# About Us | Australian AI for Accounting Firms > Meet the team behind Agentive's AI Employee for accountants. Founded by Dr. Ash Khalilian with 26+ years of enterprise experience. 100% Australian-hosted. **Source:** https://agentive.au/about/ --- Our Story # Our Story Inside Capgemini's Generative AI Taskforce, Ash spent his days helping large enterprises think about AI from the end of 2022. The conclusion surprised him. Despite the budgets and the noise, most enterprises were not ready to absorb the technology in a meaningful way. The real urgency, and the place where AI could change a business overnight rather than over years, was small and medium business. Agentive® started out chasing a bigger idea: a multi-agent AI system capable of delivering almost any kind of project. What emerged was something more interesting in November 2025. The similar but simpler architecture, pointed at a single business, could effectively assist the owner: a second version of them working alongside, running the operation 24/7. [Book a demo](/book/) Quick answer Meet the team behind Agentive's AI Employee for accountants. Founded by Dr. Ash Khalilian with 26+ years of enterprise experience. 100% Australian-hosted. Deploys in 1 hour Hosted Sydney Tenancy Single ## Trusted by Australian practices and businesses 24 firms run a dedicated AI with us. Every logo shown with the owner's permission. - ![Data Insite logo](/logos/customers/data-insite.png) - ![OmniChannel Consulting logo](/logos/customers/omnichannel-consulting.png) - ![Yarrumdoc logo](/logos/customers/yarrumdoc.png) - ![Edina Building Group logo](/logos/customers/edina-building-group.png) - ![Divergent Strength Bookkeeping logo](/logos/customers/divergent-strength-bookkeeping.svg) - ![Emerald Wealth logo](/logos/customers/emerald-wealth.png) - ![The Ad Market logo](/logos/customers/the-ad-market.png) - ![AJ Stafford logo](/logos/customers/aj-stafford.png) - ![IWP logo](/logos/customers/iwp.png) - ![She Counts logo](/logos/customers/she-counts.png) - ![Morton Bookkeeping logo](/logos/customers/morton-bookkeeping.png) - ![Connected Business Solutions logo](/logos/customers/connected-business-solutions.png) - ![Aventori logo](/logos/customers/aventori.png) - ![Think Accountants logo](/logos/customers/think-accountants.png) - ![Business Lynx logo](/logos/customers/business-lynx.png) - ![Zenbook logo](/logos/customers/zenbook.png) - ![Adbur Bookkeeping logo](/logos/customers/adbur-bookkeeping.png) - ![KBAS Bookkeeping logo](/logos/customers/kbas-bookkeeping.svg) - ![Monitor Business logo](/logos/customers/monitor-business.png) - ![Flex Your Finances logo](/logos/customers/flex-your-finances.png) - ![Ventech logo](/logos/customers/ventech.png) - ![Performance Advantage logo](/logos/customers/performance-advantage.png) - ![Jenny de Lacy logo](/logos/customers/jenny-de-lacy.png) - ![Aiders logo](/logos/customers/aiders.svg) - ![](/logos/customers/data-insite.png) - ![](/logos/customers/omnichannel-consulting.png) - ![](/logos/customers/yarrumdoc.png) - ![](/logos/customers/edina-building-group.png) - ![](/logos/customers/divergent-strength-bookkeeping.svg) - ![](/logos/customers/emerald-wealth.png) - ![](/logos/customers/the-ad-market.png) - ![](/logos/customers/aj-stafford.png) - ![](/logos/customers/iwp.png) - ![](/logos/customers/she-counts.png) - ![](/logos/customers/morton-bookkeeping.png) - ![](/logos/customers/connected-business-solutions.png) - ![](/logos/customers/aventori.png) - ![](/logos/customers/think-accountants.png) - ![](/logos/customers/business-lynx.png) - ![](/logos/customers/zenbook.png) - ![](/logos/customers/adbur-bookkeeping.png) - ![](/logos/customers/kbas-bookkeeping.svg) - ![](/logos/customers/monitor-business.png) - ![](/logos/customers/flex-your-finances.png) - ![](/logos/customers/ventech.png) - ![](/logos/customers/performance-advantage.png) - ![](/logos/customers/jenny-de-lacy.png) - ![](/logos/customers/aiders.svg) ## Our Vision the **AI Platform** that **Creates** and **Runs** the **Businesses** of the **Future** - ### Every business runs with its own secure, dedicated AI In the new era of AI, every Australian business deserves an AI Employee it owns the relationship with: secure, dedicated, and working from day one - ### Admin work handled in minutes, not hours Emails, documents, and bookkeeping done while you sleep - ### Your AI learns your business and improves over time Knows your clients, your tone, your processes - ### Add new skills as your business grows Start with the basics, add finance, marketing, and more The people behind it ## Meet the team A Melbourne team of engineers, accountants and operators. Currently hiring: senior DevOps engineer and a sales and customer-success lead. [See open roles](/careers/). - ![Dr. Ash Khalilian, Founder and CEO at Agentive](/_astro/dr-ash-khalilian-founder-ceo.uVuKHQ8H_ESLAE.png) ### Dr. Ash Khalilian Founder and CEO 26+ years in IT, software and data. PhD in Information Systems. 