The Australian market-leading portal operator REA Group has this morning announced that it has hired Chris Venter to the position of company CTO. In his new role, Venter will be responsible for REA's global technology strategy and will have a focus on driving continuous improvement across the platform experience, data foundations and REA’s operating model.
REA's new CTO comes with a wealth of experience albeit in the banking sector where he has held a variety of different tech positions at ANZ bank over the past 11 years. Speaking of what his new hire will bring to the table, REA Group CEO Owen Wilson said:
"REA’s technology capabilities have always been a point of competitive differentiation so we are delighted to have someone of Chris’ calibre joining our team to build on these strong foundations.Chris’ deep technology
expertise spans critical capabilities including agile delivery, technology transformation and scaling with impact, which will support our strategic ambitions and contribute to REA’s future growth and business efficiencies"
For his part, commenting on his appointment REA's newest employee said:
"REA has such an exciting future and I’m thrilled to be joining a company that has consistently been at the forefront of innovation since inception and one that I have admired for many years. I’m looking forward to working with some of the brightest minds in the industry to leverage new and existing technologies to continue to improve and differentiate REA’s customer and consumer experiences, as well as to increase speed and efficiency to market"
Venter joins a market leader with a strong domestic position which recently posted some resilient financial results despite pandemic headwinds affecting its Asian businesses.