Hipages appoints new chief technology officer and chief product officer

Online tradie platform hipages has appointed a new chief technology officer and chief product officer, disbanding the chief product and technology officer role within the organisation.

L-R: Jeremy Burton and Herry Wiputra.

Herry Wiputra, formerly the chief product and technology officer (CPTO) at hipages has taken up the chief product officer role and Jeremy Burton has been promoted to the CTO role at hipages.

The group said it has reached the scale where splitting the leadership role into focused product and technology functions makes sense.

Burton’s role will be centred around creating a technology-first environment that supports business goals, while Wiputra’s remit will be solely on product, a change from the previously combined CPTO role which housed Product responsibilities.

The appointments come as hipages Group said it is transforming its business, with a focus on products that meet the end-to-end needs of the Australian home improvement industry.

With diverse experience in both consultant and in-house development and engineering roles, Burton has held the post of VP of Engineering at hipages Group for over two years, working closely with Wiputra.

Wiputra’s leadership and experience in building a culture of empowerment and collaboration among teams saw him successfully double the size and capability of the Group’s engineering team over the past five years.

In addition to working together at hipages Group, the pair worked together previously at REA Group where they championed the importance of constant evolution.

Wiputra said the business is on a growth trajectory and the implementation of two distinct roles will allow heightened focus.

“When I joined hipages Group, it was more efficient for the Product and Tech roles to be combined,” he said.

“I’ve learnt a lot over the past five years, and when Jeremy took on the role of VP of Engineering, my ambition was to get him to CTO, so I can focus on product and strategy.”

Burton said the company already has “great momentum” in building out its marketplace and modernising its technology stack.

“We have a great team in place to execute our evolution to a platform business,” he said.

“As a newly appointed executive, I couldn’t be more excited to leverage the team’s engagement and culture to deliver hipages’ single tradie platform.”

The appointments mark the next phase of evolution for hipages Group, as the organisation makes rapid advancement in becoming a sustainable platform growth business. 

Roby Sharon-Zipser, hipages Group co-founder and CEO said hipages’ strategy is evolving from a marketplace to a platform growth business, with the shift toward a single tradie platform delivering a compelling proposition for tradie customer retention. 

He said, “We’ve close to doubled the product and engineering teams over the past five years, and there are no better leaders than Herry and Jeremy to carry this momentum forward.”