Iress repositions and refocuses to drive growth and innovation

Iress today announced changes to its operating structure and senior leadership teams following a strategic review of its business.

The change forms part of the steps the company is taking to strengthen its position in all markets, drive innovation and help the industry tackle the challenges presented by today’s markets, and follows the appointment of Iress Group CEO Marcus Price in 2022.

Mr Price said: “At the core of Iress’ refreshed strategy is a strong focus on getting closer to our clients, and driving a higher level of accountability and transparency to drive market-leading results in each of our markets. We will do this by transitioning to our new team structure, enabling us to get closer to our client and drive higher performance through end-to-end accountability.

“Our analysis has confirmed that the core of the Iress business is incredibly attractive and exceptionally positioned at the centre of a thriving Australian wealth & trading ecosystem. Our ambition is to refocus on our clients in financial advice, trading & market data and superannuation by reinvesting in our core software and building the next generation of advice software, industry connectivity and data and analytics capabilities.”

“I’m confident Iress’ new organisational structure will strongly position us for our next growth horizon, with a program of clear and deliberate actions aimed at reinvigorating growth and value in our core businesses and delivering efficiencies that will improve our clients’ experience.”

Refreshed leadership team

Effective from 1 July 2023, Iress’ refreshed leadership team now also includes:

• Harry Mitchell - CEO, Wealth Management
• Jason Hoang - CEO, Trading & Market Data
• Paul Giles - CEO, Superannuation
• John Harris - CEO, Managed Portfolio

Each business line will have full end-to-end accountability of product, technology and support functions to streamline and enhance the client experience.

Additional roles appointed include Ana Smith as Chief Transformation & Strategy Officer, David Hentschke as Chief Innovation Officer and Justin Schmitt as Chief Operating Officer.

The Chief Product Officer role is not part of the new structure - Joydip Das will leave Iress to pursue other opportunities.

Strengthening core and investing for growth

In recognition of the critical role Iress plays in the financial advice, trading and superannuation industries, Iress has announced plans to reinvest in its core software to improve value for clients, while launching a new Innovations division to expand capabilities in future growth areas.

This will include investments in the development of next-generation advice technology to support the growing unmet advice demand in Australia and around the world, the exploration of data and AI opportunities and the continued expansion of Iress’ connectivity capabilities in wealth and trading including Xplan Affinity.

Reducing cost

Iress has announced a 10% headcount reduction reflecting a more efficient and focused organisational structure. Roles targeted for redundancy are not expected to impact on client service and delivery.

MFA & Platforms business divestment process commenced

Iress has also announced it will move forward with divesting its MFA & Platform businesses after determining they are not strategically aligned to the future direction of the company.

There is no impact on the day-to-day operations of clients, and Iress is confident in securing a solution in the best interests of clients and people.

More information

Iress' new strategy and plans to reposition the business were unveiled at Iress’ 2023 Investor Day, full details of which were released to the ASX.

New leadership team biographies are attached in the Appendix.