Consulting and insolvency specialists KordaMentha has lured two senior partners from KPMG to lead a new defence consulting offering, as the big four firm’s once-mainstay defence practice continues to erode under a broader government crackdown on calling in the major advisory firms.

Sydney-based Mike Kalms who has spent the past 11 years at KPMG while also serving as a reservist in the defence force will be joined by Melbourne-based Joshua Rodgers, a seven-year veteran of the firm, to spearhead KordaMentha’s new defence and national security practice.