Karbon Appointed Stuart Totman as New CTO

The appointment aims to accelerate AI integration within accounting workflows after the launch of the Kai assistant.

Updated on Oct. 6, 2026 in Artificial Intelligence

Bold flat-color editorial illustration showing a structured stack of silicon wafers and copper conduits, representing AI systems architecture. — Karbon has appointed former Campaign Monitor executive Stuart Totman as CTO to oversee the expansion of its AI-driven accounting assistant, Kai. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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Karbon has appointed former VP of Engineering Stuart Totman as Chief Technology Officer. The move follows the June 2026 launch of the company's AI coworker, Kai.

Why it matters

The leadership change focuses on expanding the Kai platform to further automate accounting tasks, a shift supported by data showing 54% of business owners are willing to pay for AI-enabled services.

Users of the Karbon platform report a reduction of 19.9 hours of manual work per employee each week. This efficiency gain supports the firm's goal of reallocating time toward strategic client conversations.

The players

Stuart Totman

The newly appointed CTO of Karbon who previously served as the company's VP of Engineering.

Karbon

An accounting practice management software provider currently ranked number one on G2.

Kai

An AI coworker platform designed to automate accounting workflows and reduce manual labor.

The details

Totman leads the global engineering organization and technology strategy, specifically integrating generative AI into accounting workflows. He manages the development of Kai, an AI coworker capable of automating standard practice management tasks. Before this role, Totman spent eight years as VP of Engineering at Campaign Monitor and over a decade in software development and digital delivery at Commonwealth Bank.

April 2024: Stuart Totman became VP of Engineering at Karbon.
June 2026: Karbon launched its Kai AI coworker.
October 6, 2026: Stuart Totman was appointed Chief Technology Officer.

The Tech Race

This leadership appointment positions Karbon to deepen its reliance on AI to differentiate its services within a crowded market. It represents a broader industry trend where practice management software is increasingly measured by its ability to replace manual labor with automated intelligence.

Accounting firms currently using the Karbon platform can expect continued updates to the Kai assistant as the engineering team accelerates AI feature development. Firms should monitor future software releases to determine how these tools integrate into existing client billing and strategic communication workflows.

The takeaway

The firm is prioritizing AI development as a primary differentiator for its software, following reports that over 80% of business owners value AI-driven strategic insights from their accountants. Readers should watch for future feature updates to the Kai platform to see how these integrations evolve beyond basic automation.