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Shane Kinahan is an Investment Manager and Principal at Lake Avenue Capital, LLC. He is based in Connecticut and has spent more than two decades working across institutional and boutique finance.

He began his career at Goldman Sachs in New York, where he rose to the role of Vice President. There, he worked in a highly structured environment that demanded precision, discipline, and accountability. The experience shaped how he approaches risk, decision-making, and long-term thinking. He often notes that markets reward preparation, not intention.

After years at a global firm, Kinahan chose a more hands-on path. He transitioned to Lake Avenue Capital to focus on alternative investments and class action claims. The move allowed him to work closer to the details of each investment and to stay directly involved from analysis through execution.

At Lake Avenue Capital, Kinahan is known for his calm leadership style and clear thinking. He focuses on areas where markets are inefficient and complex. These are places where patience and deep analysis matter more than speed. He believes good investing starts with understanding what can go wrong, not just what might go right.

Kinahan’s leadership is grounded in transparency and trust. He values clear communication and careful judgement. He also places strong emphasis on mentorship and human judgement, even as technology reshapes finance.

Outside of work, he enjoys golf and ice hockey. He is also active in philanthropy, supporting a range of charitable causes. Across his career, Kinahan has built a reputation for discipline, adaptability, and steady leadership in a demanding industry.

Shane Kinahan on Discipline, Adaptability, and Building a Career in Alternative Investments

Q: Let’s start at the beginning. What first drew you to finance?

I was always interested in how systems work. Numbers, structure, and incentives fascinated me early on. Finance sits at the intersection of all three. It shows you how capital moves ideas forward, but also how mistakes get punished very quickly.

Q: You began your career at Goldman Sachs. What was that experience like?

Intense. Goldman was a masterclass in discipline. You learn fast that markets do not care about good intentions. They care about preparation. The environment forces you to think clearly under pressure and to explain complex ideas in simple terms.

Q: Were there any moments there that stayed with you?

Yes. I remember working through investment structures where everything looked good on paper, but one small assumption could change the outcome entirely. That taught me to slow down. Speed feels productive, but patience often saves you from costly errors.

Q: You eventually became a Vice President. What did that role teach you?

Leadership. Not in a loud way, but in a steady way. You are responsible for decisions that affect clients, teams, and capital. You learn that clarity and accountability matter more than confidence alone.

Q: Why did you decide to leave a large institution and move to a boutique firm?

I wanted to be closer to outcomes. Large firms are excellent at scale, but I was drawn to a setting where I could stay involved in every stage of an investment. Lake Avenue Capital offered that balance.

Q: What attracted you to alternative investments and class action claims?

They are imperfect markets. There is complexity and inefficiency. That creates opportunity, but only if you do the work. These areas reward deep analysis and long-term thinking, not shortcuts.

Q: How would you describe your role at Lake Avenue Capital today?

I am involved in everything. Due diligence, data review, structuring, and post-investment analysis. We do not just manage portfolios. We manage timing, expectations, and trust.

Q: You often speak about discipline and adaptability. How do those ideas work together?

Discipline sets the foundation. Adaptability allows you to respond when reality changes. Without discipline, adaptability becomes guesswork. Without adaptability, discipline becomes rigidity.

Q: What is your core investment philosophy?

Clarity first. If you cannot explain an investment clearly, you probably do not understand it well enough. Then patience. Markets reward those who wait for the right moment. Finally, purpose. Capital should create stable outcomes, not just short-term results.

Q: How do you think technology is changing finance?

Technology improves efficiency, but it does not replace judgement. Data gives you information. Context gives you wisdom. The challenge is knowing when to rely on each.

Q: You are known as a mentor. Why does that matter to you?

I benefited from strong mentors early in my career. Finance can be intimidating. Helping younger professionals learn how to think, not just what to do, is important to me.

Q: How do you approach leadership day to day?

I listen first. Leadership is not about having all the answers. It is about alignment and helping people see the bigger picture, especially during uncertainty.

Q: Outside of work, what keeps you grounded?

