Ecommerce furniture retailer, Koala, has announced the appointment of Emma Pudney as the company’s chief technology officer.
Leading Koala’s technology team, Pudney will head up all things tech, including Koala’s e-commerce platform, digital product management, internal IT, UX and engineering.
“As Koala’s consumer base around the world continues to grow, our online offering along with our digital products must continue to simultaneously develop and thrive,” said Mitch Taylor, CEO of Koala.
“Emma’s plethora of skills across cloud management, web systems and extensive leadership experience makes her an exciting addition to our team. We value her advocacy for women in technology and admire the wealth of knowledge she brings to the company with over 20 years’ experience.”
Pudney has made the jump to Koala following her role as regional chief technology officer for Asia Pacific Japan at cloud computing company, Rackspace, where she built out professional services and public cloud practices across the region. In this role, the regional public cloud, professional services, and product strategies were her domain. Her leadership skills also shone through, where she led the Architecture, Cloud Engineering and Professional Services teams for APJ.
“Koala is a fast-growing business and I look forward to expanding our online offerings and accelerating innovation in the business with technology,” said Pudney.
“I perform at my best when my work is linked to a positive impact on society and the planet, so I am thrilled to be joining the Koala team who places sustainability at the core of all business practices.”
Pudney’s hope for the tech industry is to see a more diverse workforce in the future, advocating for young women to enter into studying and beginning a career in technology. She strives to continue to develop company processes to support diversity through the advertisement of positions, hiring and creating inclusive cultures across the board.
Just like Koala, Emma is also an award winner. Her passion for building new technologies led her to being awarded the ARN WOMEN in ICT, Winner Innovation, 2019, after she created and developed Rackspace Technology’s Service BlocksTM – a game changer for global businesses, allowing them to utilise cloud services for better ROI and less wastage.
Koala’s team continues to move from strength to strength, with Emma one of several new talents to make the move to Koala’s Treehouse. These new hires have an abundance of skills with impressive credentials, joining Koala from companies including Optus, Atlassian and BARK.