Automic Group Appoints Former ASX Executive Giri Tenneti as Head of Strategic Clients

We are delighted to welcome Giri Tenneti to the Automic Group as our new Head of Strategic Clients. With a wealth of experience from her time as Head of Listed Company Services at the ASX, Giri brings deep understanding of the listed company landscape to our team. 

To mark her arrival, we sat down with Giri to learn more about her career so far, her vision for the future of investor administration, and what excites her most about this new chapter. 

Could you walk us through your career journey and the key experiences, particularly from your time at the ASX, that have prepared you for this new chapter with Automic? 

My career has mostly been at ASX, although I also worked for a judge, as a tax adviser, and as a General Counsel and Company Secretary for a listed entity in between stints at ASX. Early years at ASX included formative experiences in the settlements area, listings compliance—admitting and monitoring listed entities to the boards—and as company secretary to ASX itself. I also did some work on tech projects for listed companies, the Corporate Governance Principles and Recommendations, and education for the listed and participant communities. 

However, it was my last role as head of listed company services that really prepared me best for this upcoming role at Automic. In this role, I built out ASX's offering for listed companies which gave me the opportunity to understand the needs of listed companies from compliance and governance through to market-facing activities such as investor engagement and capital raising. This role was very ambassadorial and I spent a lot of time talking to listed companies to share intelligence and understand their needs, so it dovetailed perfectly into a customer role in a share registry business. 

What was it about Automic that captured your interest, and what are you most excited about achieving with the team? 

Long, long before I ever thought of Automic as a potential employer, I met some of your people out and about in my ASX capacity. I was super-excited to see the innovative technology and the needs-oriented approach of the CTO, Marcelo Dantas, and the broader team employed by the business. The approach to automating much of the routine and manual tasks around register management for listed companies captured my interest, as did the desire of the team to integrate with ASX's systems to create straight-through processing. While the latter hasn't happened yet, Automic has continued to develop its automation capability and when ASX's system renewal presents the opportunity to integrate, I'm sure Automic will be ready to plug in. 

As you step into this role, what are your key priorities for the first few months to make an immediate impact? 

In a customer role, the first priority is always going to be about them—checking in, asking questions, finding out about their priorities, and about what Automic is doing well and where we can improve. Additionally, joining a new team (albeit with some very familiar faces in the mix), I want to understand the organisational priorities and ways of working, and make sure I understand the business's priorities in the short and medium term. In the medium term, for me, it's going to be about helping to shape our offering and ensuring Automic's name is a natural addition to any discussion, whether pre-IPO or in a register renewal context, to pitch for the work. 

Drawing on your experience, what is your view on the future of the registry and investor administration industry, and where do you see Automic's unique advantage in that evolving market? 

Automation, integration, and AI spring to mind. Register administration has moved heavily towards investor administration as retail share ownership has grown exponentially over the last 10 to 15 years. The challenges of the privacy legal framework; the pre-digital generation of investors who are not yet on email let alone other digital media; and the need to drive efficiencies in administration whilst also protecting individuals against cyber-crime set the stage for our whole industry to work together to better serve both investors and the companies and funds they invest in. Automic's young technology and nimble approach to development will position it well to meet these challenges and create a better experience for all as well as a safer environment in which to transact. 

Looking ahead, where do you believe the most significant opportunities lie for Automic's growth and innovation? 

For me, it's the technology, the commitment to delivering an exceptional experience, and the ability to be focused and responsive without much of the bureaucracy and legacy systems of our competitors. 

Could you describe your leadership style and your approach to mentoring and developing a high-performing team? 

I am a consultative and nurturing leader (at least I think so—maybe ask my former team members!). I think the best outcomes are delivered through democratic collaboration and ensuring everybody's ideas are listened to and considered. I trust my team implicitly as, in my view, a trustworthy team member is the only type I want in my team. Celebrating progress motivates team members to deliver their best and being yourself at work is important in my view—people perform at their best when they don't have to worry about the "noise" of overly formal or political work cultures. 

Is there a particular challenge or project you're especially looking forward to tackling with the team? 

I'm super excited to start at Automic and really looking forward to demonstrating that our platform is mature enough to take on bigger registers and that on top of that, we can deliver excellent customer service along with community and insights to help our customers thrive. 

Ready to partner with technology driven leader in investor administration?  

Giri's vision for a responsive, tech-forward, and client-centric registry service is at the heart of what we do. If you're looking for a partner to help you thrive, get in touch with the Automic team today to learn how our market-leading platform can support your organisation.