Golf and ice hockey. Both teach patience and humility. You can prepare perfectly and still misread conditions. That is true in sport and in markets.

Q: Looking ahead, what do you think defines long-term success in finance?

Resilience and relationships. Headlines fade. Results compound. The people who last are the ones who stay disciplined, adapt when needed, and never lose sight of trust.

SYDNEY — Australia’s workplace laws are continuing to reshape the relationship between employers and employees, with new rules and higher minimum pay rates making 2026 an important year for businesses to review their employment practices.

From July, the national minimum wage increased by 6% to $24.95 an hour, or $1,004.90 a week for a 38-hour week. Modern award minimum wages increased by 4.75%. The changes took effect July 1 following the Fair Work Commission’s 2026 Annual Wage Review.

For employers, the changes are more than a payroll issue. Businesses need to make sure contracts, payroll systems, workplace policies and employee classifications remain compliant. Employees, meanwhile, may want to check whether their pay and conditions match the minimum standards that apply to their work.

Here are some of the key workplace law issues Australian employees and employers should understand in 2026.

Minimum wage increases put pressure on payroll

The July wage increases are among the most immediate changes facing Australian workplaces.

The national minimum wage now stands at $24.95 per hour, while employees covered by modern awards received a 4.75% increase to award minimum wages. Employers must ensure that workers are receiving at least the applicable minimum entitlement, including relevant allowances and penalty rates.

The impact can extend beyond an employee’s base hourly rate. Award classifications, overtime, weekend work, public holidays and allowances can all affect the amount an employee is legally entitled to receive.

For businesses, reviewing payroll records and award classifications is a practical first step. A mistake in classification can result in an employee being paid the wrong rate even when the employer believes the base salary is sufficient.

The right to disconnect is now nationwide

Australia’s right-to-disconnect rules have also become a significant feature of workplace law.

Employees generally have a right to refuse to monitor, read or respond to work-related contact outside their working hours unless the refusal is unreasonable. The rule can apply to contact from employers and third parties, including clients, suppliers and other businesses.

The protection began for employees of larger businesses in August 2024 and was extended to employees of small-business employers on Aug. 26, 2025. That means the right applies to small-business employees as well in 2026.

The law does not mean employees can automatically ignore every after-hours call or message. Whether a refusal is reasonable depends on the circumstances.

Factors can include the reason for the contact, how disruptive it is, whether the employee is compensated or expected to be available, the employee’s role and level of responsibility, and the nature of the contact.

Lawyers say businesses should avoid relying on informal expectations that employees will always be available. Clear policies can help employers and workers understand when after-hours communication is appropriate.

Casual workers have new pathways to permanent employment

Casual employment has also undergone significant changes.

Eligible casual employees can use an employee choice pathway to seek a change to full-time or part-time employment. A casual employee can also move to permanent employment at any time if the employer and employee agree.

The rules are designed to focus on the real nature of the employment relationship rather than simply the label used in a contract.

For some workers, that distinction can have important consequences. Permanent employees generally receive different entitlements and protections from casual employees, while casual workers receive a casual loading in recognition of the nature of their employment.

Employers should therefore regularly review whether their casual workforce continues to meet the legal definition of casual employment and whether employees are eligible to use the pathway to permanent work.

The Fair Work Ombudsman says eligible casual employees can notify their employer in writing of their intention to change to permanent employment. Employers can refuse a notice only for specified reasons.

Unfair dismissal deadlines remain critical

Unfair dismissal remains one of the most time-sensitive areas of Australian employment law.

Generally, an eligible employee has 21 days from the day after dismissal to lodge an unfair dismissal application with the Fair Work Commission. Eligibility can depend on factors including the employee’s length of service and whether the employer is a small business.

Employees generally need at least six months of service to qualify, or 12 months if they worked for a small business with fewer than 15 employees, subject to the relevant rules.

That short deadline means employees who believe they have been unfairly dismissed should act quickly rather than waiting for an internal dispute to resolve.

