In the latest installment of our Meet the Team series, we sat down with Matt Green, Territory Manager for Victoria, Tasmania, Western Australia and South Australia. Find him on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter!

“If I had to name a trend I felt was overrated, it would have to be robo-advice.”

Tell us a bit about yourself.

I’m a family man, married with 4 kids. A passionate basketball and Hawthorn footy fan, I help coach a number of basketball teams that my children play in. I’m as geeky as I am creative, with a love of painting, music, and cooking. More than anything, I enjoy gathering with family and friends with some food and a nice glass of wine.

When did you join myprosperity? Where were you before?

I joined myprosperity in early 2016. I’d spent the past 20 years or so in the technology industry, and was immediately attracted to the product because I could see how it offered value to all Australians. I wanted to help companies leverage myprosperity to grow their businesses, as well as contribute to helping Aussies grow and manage their wealth.

Prior to myprosperity, I worked for a Melbourne based tech company that built an international marketplace for property professionals, using a white label portal technology. I headed up the technology team and enjoyed helping the company expand from Australia into China, the UK and then Europe.

What is the top trend to watch out for in the accounting and financial planning industries?

I think application programming interfaces (APIs) or “software integrations” are the future. The firms that are emphasizing integration and open data are, I believe, the ones that will go furthest. The reality is that software vendors are looking to collaborate through APIs and recognise the market demand for integrations. I love that this is a core priority for myprosperity: we’re currently launching our own set of APIs so we’re very much committed to, and delivering on, the promise of opening the data in our platform via integrations.

For more information about the myprosperity APIs, check out our CEO, Chris Ridd’s, post on the latest company updates.

What is the most overrated trend?

This may be controversial but I’m going to have to say robo-advice. AI and automation have a lot to offer in terms of service delivery and user experience, but when it comes to actual advice, I think people still want to look someone in the eye and shake their hand. They want to know exactly who is behind the advice and feel like there is a long term relationship at play.

Matt Green in Sudan with shrapnel found near the country’s capital, Juba.

What’s a little known fact about Matt?

In 2012 I went to South Sudan with a children’s charity to see what could be done to help children in a war-torn country. I did quite a bit of research before going, and went there with the most open mind I could possibly have to learn and understand the country, history and culture. It was the biggest eye-opener out of all my international travelling. I think travel is a wonderful teacher and we want to travel more with our family to help shape our kids’ world view.

When in South Sudan, I picked up some shrapnel just a few kilometers outside the capital, Juba. Sudan has endured two 20 year civil wars and this shrapnel really brought home the reality of war to me, and how far removed my generation is from war times. Seeing the orphans there and learning about child soldiers broke my heart and gave me plenty of perspective that I’ve kept to this day.

Quick round:

• Biggest pet peeve? Chewing with your mouth open…
• Favourite movie? The Matrix
• Favourite place? Holidaying with my wife and kids anywhere. I want to take them to Scotland and parts of the UK to trace family roots, and catch up with family and friends.

Where will we see you soon?

Outside of the many basketball stadiums around Victoria where I live on weekends, you may catch me at the FPA 2017 National Congress in Hobart on November 22nd and 23rd, or as part of the myprosperity breakfast series. I’ll be hosting breakfasts in Launceston on November 21st and Adelaide on the 24th, so keep an eye out for those! I also hope to catch most of you at the myprosperity end of year drinks in December.