Brent Clarke and Thomas Tearle.
Independent business and technology consulting studio Underdog Studio has launched in Sydney, founded by ex-VML CEO Thomas Tearle and ex-McDonalds digital leader Brent Clarke.
The studio is built on the belief that the best transformation is the one that makes the next one unnecessary.
As CEO of VML in Australia and New Zealand for the last five years, Tearle led a 300-person, six-location business within WPP's global network, sat on VML's Global Leadership Team and WPP's AUNZ Executive Committee.
He delivered 14 Cannes Lions and seven Effies while overseeing five mergers.
Clarke, who first worked alongside Tearle at WPP 15 years ago, spent the latter part of a decade inside McDonald's Australia as a member of both the Australian Leadership Team and the Global Technology Team, where he launched the MyMaccas loyalty programme.
Whilst leading digital, he grew the mobile app by more than 100x, where one in five customers ordered through it. Most recently, he spearheaded digital channel transformation at Australia Post.
Their shared conviction: the transformation model has stopped delivering.
The global consulting market reached around US$263 billion in 2024 according to Source Global Research, yet research conducted by Bain found 88% of transformations fail to achieve their original ambitions.
Only 12% of Australian leaders feel generative AI is already transforming their business or industry, compared to 25% globally, according to Deloitte's State of AI 2026 report.
"Most businesses aren't stuck because they lack strategy. They're stuck because they can't stop transforming long enough to build the foundation that makes transformation unnecessary," said Underdog Studio co-founder Thomas Tearle.
"The big consultancies are incentivised to make it complicated. We're built the opposite way."
Underdog leverages expertise in eCommerce, subscription models, digital revenue streams, loyalty, CRM, digital products, websites and mobile applications to drive high impact transformation and growth.
Their model is paid on outcomes rather than hours, and AI-powered where it simplifies the work but human-led where judgement matters.
Underdog is working with high-growth ambition and PE-backed businesses from launch.
“The goal was never transformation. It was always growth. We use design, data, technology and AI, combined with hands-on experience, to grow our customers' businesses,” said Clarke.
“Like any good underdog, we aim to achieve more with less. More growth with less cost, time and frustration."
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