For small businesses, following the Small Business Fair Dismissal Code can be particularly important. The Fair Work Ombudsman says the code provides protection for small-business employers against unfair dismissal claims when the employer can demonstrate that the code was followed before dismissal.

General protections can apply even when unfair dismissal does not

Another area that can create confusion is the difference between unfair dismissal and general protections.

An employee may have a potential general protections claim if they believe they were dismissed because they exercised a workplace right or because of another legally protected reason, including workplace discrimination. The Fair Work Ombudsman says employees who believe they were dismissed for such reasons generally have 21 days to lodge an application with the Fair Work Commission.

The distinction matters because an employee who does not qualify for an unfair dismissal claim may still have other legal protections.

Employers should therefore be careful when making termination decisions and should document legitimate business reasons, performance concerns, disciplinary processes and relevant discussions.

Penalties are another reason for businesses to review compliance

Workplace compliance has become increasingly important as penalties and enforcement mechanisms evolve.

The Fair Work Ombudsman says maximum penalties for certain contraventions of the Fair Work Act increased from July 1, 2026.

For employers, that makes routine compliance reviews more important. Payroll, employment contracts, award coverage, employee classifications, leave entitlements, workplace policies and termination procedures should not be treated as set-and-forget documents.

A policy written several years ago may no longer accurately reflect the law.

What employees and employers should do now

For employees, the most practical step is to understand which award, agreement or employment arrangement applies to their role. Pay slips, contracts and workplace policies can provide useful starting points, particularly after the July wage increases.

Employees who believe they have been underpaid or unlawfully dismissed should keep copies of relevant documents, including contracts, pay records, rosters, emails and termination correspondence.

Employers should conduct a similar review from the other side. Payroll rates should be checked against current awards and minimum standards. Casual arrangements should be reviewed, after-hours communication policies should reflect the right to disconnect, and dismissal procedures should be documented carefully.

Australia’s workplace laws continue to change, but the underlying lesson for both sides is straightforward: employment obligations cannot be judged solely by what a contract says.

For employees, knowing their rights can help them identify problems before a dispute escalates. For employers, regular legal and payroll reviews can reduce the risk of costly mistakes.

As the 2026 workplace changes take effect, businesses that treat compliance as an ongoing process — rather than an annual paperwork exercise — will be better positioned to navigate Australia’s increasingly complex employment landscape.

When a technology company starts to grow rapidly, it always looks like a major success. Sales go up, headcount expands, and the product gets new features.

However, behind this attractive facade, quiet operational challenges almost always hide. Typically, leaders focus all their attention on hiring, raising investment, or product development, while technical and organizational debt quietly accumulates inside processes.

The problem is that chaos grows right alongside the business. What worked remarkably well for a team of ten people starts to severely slow down a company of fifty or a hundred. Inefficiencies do not appear overnight; they seep into daily routines gradually. If you do not review your systems and execute timely Salesforce CRM optimization, these hidden barriers will start eating away at your margins. To quickly evaluate the current state of your systems and understand where resources are being lost, it is worth taking a free CRM Assessment, which helps identify these exact weak spots.

Some companies operate blindly for years, treating customer loss as natural churn. They simply fail to see that the root cause lies in disconnected data or outdated guidelines. Let us take a detailed look at where these bottlenecks arise and how they impact a real business.

Where Money and Time Are Actually Lost

Most often, issues hide at the intersection of departments and within everyday routine operations. Around 76% of companies admit that their corporate data is incomplete or contains errors, even though 90% consider this data critical to operations. This creates a situation where each department sees only its own piece of the picture.

Sales managers take the lead and enter it into one spreadsheet, marketing looks at another system, and support works in an entirely separate task tracker. As a result, the customer is forced to explain their issue multiple times to different people, which heavily ruins the overall experience.

