SYDNEY, NEW SOUTH WALES: 5 December 2023 simplyai Pty Limited (“Simplyai” or the “Company”), Australia’s leading automation & artificial intelligence consulting services business, today announced a suite of executive appointments, including John Valastro as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO), effective 1 December.
LATEST PRESS RELEASE: simplyai Mr Valastro replaces Anthony Scott, who co-founded the business in 2019, and who will join Simplyai’s Board as a Non-Executive Director.
The appointments come at an exciting time for Simplyai’s ambitions, with the size of the AI industry expected to grow strongly from almost $US100 billion to almost $2 trillion within years[1].
Reflecting the strong pathway of talent within the organization, Mr Valastro was promoted from within the company, formerly serving as Simplyai’s Chief Operating Officer (COO).
In addition, Kylie Herbst has been promoted internally to become the new Chief Operating Officer, while Robbie Fagan has been appointed Chief Financial Officer (CFO), having been recruited from a private equity portfolio business to bring fresh thinking to the executive team.
Mr Valastro has more than 20 years leadership experience in several globally recognised Australian corporate and technology firms, including QANTAS and the Reveal Group, where he consistently delivered exceptional results by combining business acumen with a passion for cutting-edge technology.
Mr Scott co-founded the business in 2019 and has served as CEO since. Throughout this time, he has driven Simplyai to become a market-leading automation and AI specialist in Australia.
Ms Herbst has been with Simplyai since its formation. With over 25 years’ financial services experience across various technology consulting firms and a strong understanding of the Simplyai business, she is well-placed to lead the operations of the business.
Mr Fagan has more than 20 years of experience across professional services, growth tech businesses, where he developed expertise in leading the strategic, financial and operational challenges that come from scaling growing businesses.
Simplyai Chairman, James Scott, said: “As we transition into our new phase of growth we are delighted to promote John and Kylie and welcome Robbie to the business. Anthony’s energy and passion for Simplyai has allowed the business to scale and become an employer of choice and we look forward to building upon this foundation.”
"As we transition into our new phase of growth we are delighted to promote John & Kylie & welcome Robbie to the business. Anthony’s energy & passion for Simplyai has allowed the business to scale & become an employer of choice & we look forward to building upon this foundation."
”In addition, we express our sincere gratitude to Anthony for his leadership, and dedication and welcome him to the Board where he will continue to be a significant shareholder and make a valued contribution to Simplyai’s ongoing success.”
Mr Valastro said: “I am thrilled and honoured to lead such a passionate and talented team operating at the forefront of AI innovation. With the pace of technology change continuing to accelerate, I am excited at the prospect of working with Robbie, Kylie and the rest of our talented team to drive Simplyai towards unprecedented success and shaping the future of intelligent technology.”
Almost 75% of the world’s largest companies have already integrated AI into their business strategies and have reworked their cloud plans to achieve AI success[2].
According to analysis by Accenture [3], of the world’s 2,000 largest companies by market capitalization, those who discussed AI on their earnings calls were 40% more likely to see their firms’ share prices increase – up from 23% in 2018, Of those companies using AI, 30% of their total revenue was driven by the technology.
Forty-two per cent believe the return on their AI initiatives exceeded their expectations, while only 1% said the return didn’t meet expectations [4].
About simplyai
Simplyai is Australia’s leading automation and artificial intelligence consulting services business. As a tier 1 vendor partner, Simplyai provides world class talent and outcomes to clients.
The team is at the forefront of assisting clients transition their data and business processes using world class intelligent automation, decision science and artificial intelligence capabilities.
About Liverpool Partners
Liverpool Partners is a majority investor in Simplyai. Liverpool Partners Group consists of Liverpool Partners, Inspire Impact and Generations Foundation which provides life-changing opportunities through education.
We are a leading mid-market investment group spanning impact investing and mid-market private equity. It is our belief that the most valuable businesses are the ones that participate in intergenerational themes and sectors; have high growth opportunities which our capital and team can assist to unlock; and seek to take on some of the responsibility for the challenges we face in society and our environment.
www.liverpoolpartners.com
[1] https://www.statista.com/statistics/1365145/artificial-intelligence-market-size/#:~:text=Global%20artificial%20intelligence%20market%20size%202021%2D2030&text=Its%20value%20of%20nearly%20100,a%20vast%20number%20of%20industries.
[2] https://www.accenture.com/au-en/insights/artificial-intelligence/ai-maturity-and-transformation?c=acn_glb_aimaturityfrompgoogle_13766210&n=psgs_0623&gclid=Cj0KCQjwiIOmBhDjARIsAP6YhSWeSDYhnhCkCBbkeUwZS6wn873OXt40LRnQJtp3S2yTaiFeZFtb0FcaAss4EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds
This announcement has been authorised for release by the Board of Directors of Simplyai.
For more information please contact
John Valastro
Chief Executive Officer
Simplyai
e: jvalastro@simplyai.com.au
w: www.simplyai.com.au
Craig Tozer
Partner
Liverpool Partners
e: craig.tozer@liverpoolpartners.com
w: www.liverpoolpartners.com
JOHN VALASTRO
Chief Executive Officer
Experience
Simplyai (Current)
Chief Executive Officer – Sept 2023 – Current
Chief Operating Officer– Jul 2023 – Sept 2023
Reveal Group (4 years 10 months) – Intelligent automation services
Partner – Jan 2020 – Mar 2023 (3 years 3 months)
Principal – Jun 2018 – Dec 2019 (1 year 7 months)
Qantas (9 years 8 months) – Australia’s national carrier
Transformation Delivery Executive (6 years 9 months)
General Manager – Strategy, Enterprise Risk and Regulatory Affairs (2 years 11 months)
Background
A results-focused senior executive with deep experience in business transformation, process re-engineering and operational leadership
Extensive experience in change management, organisational resilience and robotic process automation
Successfully delivered many business transformation initiatives including (a) delivering $140m+ of transformation benefits over 3 years at Qantas, whilst also improving team engagement, and (b) securing public recognition for Qantas as a global leader in sustainability.
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