Former Appen boss Mark Brayan tapped for new role leading Soprano Design

Mark Brayan departed Appen last year after the former market darling’s shares slumped by 74 per cent in 12 months.

Former Appen CEO Mark Brayan. Picture: John Feder/The Australian

Former Appen chief executive Mark Brayan has been tapped to run Sydney-based enterprise communications outfit Soprano Design, with current boss Richard Favero stepping down after six years in the top job.

The privately-held communications software business has recently made an AI-related acquisition, and has turned to Mr Brayan to lead its next era, with the executive starting in the role immediately.

Soprano provides enterprise communications services, including appointment reminder text messages for doctors’ appointments, or booking reminders for a restaurant, and sends billions of messages each year to customers globally.

“It’s one of those companies that unless you go looking for it, you don’t know it’s there,” Mr Brayan said in an interview.

“It fits the theme for me, it’s another company I’m running that’s been operating quietly and proudly on the global tech scene for 25 years, and has been looking after its customers for a long time.

“In my book, any business that communicates well with its customers is a good business, and that appealed to me,” he said. “And if you think about messaging going to your phone, the next logical step is you being able to communicate back to the company. And given the scale that they operate in, that’s going to happen with AI, and given my background at Appen that’s super exciting.”

Mr Brayan departed Appen late last year after leading the company for seven years, after its shares slumped by 74 per cent in 12 months.

Five years ago the Sydney-based AI specialist was the hottest company on the bourse, with its share price hitting record highs in 2020 buoyed by strong demand from the tech giants who were using Appen’s services to help build out their AI chatbots.

The company was one of the famed ‘WAAAX’ stocks, alongside WiseTech Global, Afterpay, Altium and Xero. At its peak in August 2020, shares in the then market darling had been worth $40.08 each. It’s now trading at $1.38, and is now led by former KPMG and Dell executive Armughan Ahmad, who is steering a turnaround attempt.

“Its prospects are very solid in my view,” Mr Brayan said. “I’m still a shareholder. And, you know, I want the company to do very well, I’m very much a fan of the company and, and a fan of its market. The technology markets moved very quickly, and I’m confident that they’ll move with it.”

Soprano chairman Richard Favero, who is stepping down as CEO but will remain as chair, welcomed Mr Brayan’s appointment.

“We are delighted to welcome Mark as our new CEO. His exceptional leadership skills, strategic insights and deep industry knowledge make him the ideal choice to lead Soprano,” Dr Favero said.

“We have great confidence in his ability to lead the company to even greater achievements in the future. Mark’s enthusiasm for embracing cutting-edge technologies, customer focus and fostering a culture of innovation will be instrumental in driving Soprano’s continued growth and extending the company’s leadership in enterprise messaging and conversational AI.

“With him at the helm, we are confident that Soprano will reach new heights and create lasting value for all stakeholders.”

Originally published as Former Appen boss Mark Brayan tapped for new role leading Soprano Design