Here are a few typical situations that fast-growing tech companies face every day:

1. Scattered customer records. Marketing brings in a lead, but sales sees a totally different history, and support has no idea what was promised. Critical details simply vanish along the way.
2. Endless manual copy-pasting. Instead of actually talking to clients, managers spend hours moving names, emails, and deal statuses from one app to another. This quietly swallows up most of their day.
3. Guesswork instead of real numbers. When data is collected haphazardly, forecasting revenue becomes simply impossible. Executives are forced to make important decisions relying on intuition rather than real numbers.
4. Low team adoption. Employees simply do not see the benefit of complex forms. They leave fields empty and write down all important details in their personal notebooks or work chats.
5. Walls between departments. Without clear automation, tracking marketing ROI is tough, and the customer feels that disconnect at every step.

When these factors accumulate, the business begins to lose momentum. The team spends energy fighting internal bureaucracy rather than working with customers. Constant duplication of effort exhausts employees, causes burnout, and lowers overall motivation.

Why Familiar Tools Stop Working

Most executives are confident that if a system works, nothing needs to be changed. But the reality is that companies usually outgrow their old processes, configurations, and reporting logic rather than the platform itself. What was convenient and clear at the start becomes a bottleneck during scaling.

Business growth always increases the complexity of connections. As deal volume climbs, those old, basic reports just stop giving you a clear picture of what is happening. Systems start demanding deeper customization, a thought-out architecture, and solid guidance.

At this stage, many teams realize they need quality Salesforce consulting for technology companies, which helps rebuild data architecture for new scales. Professional Salesforce consulting for technology companies allows adapting complex tools to the real needs of the team, rather than forcing people to adjust to rigid templates.

Simply installing software is not enough, because setting up data connectivity properly is what matters. You need to perform regular CRM optimization, carrying out a complete CRM assessment of existing databases to eliminate duplicates and outdated information. Properly delivered Salesforce consulting services and a reliable Salesforce implementation partner help build the right strategy for developing your IT landscape. Complete CRM automation of repetitive tasks alongside clear CRM integration with payment systems, product analytics, and email turns a set of separate tools into a single working organism.

How Operational Bottlenecks Hit Finances and Customers

Slowed-down processes directly impact financial results. They reduce team productivity, limit visibility for leadership, and significantly delay critical decision-making. Customers feel this first when responses to their queries are delayed, and service becomes fragmented. All of this makes further scaling an exceptionally difficult and expensive process.

Modern CRM platforms and marketing automation are capable of solving most of these challenges when configured correctly. For example, a high-quality Salesforce Marketing Cloud implementation enables building personalized communication with every lead based on their behavior. Working with specialists through Salesforce Marketing Cloud consulting gives you the ability to clearly track the effectiveness of every campaign and see marketing’s real contribution to revenue. Experienced Salesforce CRM consulting bridges the gap between lead acquisition and subsequent handoff to the sales department.

When marketing and sales tools work in sync, a company gains the ability to grow without proportionally inflating headcount. This preserves business agility and boosts overall profitability.

First Steps Toward Healthy Scaling

Over 9+ years in CRM and Salesforce consulting and after completing 160+ Salesforce projects, the Noltic team has identified clear recurring growth patterns. Most tech companies stumble over the exact same obstacles on their path to scaling.

To help businesses comprehensively evaluate their process maturity, Noltic created two free resources. The first is a CRM maturity assessment with personalized recommendations for your model. The second is the CRM Growth Playbook with practical frameworks, real project examples, and industry benchmarks.

Do not wait for minor operational glitches to turn into a major drag on your business. Take advantage of expert Salesforce Marketing Cloud implementation practices and complete a free CRM assessment today to get a clear action plan for optimizing your systems and scaling with confidence.

Mumbai: The capital-markets regulator Thursday allowed foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) to execute power of attorney documents using digital signatures in a move aimed at cutting delays and simplifying the onboarding process for overseas investors.

The latitude offered by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) with the power of attorney (PoA) documents is expected to significantly reduce the time taken to onboard FPIs by eliminating the need for notarisation, apostillisation or consularisation of these documents.

“During interactions with foreign investors, it has been highlighted that notarisation and apostillisation takes considerable time,” Sebi said.

