REA Group has announced the appointment of Chris Venter to the role of Chief Technology Officer and a member of REA’s executive leadership team.
Mr Venter is an accomplished technology leader with more than 25 years’ global experience, and brings an impressive track record to the new role, which will help REA accelerate its next phase of growth and innovation.
Mr Venter will lead REA’s global technology strategy and development with a focus on driving continuous improvement across the platform experience, data foundations and REA’s operating model.
He will also lead REA’s capability building, talent and growth agenda across the entire technology community.
REA Group CEO Owen Wilson said REA’s technology capabilities have always been a point of competitive differentiation and he was “delighted to have someone of Chris’s calibre joining our team to build on these strong foundations”.
“Chris’s 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,” Mr Wilson said.
Prior to joining REA, Chris held several technology and digital leadership roles at ANZ, including General Manager ANZx Technology, General Manager of Omni-channel, Technology Lead for ANZ’s New Ways of Working Transformation and General Manager Consumer Digital.
Mr Venter has also previously held global technology consulting roles for Accenture and Deloitte.
Commenting on his appointment, Mr Venter said REA has an exciting future ahead and he was 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,” he said.
Mr Venter’s appointment follows REA Group’s recent hiring of Kris Matthews in the newly created role of Chief Product, Data and Insights Officer within its PropTrack business.
Mr Matthews has extensive experience across a range of industries, including real estate, banking and financial services technology, and the new new role will be pivotal in realising REA Group’s vision to become Australia’s property data powerhouse.
Prior to taking on the role at REA Group, Mr Matthews was Chief Data and Analytics Officer at Property Exchange Australia (PEXA) and also held executive leadership roles at CoreLogic, including Executive General Manager International and New Markets, Executive General Manager Industry Development and Chief Data and Operations Officer.
Mr Wilson said he was excited to welcome Mr Matthews to the PropTrack business and REA Group, saying his wealth of experience and expertise in building data businesses would be instrumental in driving their ambitious data strategy forward.
“The appointment of a Chief Product, Data and Insights Officer also marks a major milestone for PropTrack as we accelerate our goal to build the market leading valuations business,” Mr Wilson said.
Mr Matthews said he was pleased to be joining a business “with the unique and unrivalled data assets of REA and PropTrack”.
“They present an incredible opportunity to transform the market. I’m looking forward to bringing new product innovations to a market I know well,” he said.
REA Group’s PropTrack business and REA Insights team fall under the leadership of REA Group Chief Audience and Marketing Officer, Melina Cruickshank.
