French Maestro David Gurlé on Why Symphony Is Striking Chords Across the World of Wealth Management

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French Maestro David Gurlé on Why Symphony is Striking Chords Across the World of Wealth Management

In a world confined in COVID-19 lockdown, the Symphony cloud-based messaging and collaboration platform that securely connects markets, organisations and individuals is enjoying even more prominence than the impressive recognition and adoption it had already been enjoying. David Gurlé is the globe-trotting French founder of the USD1.4 billion Symphony Communication Services, LLC, headquartered in Palo Alto, and today with offices in Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo, London, New York, Paris, Sophia-Antipolis, and Stockholm. Hubbis caught up with him for a fascinating discussion by video link to his home in the south of France, where he and family have resided since 2018. From there, he has been masterminding the further development and rollout of the Symphony communications platform, which amidst this coronavirus lockdown is winning even more plaudits for its success in increasing workflow productivity while maintaining global regulatory compliance in the wealth management industry.

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Symphony is a cloud-based messaging and collaboration platform that securely connects Symphony CEO’s Key Priorities markets, organisations and individuals. Powered by Gurlé’s first priority for the foreseeable future is further building a growing and open app the platform out to the customers. “We have become a critical ecosystem, and protected with component of their businesses,” he reports, “so they run our customer-controlled encryption platform to run their business; accordingly, it is crucial for us to key infrastructure, Symphony keep that permanently in the forefront of discussions.” promotes its communications platform as increasing workflow The second priority is meeting the demand that Symphony has productivity while maintaining from customers. “The demand for the product and the capabilities global regulatory compliance. keep increasing, and we need to keep hiring engineers in order to serve and build those capabilities. That means growing the team The platform helps individuals, and building the product.” Currently, 100% of our team members teams and organisations of all around the world are working from home, using Symphony to sizes improve productivity while communicate and collaborate. We keep hiring team members for meeting security and regulatory positions at all levels and onboarding them remotely. compliance needs. It has become And the third priority is making sure that the firm does not outgrow adopted and endorsed by leading itself too quickly. “What I mean here,” Gurlé comments, “is to keep global banks and the broader our organisation’s sanity and culture, so that we continue to be the financial services industry. company that we are today, an enterprise that people admire, a Symphony unifies the enterprise firm that is respected for innovation, that is populated by the right workflow to boost productivity people, and that delivers the right experience to our customers.” in any such information-centric business and currently has over 510,000 users from more than 340 companies worldwide, powering the business was originally Gurlé certainly knew what he over 60 million monthly messages. founded back in 2014 on two was aiming for when he founded core principles. “First,” he says, Symphony. His CV is remarkably “we encapsulate the confluence impressive. Before creating BIG-NAME BACKERS of the technical leap forward in the firm, he had established Symphony’s success as an security, privacy, encryption and and run Microsoft’s unified encrypted communications compliance. Secondly, we saw the communications products (Skype platform built for the compliance- great need in the global financial for Business) and before that conscious finance community markets to find an alternative as global head of collaboration has seen the firm’s valuation way of interacting within each services at Thomson Reuters reach USD1.4 billion, and since other and with each other. had introduced the first 2014 the company has raised Symphony was actually created consumer-to-business federated USD460 million from the likes of from the company that I had communications to the financial big brand financial institutions founded earlier on by the name services industry. It was after such as Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, ‘Perzo’, then renamed Symphony the sale of Skype to Microsoft Morgan Stanley, and BlackRock. in 2014. The mission was, and still where he was the GM of Skype’s Such capitalisation and backing is, to accelerate our customers’ Enterprise Business that Gurlé has enabled Symphony to invest business processes by giving had founded Perzo, which later in new technology areas such as them a state-of-art collaboration evolved into Symphony. secure meetings and capital market platform and enabling them to solutions, which are increasing the innovate inside and outside of company’s product portfolio. IDEAL FOR THE WEALTH their organisation so that they MANAGEMENT COMMUNITY David Gurlé, founder and CEO can streamline their product and He explains that the Symphony of Symphony, explains that serve their customers better.” solution addresses wholesale

