Aumni Spotlight: A Look Ahead with Aumni’s Head of Strategy Julie Shaver

In continuation of our effort to get to know the people behind Aumni’s powerful solutions, we are excited to share our latest Q&A with Aumni’s Head of Strategy, Julie Shaver. Below Julie discusses her background, her take on what makes Aumni’s solutions unique, and where the company sees strategic opportunities in the year ahead.

Q: Please tell us about your legal background and expertise in consulting.  

A: I joined Aumni as Head of Strategy at the start of the new calendar year, coming from RGP, a global consulting firm and Deloitte spin-off. Over the seven years I spent at RGP, I served in a variety of roles. My responsibilities ranged from growing the legal consulting business, to serving as Chief of Staff to the CEO, to building and running the company’s first corporate development and investor relations function. Prior to that, I was a corporate M&A and capital markets attorney with Latham & Watkins.

Q: How does your legal and business strategy experience inform your role at Aumni?  

A: Given Aumni’s strong legal emphasis, my background and expertise are helpful in understanding the power of the offering and its impact on both fund operations and investment decision-making. My experience building a corporate development function from the ground up and collaborating closely with executive teams on both strategy and execution, has translated well to my role at Aumni.

Q: How is Aumni approaching Corporate Development strategy as the company grows?

A:  Aumni is positioning itself to build and own a sector that is still very nascent in the private markets, operating at the intersection of data analytics and legal technology. The private markets are growing at a speed that has been difficult for many investors to adapt to. The ecosystem is desperate for enhanced transparency to bridge the information gaps that persist today. Aumni is well-positioned to be the data engine that powers the private markets, structuring data that addresses the pain points that create inefficiencies and barriers to liquidity. Our corporate development team is focused on driving recursive growth across the organization, and ensuring that we take the right steps at the right time to achieve that goal.

Q: How does the Corporate Development team plan for new initiatives and opportunities?  How do these new opportunities fit into Aumni’s value system?

A: There truly is no shortage of opportunities for Aumni. Our short term goals include: continuing to optimize our product for enhanced value at the front-of-the-house, building a trusted platform for the Limited Partner community, creating an experience for the portfolio companies themselves, and putting our growing data moat to work. The long view is ownership of the entire capital stack, extending our analysis from the company level through to the institutional investor, and everything in between. This will arm us with the data we need to fully power the private capital markets. Our team is tasked with guiding the prioritization of resources to ensure we’re focused where we need to be. We make decisions based on rigorous market research, stakeholder and advisor engagement, and listening to our customers’ needs.

Q: What excites you the most about Aumni’s trajectory over the next 12 months?

There is so much to be excited about. I’m particularly amazed by the power of our database. The data we’re capturing is of unprecedented depth and fidelity (derived directly from executed legal documents), and it covers parts of the ecosystem which have been largely opaque to date (i.e. pre-seed companies and first-time managers). The insights we’re able to draw and will continue to build upon over the coming months are novel and invaluable.

Q: Anything else you’d like us to know about you?

On a personal note, I love French Bulldogs, good sushi, and grapefruit margaritas.