Pierce Wittke is our Chief Technology Officer for WealthConnect. In this People Spotlight, Pierce tells us about his passion for developing technology that makes a difference in people’s lives, his connection with Salesforce and how he can both architect impeccable tech engines and assemble a car engine from scratch!
How was it joining GBST, and how do you see WealthConnect integrating into GBST’s innovation roadmap?
Joining GBST has been great – given the perfect fit with GBST’s background, experience and market knowledge and has given WealthConnect a new lease on life. It’s exciting to see GBST’s future growth plans for disrupting the advice space not only in the UK and Australia but into new territories, and knowing WealthConnect has been the catalyst for that.
What are some of the standout features and functionalities added to WealthConnect in the time you’ve been working on the solution?
I have been part of the WealthConnect journey since the very early days, having been the sixth employee of the company. The solution has gone from an idea to an ever-expanding adviser solution. There are many standout features for me across the product, but if I were to pick two, it would be our Advice Wizards and our Compliance Rule Engine.
Our Advice Wizards provide curated step-by-step wizards to help practices have an efficient advice process, from onboarding to advice provision to reviews, bringing all the relevant information from their system into one easy-to-use place. The customisable Compliance Rules Engine is embedded in our system, allowing a practice to easily apply preventive controls to help reduce the complexities around delivering compliant advice.
Why is your role meaningful to you?
I have a passion for genuinely making a difference in people’s lives, and for me, working on a product that helps people become financially independent is one the greatest changes someone can make. WealthConnect aims to make advice available to more people. Being a leader at GBST is helping me contribute to the advice space in a meaningful way.
We hear you are a Salesforce geek and rank high as a Trailblazer. Tell us what you love about their platform and what it means for the WealthConnect solution?
Salesforce is a platform I fell into over 14 years ago that has significantly changed my life, providing me with amazing opportunities, from helping build a business here in Australia to having the opportunity to present at the Salesforce global conference, Dreamforce, in San Fransico. The Salesforce ecosystem is backed by not only powerful tech but also a community of people who drive change and philanthropy.
Salesforce is such a diverse, robust platform that has played a pivotal role in achieving the remarkable speed and stability we have built for WealthConnect. Our partnership with Salesforce stems from its product ethos, which places importance on customer experience and engagement. It naturally aligns with our product design culture and the outcomes we want to deliver for both advisers and their customers.
What do you like doing outside of work?
Outside of work, I love my tech and am a nerd at heart, but I also have a passion for the automotive world, designing and building cars, engines, gearboxes, etc. Currently, I’m big into the remote 4WD touring and have been working on building up my 4WD vehicle for the last few years.
What is your favourite technology innovation, and how do you apply it to your role?
To be honest, my favourite technology innovation has to be video calling. As someone who loves personal connection, the daily introduction of “Teams calls” has given me the ability to work closely with my team, being spread across the country like we are all in the office together. The personal touch of seeing everyone’s face, reading body language and creating a greater connection have fundamentally changed the way I work and allowed a greater opportunity to work with people in multiple locations.
Do you have any secret talents or skills your colleagues may not know?
I’m a fairly open book, but the two biggest secret talents would probably be that I used to be a resident DJ here in Brisbane and still play from time to time, and the other would be my mechanical skills. People don’t often see me as someone that builds their own car engine.
Posted in: Advice solutions