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led to individuals in the industry developed a range of capabilities taking the liberty to use their in order to automate that process personal accounts on those non- and accelerate usually from as regulated communication media to long as four months to just three communicate with their customers weeks and allowing for the use in and their colleagues, and that, of the process of messaging apps in a course, is a regulatory ‘no-no’, of secure and compliant manner .” course, as all communications that The fourth advantage is it then involve transactions must be allows portfolio managers to monitored, and auditable.” connect seamlessly with their And that opened the door to global markets counterparts on Symphony to create a partnership Symphony in order to devise with those companies who are investment strategies, build on those networks and operate tailored portfolios and execute KOH SIN YEE DAVID GURLÉ those networks and provide the client orders Duff & Phelps Symphony regulatory capabilities to allow those Despite the very considerable financial institutions still to meet banking, as the capital market has success has been enjoying in their compliance requirements while an immense and pressing need for recent years, the company does making the advisors and the users communication collaboration, as not let the grass grow under its to communicate seamlessly. “Failure does private wealth management. feet. In early October last year, to do so in a compliant manner Symphony announced the second “Compliance requirements mean will naturally result in fines for the generation of its leading global that digitalisation is a regulatory institutions and individuals, and markets collaboration platform, necessity,” he adds. “In the past, possibly even worse,” Gurlé cautions. Symphony 2.0, at its annual most of the transactions were done Innovate Conference. The second- on paper and from voice to message, TAKE FOUR generation Symphony introduced and so forth, but then the regulators He then offers insight into the a customisable user interface tightened dramatically, introducing four inherent advantages that to create optimised views and and enforcing a range of rules that Symphony offers its customers. layouts based on projects, teams, forced the financial institutions to Number one is connectivity with activities, allowing users to create record, retain and take preventive their customer base, with access personalised views and maximise measures on all type of electronic via Symphony on their desktop screen real estate, according to the communication that their employees and mobile and allowing for company’s release at the time. were undertaking. That created this voice, video or screen sharing, universe of regulatory users rather messaging with end customers. Smart notifications were also than non-regulatory users, and that “This resonates very well with introduced, whereby an all-new has become the new normal.” wealth management customers as notifications framework now lets it helps increase productivity and users easily differentiate between extends communication modes,” ‘noise’ and their priorities. Fast APP APPEAL and simple collaboration is The next step, he elucidates, is he explains. achieved as every user interaction that in the era of social networking The second advantage is to help on 2.0 has been optimised for and messaging there has been private wealth management in- simplicity and performance. an emergence of personal house platforms to deliver products communication tools such as for their high net worth (HNW) “Progressive disclosure,” says WhatsApp and WeChat and SMS customers from a range of suppliers Gurlé, “was introduced for complex and Facebook Messenger that in a consistent, streamlined and interactions, so 2.0 enables our have also become part of the accelerated manner. customers to re-wire how they communication of those who run their business. Hosting work for the financial institutions. The third advantage centres on the industry’s leading secure “And that,” he reports, “has also onboarding and KYC. “We have and compliant collaboration

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community, Symphony’s trusted workflows. The introduction of directory connects the largest Elements will make this simpler, community of counterparties faster and more efficient.” across global markets. From the Symphony also now offers a front office to back office, from streamlined way for financial inside the firm to counterparty services institutions to bring their collaboration, work can now be trading partners onto the platform. faster and more engaging.” The Symphony ‘Community Pod’ The new user experience and enables secure counterparty extensibility tools are built from collaboration where banks can the ground up on Symphony’s onboard their customers. patented secure and compliant collaboration framework, ASIA’S DYNAMISM extending to all custom workflows Gurlé explains that he moved to and inter-firm communications. Hong Kong with his family in 2018, having witnessed the dynamism of OPEN AND EXTENDIBLE the region and wanting to be on the “Symphony has always been about ground to help propel the Symphony open platforms and extensibility,” solution to as broad a market as Gurlé elucidates. “The platform possible, as well as to work on new today hosts over 1,300 apps, deals and partnerships to expand integrations, and bots built by the proposition. its partners and customers to And the results have been show- automate workflows like incident ing through, and then some. A management, pricing discovery, month or so after the release customer onboarding and of version 2.0, Symphony and knowledge management.” China’s giant tech company He adds that to further support Tencent announced a partnership the firm’s developer partners, to integrate WeChat with Sym- Symphony has been introducing a phony’s collaboration community. comprehensive set of user interface The partnership enables commu- extension capabilities and pre-built nication between Weixin (WeChat) ‘Elements’ for bots and application users and regulated profession- integrations. Developers can als using Symphony’s secure, now use standard off-the-shelf compliant platform. The idea was components to automate workflows to combine Symphony’s solution with consistency and speed. as a leading provider of secure cloud collaboration and connect AUTOMATE, OR STRUGGLE Symphony’s community of 450,000 “With pressure on margins, complex global markets professionals with regulatory requirements and the Tencent platform Weixin, which tedious manual processes, leading is China’s leading message app. financial firms are automating workflows wherever possible. They “This integration is the first of want to leave phone calls, email, its kind and enables two major and faxes behind in favour of more global communities to connect efficient and effective collaborative and conduct business via their processes,” Gurlé explains. “We are favourite applications,” Gurlé seeing customers use our platform explains. “Symphony users were to re-invent and automate suddenly able to interact with

