Practifi announces APAC leadership appointment

Practifi has bolstered its global expansion plans and go-to-market strategy with the announcement of a promotion for its director of advice solutions, Umesh Banga.

Mr Banga will take on the new role of senior director, go-to-market, in which he will head up the business’s product offering in Australia, New Zealand and the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region.

Despite only joining in December 2021, Practifi said Mr Banga has been instrumental in delivering “exceptional” outcomes to financial advisers and worked closely with its client success, professional services, sales and product teams.

Practifi president and co-founder, Adrian Johnstone, welcomed the promotion, saying Mr Banga has made “an incredibly valuable contribution” to the company since joining.

“In this new leadership role, Umesh is charged with evolving an already enterprise-grade platform to ensure access to the most scalable, integrated and secure platform available,” Mr Johnstone said.

“Umesh will work closely with industry and technology providers to bring life to the genuine best-of-breed technology stack the industry has craved.”

Mr Johnstone added that the appointment reflects Practifi’s strategy to bring globally proven technology and expertise to the advice and superannuation industries.

“Practifi has been investing heavily in its core product offering to ensure we continue to deliver on our commitment as Australia’s leading enterprise platform across wealth management and superannuation sectors,” he said.

“Umesh’s promotion reflects the success that Practifi has had over the last 12 months as we continue to invest in our firm’s growth and product offerings. We are confident he will continue delivering on Practifi’s high standards as he steps into his new role.”

Earlier this year, Practifi announced plans to expand in the Australian market with its data-driven wealth management platform.

In 2020, the company completed a $24 million Series B funding round.

The Series B funding round was led by US-based Updata Partners with participation from existing Series A investors, Equity Venture Partners (EVP). Practifi said at the time that the funding would be used to scale the team, expand presence around the globe, and invest in the software platform to further elevate the client experience.

Meanwhile, Mr Johnstone recently joined the ifa Show podcast to discuss the “data paradox”, the benefits of M&As in the advice space, and how embracing technology can benefit advisers and firms.

Listen to the full episode here.

Neil Griffiths

Neil is the Deputy Editor of the wealth titles, including ifa and InvestorDaily.

Neil is also the host of the ifa show podcast.