Deloitte to further grow full life-cycle asset management services, with arrival of team from Perth-based Nihar

8 NOVEMBER 2023: Deloitte Australia is further strengthening its asset management capabilities and offerings, with the team from Perth-based engineering services consultancy Nihar to join the professional services firm’s Consulting business.

The 70-person Nihar team specialises in full life-cycle asset management services – including capital projects, operations readiness, asset management and performance optimisation – for the oil and gas, mining and minerals, manufacturing, and utilities sectors. Nihar COO & Business Development Manager Matheesha Jayasekera will become a Deloitte Consulting partner.

The move builds on the capability brought by the team from Brisbane-based asset management advisory consultancy Bluefield, who joined Deloitte in late 2021.

Deloitte Australia CEO Adam Powick said: “It’s great to welcome the team from Nihar to Deloitte as we continue to invest in high priority domains underpinned by the innovative use of technology.

“This move will bring together exceptional skills in asset management, operational readiness and engineering with Deloitte’s proven digital expertise, enabling us to deliver market leading solutions for asset intensive clients and sectors.”

Deloitte Australia Asset Management and Performance Leader Rob Spittle said: “With the Nihar team, we will significantly extend the capabilities and reach of our now 260-strong asset management and performance team.

“The Nihar team brings another level of deep industry expertise and technical capability in this space. They deliver long-term asset value for their clients, and we’re excited to be welcoming Matheesha and team as we continue to grow our market presence and offerings.”

The arrival of the Nihar team also follows the Perth-based team from corporate advisory and M&A specialists Mainsheet Capital WA joining Deloitte’s Financial Advisory group in August this year.

Deloite Australia Energy, Resources and Industrials Industry Leader Bernadette Cullinane said: “Australia is home to a world-leading energy and resources industry whose operations are vital to a strong Australian economy and to the economies of our trading partners in the Asia Pacific region. The industry is capital and asset intensive, complex and integrated so strong asset management is crucial to business success.

“Energy and resources companies are focused on meeting growing domestic and global demand while simultaneously transforming to a lower carbon future. This requires leading asset management, maintenance and reliability capability, coupled with digital engineering skills and tools.

“The Nihar team will further strengthen Deloitte’s existing asset management capabilities with a particular focus on supporting clients in the energy sector to enhance the safety, reliability, sustainability and profit performance of both existing and new assets.”

Nihar COO & Business Development Manager, and soon-to-be Deloitte Consulting partner, Matheesha Jayasekera said: “Our people deliver high-quality, results-driven solutions that help our clients get the best value and life out of their asset investments. On that basis, we have built a strong market presence across sectors that rely on heavy equipment.

“Deloitte has an equally strong national presence in this market, and we are very aligned in terms of how we can deliver value and support to the industries that are so important to Western Australia and the nation more broadly.

“This is an exciting move, and a logical next step, for our team.” 

Nihar Founder & CEO Arun Mukhopadhyay, who will not be joining Deloitte, said: “I’m delighted to see the team from Nihar moving to Deloitte where it can scale and succeed with one of the world’s leading operations engineering businesses.”

The Nihar team will formally join Deloitte on 20 November 2023. Terms of the transaction are confidential.