Russell, an Australian, has been based in Asia for 15 years including almost eight years as Group Managing Director of Operations at multinational technology company Grab, leading business performance, operations, platform safety, market expansion and a team of 3000 across seven countries. He has also played a pivotal role in that company’s strategic growth throughout the region.

Before joining Grab, Russell served as Board Director and Vice President of Business Development and Corporate Strategy at SoftBank C&S in Tokyo, a role he assumed after SoftBank’s acquisition of Brightstar Corp. At Brightstar, he was Regional Managing Director for Asia, overseeing nine markets, and founded the company’s Greater China operations in Hong Kong.

PEXA Group Chair Mark Joiner said the appointment of Russell, a seasoned Asia Pacific tech executive, followed a rigorous external search process to appoint a leader who would build on the progress achieved by the company over the past five years under the leadership of Glenn King. “Mr Cohen is a dynamic leader and seasoned executive with deep expertise in scaling platform businesses. He has achieved strong commercial transformation across multiple countries, with market leader Grab,” Mark said. “In our search for our new Group MD and CEO, we focussed on selecting a candidate with clear strategic capabilities, a track record in commercial performance and innovation, deep regulatory and industry engagement, and a strong people and customer focus.”

Russell said he was excited to be part of an organisation which is transforming the property market. “PEXA has significant opportunities ahead to leverage its core strength as a platform and digital solutions business. My ambition is to create sustainable value for shareholders, customers, employees and other stakeholders through disciplined strategic execution and clear focus on returns. I’m pleased to return to my hometown of Melbourne to join the team and work with the leadership in Australia and the UK. PEXA’s future is an exciting one and I look forward to building on the solid strategic foundations established under Glenn’s leadership.”