Thomas Otter, Venture Capitalist, On How One Good Decision Made Him The Accidental HR Tech Pioneer

AI and the Future of Work

Thomas Otter joined Acadian Ventures in March 2022 as a General Partner. Prior to Acadian, he advised companies such as Workday, Ultimate Software, Personio, and Unit 4, and collaborated with private equity and growth equity firms like Warburg Pincus, Scottish Equity Partners, PSG, and Goldman Sachs on M&A, strategy, negotiations, and diligence. He previously led the product management organization at SAP SuccessFactors, scaling it to over a billion dollars in annual recurring revenue, and served as a Research Vice President at Gartner Group, leading HR tech research. Thomas holds a Doctorate from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, and the Strategy and Innovation Diploma from Oxford. He is a Fellow of the British Computer Society. . A regular guest lecturer at various universities, Thomas grew up in South Africa and now resides in Heidelberg, Germany. He is also a collector of vinyl records and a lover of great music.

In this conversation, we discuss:

• How a chance encounter led to a 30-year career in HR technology.
• The evolution of HR technology from the mainframe era to modern cloud-based systems.
• The intersection of ethics, compliance, and technology within HR.
• The strategic importance of HR in today's business landscape and its impact on the employee experience.
• The role of technology in automating administrative tasks to enhance employee satisfaction.
• Historical milestones in HR tech, including the first business application of a computer for payroll.

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