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Weixin users in China and beyond of the sector. Members of this Joint “The launch of the WeChat- while meeting critical financial Development Programme include Symphony integration regulatory requirements, includ- blue chip names such as BNP demonstrates Symphony’s strength ing trust barriers, information Paribas, Citi, Deutsche Bank, and in enabling collaboration across protection governance, and data Goldman Sachs. B2B and B2C businesses without sovereignty requirements.” compromising governance or compliance standards,” Gurlé INDUSTRY ACCLAIM reports. “The key was to have major A TIMELY SOLUTION The solution has won some joint development programme With over one billion monthly ac- high-profile plaudits. “The Weixin tive users, Weixin/WeChat serves partners in the form of global ecosystem is without a doubt the consumers and financial services commercial, investment and primary way of communicating professionals in China and around private banks who throughout have for many of our clients in China the world. “Our global markets validated our strategy and solutions and beyond, but until now it was and private wealth management and helped us arrive at the outcome difficult to reconcile the ease of customers really needed a solu- we had all anticipated.” tion that can provide companies use with our industry’s stringent with a secure way of communicat- compliance requirements,” A VIRTUOUS CIRCLE ing with the Weixin user commu- said Chris Bezuidenhout, Chief Many in the global financial nity whilst maintaining compliance Information Officer for Investment services industry believe that and governance policies,” Gurlé and Corporate Bank, Deutsche Bank there will be a need for more reports. “It has been greatly wel- Asia Pacific at the time the Tencent secure networks around all comed in this industry.” collaboration was announced. communication as the COVID-19 lockdown continues and as the world looks to a somewhat “This integration is the first of its kind and different future from the recent enables two major global communities past, in which in any case to connect and conduct business via there was a major and growing their favourite applications. Symphony demand for the types of secure users were suddenly able to interact and compliant connectivity that with Weixin users in China and beyond Symphony offers. while meeting critical financial regulatory The dramatic rise in volatility and requirements, including trust barriers, falls in market indices triggered information protection governance, and by the COVID-19 crisis might, data sovereignty requirements.” unwittingly, be boosting platforms such as Symphony, as there is rising awareness of the major Weixin users are easily provisioned “By coming together,” he added, dangers of investors urgently, via a QR code and experience “Symphony and Weixin have opened sometimes desperately, trying to the same familiar interface to the door for us to communicate with connect via unregulated platforms which they are accustomed. our clients securely, and in a way and non-secure networks and Every message is automatically that’s most convenient for them, in apps with their financial advisers, integrated into the enterprise’s one of our most important growth and vice versa of course, have existing compliance, information markets. Deutsche Bank is thrilled to become ever clearer to experts in barrier, entitlement, malware be part of the team that has helped this field. protection, and Data Loss solve this regulatory and compliance Prevention processes. puzzle, enabling Symphony’s A DRAMATIC BOOST Symphony scoped, built and established community of market And Gurlé makes no apologies for tested its Weixin integration in participants to use Weixin to promoting its platform while the conjunction with leading financial communicate seamlessly with clients world struggles with the horrors services companies to ensure the while upholding rigorous compliance of coronavirus and while so many integration met the critical needs and security standards.” hundreds of millions of people are

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working from home. “In the first he observes, “with many more three months of the year, since so people and businesses working many clients began working from remotely, either from home or home during the virus, Symphony remote office and using a full has enjoyed tremendous growth, stack of collaboration capabilities with the platform’s daily active such as voice and screen sharing. users increasing 42% and Having such capabilities on messages sent surging by 280%,” mobile as well as on desktop he reports. “We believe this has not been the norm, but it strong expansion will continue will become so. In the midst of robustly after this current crisis, this crisis for the past several although the growth post- months, we have seen a major lockdown might not then be quite transformation of the mindsets of so dramatic.” our customers, their perceptions and their priorities, and I think Gurlé zooms in on the firm’s Asia for the better. And for the footprint, explaining that the firm better, I mean that it gives their has built some 300 commercial employees and so, therefore, partnerships across Asia and sends their customers a far more agile content to about 20,000 people, and flexible set of capabilities that all in the wealth management in turn, produce better outcomes community of private banks, for those customers.” retail banks, independent wealth advisors, insurance companies, and so forth. NEVER REMOTE His final word is that he is, of course, working remotely, sometimes DOUBLING UP “In the past two-plus years since I with the family dog barking in the moved to Hong Kong,” he reports, background, or his wife perhaps “not only have we doubled popping into his office to ask about our presence in Asia, which something, or his children drop ping represents now our 20% of our in to see their father. user base, but we have seen most “Looking ahead,” he ponders, of the growth via the connectivity “perhaps we might see people to WhatsApp and WeChat. Both figuring a new way of mixing their of these products were initiated personal and professional life at the request of our customers more robustly, and perhaps the in Asia, in private wealth result might be to make the work management and that has been environment better than in the past. absolutely central to our journey. Is this a new reality potentially? I personally moved to Hong Kong Possibly, but for sure, we will see in 2018 in order to focus our people using video communications energy in Asia, after having spent more than they did in the past. a considerable amount of time Perhaps we will all become like helping drive us forward in New our own movie directors, checking York and Palo Alto.” the background, lighting, camera Gurlé closes the discussion with angles, and so forth. The visual an observation on Symphony elements of all our lives are so during lockdown. “The post essential to us, and perhaps this era COVID-19 era might in some ways will bring a new dimension to our resemble the current situation,” range of visual communication.”

