PwC spin-off Scyne taps senior Google exec John Ball as inaugural CEO

Public sector consulting firm Scyne Advisory has tapped senior Google executive John Ball to take on the top job as the PwC spin-off moves into a growth phase.

Scyne on Tuesday announced Mr Ball as its inaugural chief executive following what it said was a thorough global search by recruitment firm Derwent.

Mr Ball has spent the past decade at Google as head of its customer solutions business in Australia. Prior to that, he spent nearly 20 years with Microsoft in multiple roles through Australia, Singapore, China and the US.

He will join Scyne in November and takes over from acting CEO Richard Gwilym, who will now focus on his role as the firm’s advisory business leader.

Scyne chair John Mullen said Mr Ball’s appointment met a key promise to the Department of Finance to recruit an independent CEO.

Mr Mullen — who will succeed Richard Goyder as Qantas chair later this year — said the board considered Mr Ball’s commitment to organisational culture, innovation, creating client excellence”, as well as his technological skills.

“As Scyne moves into the growth phase and begins the journey of implementing its five-year strategy, John’s depth of knowledge of the technology industry as well as his skills as a leader are a potent mix for the business we have established,” Mr Mullen said in a statement.

“To recruit someone of John’s experience and background is a real feather in the cap for Scyne.”

Mr Ball said he was attracted to Scyne’s vision of only providing services to public sector organisations as it presented an opportunity to do advisory differently.

He also holds a role on the National Retail Association board and is deputy chair of Cure Cancer.

Scyne was spun out of PwC Australia when it sold its government business to private equity investor Allegro Funds in July 2023 for $1, after the disgraced audit and consulting firm was found to have misused confidential tax information.

The tax leaks scandal resulted in PwC being banned from winning new Federal Government contracts.

Scyne employs about 100 managing directors and 900 staff.

In July this year, it announced a restructure that claimed around 90 jobs — including 10 partner-level roles — in response to reduced spending on external consultants by the Governments of NSW and Victoria, as well as the Federal Government.

Mr Gwilym at the time said the restructure came after efforts to stabilise the business in the nine months since its inception.