Home » Corporate » Company History

Company History

“One of New Zealand’s top five strategic IT companies”
MIS Magazine 2005

The company known today as Fronde was established by founders, David Irving and Chris Comber in 1992 in Wellington, New Zealand. Armed only with their reputation and their years of IT experience, the company owners set about building a strong client base for their innovative IT consultancy called Synergy.

Between 1998 and 2001 Synergy acquired web design company Agility, IT services company Innovus and web design company Hyperactive. In 2001 a joint venture involving mobile Internet solution development was launched -Ericsson Synergy Limited. ANZ Bank joined the share register as a cornerstone shareholder, and Chris Comber retired. In 2003 the company strengthened its international reach with the establishment of a Singapore subsidiary and a British joint venture (with leading UK testing company Cresta Group - now SQS). 2003 also saw Synergy take over the operations of the Ericsson Synergy joint venture.

In 2005, David Irving stepped down as CEO, but remained as a non-executive director. Jim Donovan joined the company as CEO in mid-2005. Following extensive client and staff consultation, Jim Donovan announced a definitive and distinctive role for the company – designing, building and operating industrial-strength business transaction and payment systems that ‘connect the world to your business and your business to the world’.

In 2006, Synergy established a mobile commerce solutions unit, which launched exciting products for mobile banking, and also saw the first use of the Fronde brand. Later that year, Synergy acquired the balance of ownership of its UK operation, while continuing its strategic alliance with SQS.

In 2007, Synergy adopted the Fronde name across all its businesses, giving it a unique and distinctive name to support its international strategy and to reflect the increasingly mobile nature of technology and the growth of internet-enabled business models. The name might have changed, but the mission remains the same – “we help our clients succeed”.