Q & A with Technical Director at Lares Digital – Clive Swan.
What experience do you bring to Lares Digital?
As a software business leader with over 30 years working in software product development at Oracle, I have expertise in complex software builds at scale and growing teams. My work leading large globally dispersed development teams and delivering innovative AI solutions (which were embedded in all of Oracle’s back office application suites for HR, finance, procurement, marketing, CX etc) has given me invaluable technology experience that I look forward to sharing with the team at Lares Digital.
What attracted you to working at Lares Digital?
I have known Andrew, the Lares Digital Finance Director, for a few years now and it was actually him who introduced me to the Lares team and the concept of a digital receptionist. I was very impressed with the thought process behind the business and their offering of a compelling solution to solve a very clear problem that needed addressing in the Facilities Management industry.
Rodolphe and his team are very well connected to the industry which is always an important attribute for a start-up who are bringing a new product or service to market. I was also attracted by their ‘contrarian’ approach to the evolution of the front of house in commercial spaces given the lasting effects of the pandemic on office occupancy rates – so much so I am now an investor as well as their new Director of Tech! I love the idea of swimming against the flow so to speak!
And last but not least, I also rate and think very highly of the people involved.
What are you most looking forward to helping the team at Lares Digital achieve?
I am very much looking forward to being part of the Lares journey and working with them to put in place all the foundations that are needed to help future-proof the business.
My primary focus will be to help the team to scale up in terms of adopting and using tech, gradually adding more intelligence to their product using AI. I see huge potential in the adoption of AI for Lares Digital, especially the opportunities AI driven insights can provide.
Helping companies to scale up technically is definitely my sweet spot, not just organisationally, but focusing on their approach to technology, how they adopt it and how they use it.
Ultimately it is about solving customer’s problems and leveraging the latest technology where it adds more value – not just for the sake of it.
Where would you like to see Lares in 5 years time?
Obviously it’s very early days, but ideally I would like to scale up the business to 1000+ clients across western Europe and my ambition would be to see Lares as the market leader in what they do!
Read more about the Lares Digital team
Find out more about the story behind the Lares Digital and the people involved in its success.