“Digitally signed PoA is envisaged to bring down the time taken in onboarding considerably as it eliminates the need for notarisation, apostillisation or consularisation of PoA,” Sebi said.

The measure forms part of Sebi’s wider effort to leverage technology across the capital markets and further streamline regulatory processes. The regulator said greater use of digital processes would help bring down the overall time required for FPI onboarding.

Read more: F&O trading bill: Retail traders pay Rs 25,000 crore transaction costs in FY26 despite big losses
The move could provide a significant operational relief to foreign investors and intermediaries, particularly as Sebi seeks to make market access simpler and more efficient for global capital.

The regulator has been taking steps to ease the onboarding framework for FPIs by reducing compliance hurdles and relying more extensively on technology driven processes. The new rule came into effect immediately..

A Texas woman’s first experience with Amazon’s drone delivery service ended with her package landing squarely in her backyard swimming pool, according to viral video footage that surfaced the same week Amazon announced a major nationwide expansion of its Prime Air drone delivery program.

The video, filmed by Texas resident Lindsey Austen on Monday, Aug. 17, shows the moment she ran outside after hearing the loud buzzing of an approaching delivery drone, eager to witness her first drone-delivered order in person. According to footage shared by ABC 7 News, the clip captures the drone hovering directly above Austen’s pool before opening its cargo bay and releasing her package straight into the water. Austen can be heard repeating “Oh my God” in anticipation as the drone hovered overhead, before reacting with an expletive as the package dropped into the pool. “When it went into the pool, I was shocked,” Austen said.

An Amazon customer in Texas was not enthused when her first drone-delivered order was dropped into her swimming pool. After hearing the loud buzzing of the drone arriving, she ran outside to record the delivery, and to her surprise, it landed in her pool. pic.twitter.com/6TIcrJIVAR

— ABC7 News (@abc7newsbayarea) August 19, 2026

ABC 7 News, in its social media post sharing the footage, noted an important detail about how Amazon’s drone delivery service operates: customers select the precise drop-off location themselves through the Amazon app before the delivery takes place. The outlet’s post speculated, somewhat tongue-in-cheek, that Austen “must have selected the pool area. Potentially deliberately to get this video.”

The viral clip surfaced during the same week Amazon announced plans to significantly expand its Prime Air drone delivery service, according to Tom’s Hardware. The company said Wednesday it intends to expand the service to nearly 500 cities and towns across the United States by the end of 2026, representing a sixfold increase in coverage that Amazon says will benefit tens of millions of additional customers. According to the company, Prime Air’s delivery selection includes millions of items spanning groceries, electronics, cosmetics, medications and household products, with some orders deliverable in as little as 30 minutes. Amazon currently operates Prime Air service across seven states, including Texas, where Austen’s pool delivery took place.

Amazon has emphasized safety as a core priority for the drone program. According to the company, Prime Air “is built to operate responsibly, and the safety of the employees, customers, and communities Amazon serves is the top priority,” and the service holds Federal Aviation Administration certification governing its operations.

Thursday’s viral pool delivery is not the first time an Amazon drone has ended up dropping a package into a customer’s backyard water feature. In a separate, similar incident from summer 2025 in Avondale, Arizona, an Amazon MK30 delivery drone dropped a package into a customer’s backyard pool after the aircraft’s propeller wash pushed the box off course during its final descent, according to footage captured by the property owner, Daniel Muniz. Speaking to Arizona’s Family news station at the time, Muniz explained that he had simply accepted Amazon’s default suggested drop-off location rather than selecting a different spot himself. “It had the drone option, so we did it just to see how it was,” Muniz said regarding his decision to try the drone delivery option in the first place.

Following that earlier Arizona incident, Amazon issued a formal response through spokesperson Steve Kelly, who offered an apology while characterizing the mishap as an isolated occurrence. “Through Prime Air, our goal is to provide safe, fast delivery and great service to customers and the results we’ve seen in Tolleson have been overwhelmingly positive. Incidents like this are rare across our network and we apologize for the inconvenience this caused Mr. Muniz. Our team stands ready to answer any questions Mr. Muniz may have,” Kelly said. Muniz told the outlet that, going forward, he would only use the drone delivery service when he was home to personally receive the package.

