Niche Technology Services Further Expand Planet’s Technology Consulting Portfolio
CHICAGO, IL (June 28, 2022) – Planet Forward’s parent company, The Planet Group (“Planet”), a portfolio company of Odyssey Investment Partners and leading provider of outsourced human capital and consulting solutions, announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Future State Consulting, an industry-leading provider of technology talent and consulting solutions.
The acquisition will further expand Planet’s current technology portfolio through niche consulting services, which align with the company’s strategic human capital initiatives. As part of the acquisition, Future State will join forces with Strive Consulting and Launch Consulting Group, Planet’s technology consulting platforms specializing in Digital Transformation, Digital Strategy, Data & Analytics, Technology Enablement, Cybersecurity & Compliance and Management Consulting.
Over the last three years, The Planet Group has made significant investments (both organically and via acquisition) in building out its technology offerings with the launch of Planet Technology and the acquisitions of Launch Consulting Group, Strive Consulting, OmniPoint Staffing, I.T. Works Recruitment, Interactive Business Systems and WinterWyman. Today, Planet’s technology offerings represent a majority of the overall business.
Founded in 2012 by Dann Black and Harrison Bishop in Portland, Oregon, Future State Consulting was built to support tech organizations achieve their near- and long-term performance goals and create impact by delivering industry-leading technical talent and solutions. Their talent areas of focus include Native Mobile Engineering, Modern Web Application Development, Scrum/Agile Coaching, Data Engineering, Cloud Automation Engineering and Project/Program/Product Management.
“Future State Consulting is a natural partner for us. Their industry leading capabilities in digital transformation are an important step forward in Planet’s technology consulting growth plan,” said Tim Simmerly, President of The Planet Group. “Future State not only aligns with the firm’s technology expertise, it also matches with Planet’s culture that is driven by an entrepreneurial spirit. We are excited to welcome another industry-leading firm to our portfolio and believe the acquisition will magnify the strengths of both companies, allowing us to better service our clients together.”
“From the start, Dann and I built Future State to be people-first, and over the last 10 years this core value has driven our culture and incredible growth while creating an environment for our employees to provide unparalleled impact to our clients,” said Harrison Bishop, Managing Director of Future State. “As we look toward the next phase, we couldn’t be more excited. Joining The Planet Group has given us a partner that shares our same ideologies to the core. Planet has proven to be the gold-standard for our industry, a bar-raiser that will afford great career opportunities to our internal employees, national reach for our consultants and a full-suite of new services to our clients.”
The Planet Group was named as one of America’s Fastest Growing Private Companies in 2021 by INC. Future State is the eighth technology firm that Planet has acquired since 2018. Planet announced the acquisition of Launch Consulting Group earlier this month.
ABOUT THE PLANET GROUP
The Planet Group consists of a group of related global consulting organizations and renowned staffing brands and has been purposefully built to address the professional services needs of leading companies in the Technology, Diversified Energy & Engineering, Infrastructure, Accounting & Finance, Human Resources, Healthcare and Digital Marketing areas. The company was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois with offices throughout the US and Europe. Learn more at theplanetgroup.com.
ABOUT FUTURE STATE CONSULTING
Future State is a consulting firm that leads with a personal, relationship-first approach to deliver top engineering talent and team solutions to tech organizations at leading companies. Whether it’s a team of Software Engineers to develop a new application or a short-term need for a Project Manager, Future State Consulting can help your organization achieve its digital mobility and technology goals. For more information, visit fsconsults.com.
ABOUT ODYSSEY INVESTMENT PARTNERS
Odyssey Investment Partners, with offices in New York and Los Angeles, is a leading private equity investment firm with more than a 25-year history of partnering with skilled managers to transform middle-market companies into more efficient and diversified businesses with strong growth profiles. Odyssey makes majority-controlled investments in industries with a long-term positive outlook and favorable secular trends. For further information about Odyssey, please visit odysseyinvestment.com.
MEDIA CONTACTS
The Planet Group
Elizabeth Spayne, VP of Marketing
781.530.3191 | espayne@theplanetgroup.com