Tracey Fellows, The CEO of Realestate.com.au,
will step down from her role in January 2019 and take up the position of
President of News Corp digital real estate in New York.
Fellows has been at the helm of REA for four
years and has seen a huge increase in the share price from around $45 to a high
of $90 in May 2018 down to $76.33 today. In August Fellows sold $911,000 worth
of shares resulting in a drop of $2.56 in the share price.
The share price will no doubt be under review
today with this announcement.
In
a statement to the ASX, Robert Thomson, News Corp’s CEO, said: “Tracey has
driven the rapid expansion of the digital real estate business in Australia and
Asia and we believe her leadership internationally will ensure that all of our
digital property companies realise their extraordinary potential. She is an
inspiring leader who is able to bring out the best in teams and in individuals.
“Audiences, revenue and profits at REA Group
have all expanded significantly during Tracey’s tenure as CEO. She has been an
irrepressible innovator and has led the company into intelligent adjacencies,
such as financial services and property data, which have broadened the revenue
base and built a platform for future growth.”
Fellows
will continue to serve on the REA board on behalf of News Corp.
Chairman
of the REA group board of directors Hamish McLennan added: “REA Group has seen
exceptional transformation and growth since Tracey took the helm in 2004. She
has the extraordinary ability to harness the power of people, technology and
data and has built strong cultural and operational foundations that will drive
our growth into the future.
“The
board and I are enormously grateful to Tracey for all she has done and wish her
every success in her exciting new role and look forward to continuing to work
with her.”
On
her time at REA, Fellows said working with the team and the board has been an
“absolute privilege.”
“It’s
one of the exiting things about the opportunity; it allows me to take on a new
challenge while continuing to work alongside these incredible people – all in
an industry I am so passionate about. I feel very fortunate. There could not be
a more exciting time for a role like this.”
Stephen
Sharry
Stephen
Sharry is the Executive Editor for the Switch Media Group
