In the mid 1980s the then Sydney Stock Exchange Committee under chairman Jim Bain developed the vision of an automated market to replace the traditional trading floor. More than anyone, Ian can be credited with the realisation of this vision through his role as architect and project manager for the development and implementation of the Stock Exchange Automated Trading System . the pioneering SEATS system that enabled full automation of the stockmarket between 1987-90.
Significantly, this initiative, with its capacity to provide a single nation-wide equities market, became a major enabler for the then six separate city-based stock exchanges to merge and form ASX in 1987.
The development of the new system, which enabled ASX to be among the first fully automated markets in the world, was largely due to the foresight of Ian Macaulay, his enthusiasm for the goal, and his tenacious management of exchange political issues and a small, highly skilled development team. This led Kevin Troy, a former Chairman of ASX (Sydney), later to refer to Ian Macaulay as .surely the Father of SEATS.
It is to his credit that Ian Macaulay's accomplishment is with us still, serving the market so well, and operating with a robust reliability, efficiency and adaptability to subsequent enhancements. SEATS. longevity is a testimony to his skill and hard work.
His former colleagues. and friends. thoughts are with his family at this time.
