Chris Ellis joins Collabra to drive AI automation for business

Chris Ellis, former Chief Executive Officer of Finder Australia and co-founder of GorillaStack, has been named Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer at Sydney-founded AI company Collabra, as the company transitions from product development to commercialisation.

Founded and built in Sydney, Collabra is focusing on developing a back-office automation engine targeted at mid-market enterprises. The company aims to eliminate repetitive administrative work and provide auditable, consistent results that can scale across operations.

Collabra states that its platform combines the reliability associated with Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and the adaptive intelligence of AI technologies. Significantly, the automation runs within the customer's own network, with an emphasis on security and control of sensitive data. The firm reports that it has seen early adoption among sectors including logistics, recruitment, IT service providers, and property management, with intentions to expand into the retail and financial services sectors over the coming year.

Current industry data, referenced by Collabra, reveals that more than 90% of AI pilot projects fail to proceed into full production. Additionally, many legacy RPA systems face challenges when dealing with operational complexity and scale. Collabra describes itself as taking a different approach, targeting secure, reliable automation for mid-market enterprises seeking tangible outcomes from AI implementation.

Chris Ellis, who brings experience from senior roles in fintech, cloud, and media sectors, played a role in taking Finder Australia's revenue beyond USD $100 million. He also co-founded GorillaStack, which was acquired by SoftwareONE and focused on automation in cloud and financial operations.

He joins a founding team that includes Alon Novy, whose experience spans multiple technology ventures such as BlueFire (acquired by Dimension Data), Immutable, ScalaMed, and Kinela. The team also includes Neill Miller, who is credited as a serial entrepreneur and investor, with his previous company Zeetings becoming Canva's first acquisition, along with early investment roles in SEEK, SafetyCulture, Envizi (sold to IBM), and Blackbird Ventures.

"C-suites want growth without bloated headcount - and they need to keep funding the core while backing the highest-value growth bets," said Chris Ellis, Co-founder & CEO, Collabra.ai. "Too many AI projects stall before production. Collabra is built to change that. Our rule-following AI agents deliver consistent, auditable outcomes for mid-market enterprises, so leaders can reduce costs and redeploy capital and talent toward growth. This isn't about experiments - it's about automation that actually works in production, freeing people from repetitive work and creating space for innovation."

Alon Novy, Co-founder of Collabra, emphasised the significance of this commercial transition for the company and the value of Ellis joining at this juncture.

"We've spent the last two years building technology that we believe is truly unique," said Alon Novy, Co-founder, Collabra.ai. "Chris joins us at a pivotal time as we shift from product build into go-to-market. His commercial edge and experience scaling companies will be critical as we help mid-sized businesses embrace reliable, intelligent automation that actually works in production - not just in pilots."

Neill Miller highlighted the industry-wide scepticism towards AI initiatives and reinforced the company's emphasis on practical, operational outcomes.

"Execution matters," said Neill Miller, Co-founder and investor at Collabra.ai. "Businesses are losing patience with AI hype - recent MIT reports show more than 90% of pilots never make it to production. Collabra is built differently: reliable, auditable automation that delivers outcomes in production. I've seen first-hand how pairing strong technology with disciplined commercial execution creates outsized outcomes - from Zeetings becoming Canva's first acquisition to early investments in SEEK and SafetyCulture. That's exactly the balance we're building here. With Chris leading commercialisation, the company is positioned to make a real impact. Collabra has the potential to become part of the critical infrastructure for mid-market businesses - a foundation they can trust to scale efficiently while keeping control of their data."

Collabra's solution proposes to address longstanding challenges in office automation by delivering systems that are rule-based, operate securely, and can adapt to a variety of business contexts. The company notes it is part of a recent wave of Australian enterprise software firms aiming to scale globally, with a particular focus on operational reliability and controlled data flows.