NEW YORK: Sugarwork, a U.S.-based knowledge capture and workflow automation company, has appointed Andre Liao as its new chief executive officer, effective Aug. 24.
Liao, a veteran technology executive with more than 25 years of experience scaling software companies across the Americas, Europe and Asia, will lead Sugarwork’s next phase of growth. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Decidr AI Industries Ltd (ASX: DAI).
Vanessa Liu, who co-founded Sugarwork and has served as CEO since its inception, will transition to the board of Decidr U.S. Inc., where she will contribute to the group’s U.S. strategy.
“Andre has already done what we are asking Sugarwork to do,” said David Brudenell, executive chairman of DAI, in a statement. “He has scaled AI-first software into the world’s largest enterprises, built the partner channels to get there, and done it across the U.S., Europe and Asia.”
Liao joins Sugarwork from Appvance, a Silicon Valley pioneer in AI-driven autonomous software testing, where he served as CEO, president and board member. During his tenure, the company reported revenue growth of more than 200% in 2021 and secured a Series C funding round led by Arrowroot Capital.
Before Appvance, Liao was vice president and general manager of the Americas at Intive, a private equity-backed global software services company, where he helped drive revenue growth from $20 million to $100 million in four years.
A three-time founder, Liao began his career at Intel and held senior roles at NASDAQ-listed NeoMagic. He holds an MBA from the USC Marshall School of Business and a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of California, Santa Cruz.
“The hardest problem in enterprise AI is not the model, it is the knowledge,” Liao said. “Sugarwork turns tacit knowledge into structured data that powers real AI transformation. My job is to take it to $100 million and beyond.”
Sugarwork’s platform captures organizational knowledge and automates workflows. The company recently integrated Rumi’s ambient capture technology, which continuously gathers knowledge in the flow of work.
Vanessa Liu, who led the company from its founding through its acquisition by DAI and expansion into Australia, said she is proud of what the team has built.
“After five incredible years building Sugarwork from an idea to a team of 20 that is now part of Decidr, I am ready to step into a new role on the board of Decidr U.S.,” Liu said. “I am excited to hand over the operational reins to a seasoned operator in Andre.”
Liao is based in the United States and is fluent in Mandarin and Taiwanese. He brings direct Australian sales experience and supports the company’s expanding Asia-Pacific partner activity.
DAI, listed on the Australian Securities Exchange, also owns Decidr.ai, developer of the Decidr Agentic Operating System. The company positions itself as an AI-enablement group building infrastructure for organizations to become AI-native.
