LV1 Board Changes

Enter David Brudenell and Adrian Bunter 

LV1 have just announced the appointments of David Brudenell as non-executive Chairman and Adrian Bunter as non-executive director of the Company.

“David and Adrian will be instrumental in continuing to shape and execute LV1’s previously announced strategy of developing cutting-edge, AI-based solutions to create new growth opportunities for LV1 businesses and to use this technology to streamline costs” 

This is a clear statement to us that LV1 are serious about the incorporation of AI-based technology, putting the right people in the right positions to continue the companies positive momentum. 

David Brudenell Has Significant Technology Experience Extending into Artificial Intelligence

LV1s new chairman is David Brudenell who during his 20 years of experience, has participated in numerous start-ups, venture capital, M&A and public markets activities.

What’s more, David has a vast experience in the field of A.I and technology focused companies, at all stages of a company’s life cycle which is why he is a perfect fit for LV1.

Importantly, David has proven experience with publicly listed ASX companies, having been in executive roles for over a decade. 

David is currently an executive at fintech company, Flare, where he leads the sales, marketing and solutions. During his tenure, David has been part of the team which has rapidly advanced the company, with over one in four Australian employees now using Flare technology when they start a new job. 

This growth has resulted in MYOB, owned by US private equity giant KKR (US $85.7B market cap) recently buying the company for a “significant transaction” (deal consideration not disclosed). 

Prior to Flare, David spent several years on the frontier of generative AI and machine learning at global technology company, Appen (ASX:APX). Appen are the largest provider of training data for artificial intelligence applications, where David led the Global Solutions & Advanced Research team. 

It is worth noting that Appen, work with some of the world’s biggest companies, including Amazon, Microsoft, Salesforce, Adobe, Oracle & Nvidia. 

David has held a plethora of other executive roles including Executive Vice President at global market research company Pureprofile where he participated in its public listing (ASX:PPL), Managing Director at Fleet and Consumer Lending company Eclipx (ASX: ECX) currently capped at ~$890 million, and Chief Product and Digital Officer for Universum, which was sold to Stepstone Group (capped at $3.6 billion) for ~$73.5 million in 2018. 

David also serves as an advisor for several US-based Artificial Intelligence and Consumer companies.

Adrian Bunter Is One Of Australia’s Most Renowned Angel Investors And Has Been A part of ‘Unicorn’ Start Ups 

Adrian has over 25 years’ experience in finance and corporate advisory, working with early-stage businesses to help them grow, expand and exit. 

When reviewing Adrian’s experience and what he brings to LV1, we couldn’t help but be impressed with his resume.

Adrian started his career with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) finishing his career as a director, after 16 years (primarily focused on the technology sector in specialist firms) which is an astounding achievement. 

To put some context around PwC, they operate in 157 countries, across 742 locations, with 328,000 people and generated US $50.3 billion of revenue in FY 2022, so being a director of such a company speaks volumes of Adrian’s business acumen.  

Adrian also has significant experience in advising and working with early-stage start-ups with a hands-on approach, growing some companies into billion-dollar corporations. 

This predisposition has led Adrian to be an executive director of Venture Advisory, one of Australia’s leading specialist technology, media and telecommunications financial advisory firms, in addition to being an executive committee member for 15 years of Australia’s leading angel investing group, Sydney Angels.

Notable investments include Clarity Pharmaceuticals, listed on the ASX (CU6) on 24 August 2021, raising $92 million from the market and currently capped at ~$700 million. Sydney Angels members first invested in Clarity in 2012 and participated in early follow-on rounds. First round investors enjoyed returns of 50x at IPO. Having an eye to spot and then support a 50 bagger, we think is truly astounding. 

Furthermore, Adrian has been a director of Employment Hero since its conception 10 years ago. In late 2023, the company raised $263million, sealing the biggest capital raising of the year. Similarly, to LV1, this funding is aimed at building AI capability to become a fully autonomous solution for SMEs around the world. 

In 10 years, Employment Hero has now reached a valuation just shy of $2 billion, placing it in the elite ‘unicorn club’, for privately held start-ups with valuations over $1 billion. 

For context of just how significant this is, it took companies such as Dropbox, Netflix, Apple and Microsoft, over 10 years to reach a $1 billion valuation. 

Adrian also has significant experience at a board and advisory level, with high-growth, tech focused ASX listed companies, which at present include Carly Holdings Limited (ASX:CL8) and 8Common Limited (ASX:8CO). 

These are quite literally only a small portion of Adrian’s career achievements, so his appointment to the board may be the most significant on the ASX in 2024. 

Where We See The Value

We’re particularly pleased with these recent board changes. 

We believe the appointment of Adrian & David will prove to be an astute piece of recruitment by the existing board, as LV1 moves into a new company phase, incorporating  Decidr.AI, to streamline the existing LV1 businesses, which will become increasingly important to the success of the company. 

Both executives are well respected in their industries and have significant experience in the upper echelons of Australian based technology and A.I focused companies, in all life-cycles, which will critical when applying their knowledge to LV1.   

We think having their respective experiences and networks, which are now part of the LV1 ecosystem, will allow the company to rapidly integrate Decidr.AI within the business, in order to profitably scale LV1’s existing 13 Seeds and Edible Beauty brands, in Australia and internationally.