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Getting Personal with David Gurlé, Symphony Founder & Chief Executive Officer

Author, inventor and visionary, according to his bio, David Gurlé’s ideas have certainly been influential in critical trends in state-of-the-art consumer and enterprise communications, and more recently over the past six years in secure collaboration and communication technologies.

He has rather an impressive resumé for this role - he founded and ran Microsoft’s unified communications products (Skype for Business) and before that as Global head of collaboration services at Thomson Reuters, had introduced the first consumer-to-business federated communications to the financial services industry.

After the sale of Skype to Microsoft where he was the GM of Skype’s Enterprise Business, Gurlé founded Perzo, which later evolved into Symphony.

As busy as he is, he also sits on the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s International Technology Advisory Panel, and is regularly featured on global broadcast and print media. He is also a sought-after keynote speaker on the future of the digital workplace, collaboration technologies, workplace diversity and all matters related to privacy and information security.

Gurlé is French and in January this year received the Légion d’Honneur, the highest French order of merit for military and civil service.

He has indeed enjoyed a very colourful life, having been born in Istanbul, Turkey, to French parents who were both diplomats. Until the age of 14, he then lived in Syria, Lebanon, and Turkey and later, when his parents retired, the family moved to Cannes in the south of France, where he completed his secondary schooling before moving to Paris to study engineering.

“I chose to be telecommunications and computer science engineer,” he recalls, “completing two degrees and a Master’s. It was ideal as it really helped me to understand two essential and rather complementary technologies.”

Soon after gaining his qualifications, he moved to Israel to work on the first voice-over IT technology, which has now become the core technology used worldwide.

“Then I was lucky enough to be hired by Microsoft and moved to Seattle, where Bill Gates gave me complete freedom to create Microsoft real-time communication technology. It was an incredible opportunity and gave me an amazing boost as well as the opportunity to learn from the top business minds in the world. I worked very closely with Bill Gates in those times. And fast forward to the past six years when I founded Symphony, continuing my journey and adventure to offer customers throughout the world the best and most secure communication tools available.”

Gurlé today lives in Hong Kong, having moved there from California in 2018. Happily married for over 30 years and thoroughly enjoying life in Asia - at least until the virus hit - the couple has two sons aged 26 and 23.

His spare time is often spent keeping fit and enjoying the gym, biking, mountain biking, and running. “I am also a qualified pilot,” he reports, “although it is now two years since I last piloted. And winters might be spent skiing while summers I love windsurfing.”

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His favourite ski destination is Les Portes du Soleil, a region that connects France, Italy, and Switzerland. And windsurfing, when he has time, might be off a Dutch-controlled island called Bonaire, along the coast of Venezuela. “It is an amazing place,” he reports, “blowing force 4, 5 or 6 almost every day and where the sea offers both flat runs and waves. Moreover, it is safe and always about 28 degrees in the air or the sea. Hard to beat.”

By his own humble admission, Gurlé does not need to work. “But while I am comfortable and independent financially,” he reports, “I love to keep pushing ahead with business, and I have always been passionate about human interaction. I love working in this realm of offering the latest tools to achieve communication with high trust [the French word he uses here is fidelité] and across any distance or geography. That is what I love, and it is true to my origins as an engineer, so I have this desire to build, to create solutions at heart.”

His final comment is that he honestly still derives great pleasure from hearing a customer say they love the platform Symphony offers. “That sort of comment truly makes my day,” he says. “You know, creating a fintech requires a lot of courage and resilience. In our case, we have won through and are now really reaping the rewards in terms of our customers, their satisfaction and of course our business.”