The combined Gen-i and Telecom Advanced Solutions expects to do well over $200 million in business together in Australia, says Gen-i’s Australian CEO Tim Ward.
Last week Telecom announced it was buying Gen-i for $62 million.
Australian Gen-i staff are currently split evenly between Melbourne and Sydney, but numbers after the Telecom acquisition of Gen-i will be skewed heavily toward Sydney, he says.
Gen-i was established in Melbourne at the end of 2000 to provide a major technology upgrade for Ansett Airlines. “There were 12,000 users involved in the rollout, “Ward says. “We got to 8000 before Ansett went into receivership.”
The company subsequently won two major customers: travel group Synergi and insurance company NRMA, which subsequently became part of IAG. Both had their headquarters in Sydney, so Gen-i had to increase its capability there.
Ward won’t say what current staff numbers are -– “They’re smallish and I’ve found our competitors tend to use that against us” –- but says the merged entity will have around 250 staff. “The intention is to bring everyone together in the one location in both Sydney and Melbourne. We haven’t detailed the new structure yet but will sort that out over the next two months.”
The combined business will have more than 50 customers.
Ward, who joined the company six months ago, reports to Gen-i CEO Garth Biggs. He says there is potential for a CEO-style role in the combined operation.