What happens when your business offerings no longer have a place in the market? You reinvent yourself, says Computershare CEO Stan Lorge, and keep looking for new opportunities to grow your value to customers. WHEN COMPUTERSHARE entered the South African market in 1999, it was to handle the administration of the demutualisation of Old Mutual. Seven years later, the company has reinvented itself and is on the path to reinventing its customers.

Following the lead of its Australian-listed parent company, Computershare`s SA entry focused on the share registry business and was established through the acquisition of Consolidated Share Registrars and Optimum Registrars. At this stage, the company had a two-pronged focus: paper-based certified share registry services and mergers and acquisitions.

However, changes in the share registry market would upset its business model.

ON THE STRATE AND NARROW

The shortcomings of the paper-based settlement system ultimately resulted in the introduction of Share Transactions Totally Electronic or Strate. This was an important development for the local market. Its provision of electronic settlement meant that SA would come in line with international markets. However, it also meant that paper-based systems would no longer be required.

Stan Lorge, Computershare SA CEO, explains the impact: "At that stage we were a registry business and registry by its nature was paper. Strate, although an important industry move, would kill off registry and, ultimately, our business. We realised that we would have to try to reinvent our business."

So the company made several moves. Firstly, it became a Central Securities Depository Participant (CSDP), allowing it to communicate directly with Strate. Secondly, it looked to improve and diversify its services to company secretaries and shareholders.

MEETING IN PROGRESS

Inherent in the registry business is the running of company AGMs. Although the most important day on the company secretary`s diary, the company noted that AGMs were rarely done professionally and identified a gap.

"About 18 months ago we developed a focused team to deliver a professional AGM service to companies. This added the preparation of the chairman, the running of the meeting and preparing of minutes to our normal provision of share registry services," he says. But even this evolution was not enough as the company became increasingly hooked on introducing innovative ideas.

GETTING SMART

One of the advantages of being part of a larger d international - group is that localised strategic drivers are able to experience development in other regions and adapt these ideas to local conditions.

And it was through this global exposure that Lorge got his next idea. A visit to an AngloGold shareholder meeting in the UK provided an introduction to electronic voting and the benefits inherent in a technology-based solution.

"We had already been looking at in-house innovation which would improve the audit trail from AGMs, but the AngloGold meeting introduced us to a solution which met these requirements and improved the performance of the experience as a whole," says Lorge.

SHAREHOLDER ACTIVISM

Voting is an integral part of an AGM; at any given meeting several resolutions will require shareholder approval and often the tallying and auditing of votes has to take place between the votes. Of course, this process is lengthy and many shareholders have opted to provide votes by proxy to avoid all-day meetings.

Nevertheless, Computershare says the days of the AGM being attended by more company representatives than shareholders are long gone, with shareholder activism on the rise.

Which is where the company`s Electronic Meeting Management System (EMMS) comes in. The solution is an alliance with Audience Alive and provides for electronic registration, voting and real-time reporting of each aspect of the meeting.

Lorge explains: Shareholders gain by taking part in a more efficient and transparent voting process, with votes computed instantaneously."

GOING TECH

The simplicity of the experience means that you don`t need to be a techie to use it, either. Each shareholder is given a smart-card-enabled electronic keypad that is loaded with their voting rights and number of shares on registration. To vote, shareholders need only press one to express favour, two for against and three to abstain. After casting, shareholders are given confirmation on their keypads that their vote has been registered, and the vote results - showing both the percentage and number of votes cast - are displayed live on screen.

Delivered as a service along with requisite technical and customer skills, the solution`s only downfall is its cost at an average of R35 000 per meeting. However, as adoption increases, Lorge says the price will drop.

ONWARDS AND OUTWARDS

Although the EMMS solution was only launched locally last month, Lorge already has a new target in site - remote voting. This solution will mean that shareholders can monitor meetings from anywhere in the world and submit votes accordingly.

"At this time it is the security and identity management which is our biggest concern, but I have two meetings set up to see if these issues can be overcome," says Lorge.

Whichever way you look at it, your responsibilities as a shareholder are growing. Now at least you can fulfil your obligations without having to take the day off.