bring the teams together. “The Hypothesis team have a very similar client-centric impact and relationship-driven approach to client development and service,” Rhonda says. “It’s thrilling to welcome new talent and add fresh perspectives to fuel creativity, learning, and innovation. We feel empowered to have both companies join us, deepening our culture and community.”
Hypothesis has an excellent track record of delivering digital impact in some of Australia’s most influential organizations. McKinsey Digital and Hypothesis share a focus on digital product development, design, agile transformation, and distinctive talent, and they have a shared vision of defining a new era of transformation that is enabled by technology and sustained through capabilities.
Grant Hartland, who co-founded Hypothesis with Sean Heydenrych, explains the Hypothesis ethos. “We solve problems by understanding the entire system and then execute in a way that creates momentum and delivers real business outcomes,” he says. “We want to make sure our clients succeed."
Venturetec brings a solid track record of serving a number of organizations in Australia and Asia on new business building and innovation strategy. “We help our clients incubate ventures and products and develop the mindsets and capabilities for innovation,” says Trey Zagante, managing partner.
“As our clients reimagine their business models to achieve new growth, the addition of Hypothesis and Venturetec, with their proven methodologies and strong client-first culture will strengthen our ability to be true end-to-end impact partners,” says David Pountney, the McKinsey partner leading the integration.
“Today marks an exciting chapter in the continued evolution of Build by McKinsey. The addition of Hypothesis and Venturetec will accelerate our Build by McKinsey growth in Asia Pacific and help us continue to create amazing experiences with our clients,” adds Vinayak HV, McKinsey Senior Partner for Build in Asia.