Amazon’s Prime Air program has encountered a handful of other publicized mishaps over the past year and a half beyond the pool incidents. In May 2025, an MK30 drone made what Amazon described as a “precautionary controlled landing” at a Tolleson, Arizona, apartment complex, coming to rest on its side and startling nearby residents, though the company said the incident caused no injuries and attributed the landing to unspecified “external factors.” Separately, in January 2025, Amazon temporarily paused all drone deliveries in Arizona following a crash at the company’s Oregon test site, though the company maintained at the time that the pause was related to routine software adjustments rather than a broader safety concern.

Amazon’s MK30 delivery drones are capable of carrying packages weighing up to five pounds within a roughly seven-mile radius of a company fulfillment or delivery site, with a maximum flight time of approximately 11 minutes per trip. The drones are also subject to weather-related operating restrictions, including limitations during storms and periods of high wind, which can affect service reliability in certain conditions.

Amazon has continued to stand behind Prime Air’s overall safety record despite the string of publicized incidents. In a statement provided following a separate, similar pool-related mishap, the company emphasized both the rarity of such incidents and its broader customer protection policies. “Prime Air’s goal is to provide customers with fast, reliable delivery across a broad selection of products. The response from customers using Prime Air has been overwhelmingly positive. Incidents like this one are extremely rare and not representative of our drone delivery service as a whole. We’re taking steps to prevent this from happening in the future,” the company said, adding that its A-to-z Guarantee ensures customers can receive a refund or replacement “in the rare instances when items do not arrive as expected.”

Amazon has stated it aims to eventually scale Prime Air to support as many as 500 million drone deliveries globally by the end of the decade, positioning the service as a significant long-term component of its broader logistics and delivery strategy. As the company moves forward with its announced expansion to nearly 500 additional cities and towns, incidents such as Austen’s viral pool delivery are likely to continue drawing public attention to the ongoing technical challenges involved in scaling autonomous drone delivery, even as Amazon maintains that such mishaps remain rare relative to the overall volume of successful deliveries completed through the program.

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Mumbai: Nearly nine out of 10 individual traders in India’s equity derivatives market lost money in FY26, even as regulatory curbs and higher transaction costs triggered the first annual decline in retail participation in a decade, according to a Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) study.

The study found that 88% of individual traders incurred losses in FY26, with total net losses amounting to ₹91,685 crore.

Individual participation in the equity derivatives segment fell 18% to 88 lakh traders in FY26 from one crore in FY25-the first year-on-year decline in the trader base since FY16. New entrants fell about 40% to 21 lakh, while exits surged, with nearly 46 lakh traders who participated in FY25 staying away from the market in FY26.

The decline followed a series of measures introduced by Sebi from November 2024 to curb excessive speculation in short-dated index options. The regulator restricted weekly expiries to one index per exchange, raised minimum contract sizes, tightened margin requirements and mandated upfront collection of options premium. The government also raised the securities transaction tax on equity derivatives.

Sebi said participation fell more sharply in options than futures after the measures, though it cautioned that the study does not establish a direct causal relationship.

The regulator said trading remained highly concentrated in contracts close to expiry. About 59% of index options turnover occurred in contracts expiring on the same day (0DTE), around 75% within one day of expiry and 97% within one week of expiry.
Read more: F&O trading bill: Retail traders pay Rs 25,000 crore transaction costs in FY26 despite big lossesThe study also pointed to disproportionate risks for smaller investors. About 35% of derivatives traders had no underlying equity portfolio, while 78% had portfolios worth less than ₹1 lakh. These small-portfolio traders accounted for 70% of total losses during FY25-FY26.

Traders below the age of 30 accounted for 43% of individual derivatives traders, with 89% of them incurring losses. Those earning below ₹5 lakh annually accounted for 53% of aggregate losses despite generating 43% of turnover.