Iress appoints C-suite exec to lead AI transformation

Iress has appointed Daniel Ashley to the newly created role of chief AI officer to spearhead the fintech firm’s strategic focus on AI as the technology opens the doors to a “new frontier for wealth advice”.

Ashley brings a wealth of experience in digital transformation and the financial services sector to the role, including most recently at Amazon Web Services (AWS) where he spent more than three years as an AI/machine learning and data specialist for enterprise accounts.

Prior to this, Ashley worked across three of the four big banks, including Westpac where he was the director of strategy, planning, outcomes and business design; Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) as the head of program management, and National Australia Bank (NAB), as well as CitiBank.

Taking on this new role at Iress, the firm said Ashley will lead a cross-functional team, focusing on “leveraging AI to enhance product performance, automate workflows, and unlock new insights for clients globally, particularly across financial advice and investment management”.

He will also be responsible for driving the development and deployment of AI solutions across the firm’s product suite and operations, “embedding AI more deeply into the business”. Ashley commenced his new role on 4 August at Iress’ Sydney office, reporting to chief operating officer Justin Schmitt.

Speaking on the appointment, Schmitt said he is pleased to welcome Ashley as Iress doubles down on the AI opportunity.

“His proven track record in leading AI-driven transformation in financial services and at AWS will help accelerate our efforts to embed AI at the centre of our innovation strategy. AI represents a significant growth opportunity for Iress, enabling us to deliver faster, smarter and more scalable outcomes for our clients.”

Ashley added: “AI has the potential to redefine financial technology and deliver real, measurable value for Iress’ clients, people and shareholders. I look forward to working with the team to turn that potential into results.”

Earlier this week, Iress shared its intentions to utilise AI in order to expand its reach to Australia’s unadvised population during its half-year results webinar, flagging multiple tools could be launched within the next six to 12 months.

Chief executive Marcus Price said: “There is a significant opportunity for further expansion by delivering greater value to our existing customers using a data and AI-led approach to help them grow their practices and make them more efficient. We’ve got a significant focus on bringing agentic tools to our advice world through the existing Xplan network.  

“We’re expanding our suite of solutions to meet the substantial and growing needs of the unadvised, this is a new sector in wealth called the ‘next generation platforms’ in the UK and AU. This is a new frontier for wealth advice. Our product research confirms there is strong client and consumer demand for AI-led digital solutions with a new bunch of customers who want to deliver into this space.

“The development of new products and solutions to serve this population will be a really key focus for Iress over the coming months and years.”

While AI has rapidly worked its way into a lot of technology and everyday life, Price predicts that, “AI will have a lot to say in advice, and we are right in the thick of it”.

In its results for the first half of 2025, statutory net profit after tax (NPAT) was unchanged from the prior corresponding period at $17.3 million, while revenue was $299 million, down 3 per cent from $309 million from the pcp, thanks to the impact of divested assets.

On a continuing business basis, revenue increased 6.8 per cent to $249 million from ongoing improvement in the UK business as well as stronger performance from the Global Trading and Market Data business during the period.