36+ enterprise projects for organisations including ANZ, Westpac, Telstra and Qantas. Former Generative AI Lead at Capgemini. [LinkedIn →](https://www.linkedin.com/in/atkhalilian/) - ![Merven Marata, Business Operations Lead at Agentive](/_astro/merven-marata.BFpuKKyE_ZTNcJ2.png) ### Merven Marata Business Operations Lead Operations, CRM hygiene, outreach and hiring. Keeps the wheels on and the pipeline moving. [LinkedIn →](https://www.linkedin.com/in/mervenmarata/) - ![Amir Vand, Senior Developer at Agentive](/_astro/amir-vand.dNoTuEVY_1UboNM.png) ### Amir Vand Senior Developer Full-stack engineer. Builds and maintains MyAgentive and its Control Plane. Turns architecture decisions into working code. [LinkedIn →](https://www.linkedin.com/in/amir-vand/) - ![JP Payawal, Engineer-Accountant (part-time) at Agentive](/_astro/jp-payawal.6Q8aEb2N_hqiK8.png) ### JP Payawal Engineer-Accountant (part-time) Accountant-Engineer with 13 years of Australian accounting experience. Builds AI Employee skills grounded in real ledger work. - ![Matt Taleghani, Website, SEO and Marketing; Customer Support Lead at Agentive](/_astro/matt-taleghani.BnGDQkl0_2urhAB.png) ### Matt Taleghani Website, SEO and Marketing; Customer Support Lead Runs the website, SEO and ad campaigns, and leads customer support. Makes sure every client gets a fast, helpful answer. - ![Heath Burton, Customer Success at Agentive](/_astro/heath-burton.Dk0BK4xt_2qSyJK.png) ### Heath Burton Customer Success First point of contact for new clients. Runs discovery calls and demos, and guides practices from first conversation to go-live and beyond. - ![Dheeren Vélu, Non-Executive Advisor at Agentive](/_astro/dheeren-velu.CJXZ-kom_ZRgJ8x.png) ### Dheeren Vélu Non-Executive Advisor Head of Innovation AU/NZ at Capgemini. ICT Professional of the Year 2018. TEDx speaker, AI patent holder, Chair of the AI Industry Advisory Board at RMIT. ## AI Workforce Built and run on [MyAgentive](/technology/), our own dedicated AI works alongside the team, handling client work, internal coordination, and the systems that keep Agentive running. Powered by [MyAgentive](/technology/), the same dedicated AI platform we deploy for our customers. - ### Agentive Mother Monitors, manages and maintains our AI Employees and the customer relationships behind every deployment. - ### Executive Assistant Runs scheduling, communications and internal coordination across the team and our clients. - ### Bookkeeping & Accounting Handles reconciliation, transaction review, BAS preparation and day-to-day ledger work. - ### Marketing, SEO & CRM Drives content, SEO and the marketing pipeline, and keeps the CRM clean and current. ## Our Journey Q1: Product Launch Q2: Enhance and Expand Q3-Q4: National Expansion 2026 Goal New Verticals 2027 Goal 1. 01 ### Foundation Year Agentive founded in Melbourne Filed provisional patent for AI agent technology First AI Executive Assistant pilots with professional services 2. 02 ### Pivot to Accounting and Bookkeeping 3. 03 ### Scale Across Service Industries Answers ## Frequently Asked Questions Still unsure? [Ask us on a call](/book/). ### What is Agentive? + Agentive is an Australian AI company that builds AI Employees for bookkeeping practices and accounting firms. We help bookkeepers and accountants reclaim hours every day by automating bank reconciliation, BAS preparation, email triage, and admin work. Every customer gets a dedicated, single-tenant server hosted in AWS Sydney, data is stored onshore under Australian law, and business data is never used to train AI models. We serve clients across Australia with enterprise-grade security. ### Who founded Agentive? + Agentive was founded by Dr. Ash Khalilian, who brings 26+ years of IT, software and data experience with a PhD in Information Systems. He has delivered 36+ enterprise projects for organisations including ANZ, Westpac, Telstra and Qantas, and was formerly the Generative AI Lead at Capgemini. He saw that accountants and bookkeepers needed AI more than anyone and built Agentive to serve them. ### Where is Agentive located? + Agentive is officially registered in Sydney and headquartered in Melbourne, Australia. Every customer's AI Employee runs on its own dedicated server in AWS Sydney, with data stored onshore under Australian law. We serve clients across Australia. ### What makes Agentive different from other AI companies? + Every Agentive AI Employee is a single-tenant deployment, fully dedicated to your business. It learns your processes, your clients, and the way your practice works. All your data is stored on your own dedicated server in AWS Sydney, under Australian law, designed to align with APRA CPS 234, ASIC RG 255 and TPB obligations. Dual-firewall architecture keeps financial and restricted client data secure. We never allow Australian business data to train general-purpose AI models. Enterprise-grade security at small business pricing. ### What services does Agentive offer? + Two main services: (1) [AI Employee subscriptions](/services/) for the finance industry, specifically built for accounting firms and bookkeeping practices, with skills for bank reconciliation, BAS, email triage, and more. (2) [AI consultation services](/services/) to help businesses integrate AI Employees into their existing systems, train the AI on their specific processes, and automate workflows. See [real-world use cases](/ai-employee/use-cases/accountants/) for how businesses benefit. ## Accredited and independently assessed MyAgentive passed Xero's app certification, including an independent security and privacy assessment, and runs on AWS infrastructure in Sydney. - ✓ Certified Xero App Partner - ✓ Xero Partner - ✓ Microsoft Partner - ✓ AWS Activate - ✓ Hosted on AWS Sydney - ✓ Australian owned & operated That insight reframed the company. The question became which industry to bring this to first. Accounting and bookkeeping firms were the clearest answer: structured work, high admin load, clear ROI, and a profession quietly drowning in compliance. Agentive® was built for them. Next step ## Ready to Hire Your AI Employee? Book a free 15-minute call to see your AI Executive Assistant in action [Book a 30-minute demo](/book/) [See pricing](/pricing/) [Not ready yet? Step 04 See it on your file → A 30-minute demo on your own Xero or MYOB data.](/book/)