Koala appoints a new CTO

Mattress and furniture e-tailer Koala has appointed Emma Pudney as its chief technology officer. 

Emma Pudney

Pudney joins the company after seven years at Rackspace Technology, most recently as its chief technology officer for Asia Pacific and Japan (APJ).

In her new role, which she started last month, Pudney will oversee Koala’s “e-commerce platform, digital product management, internal IT, UX and engineering,” the company said in a statement.

The company said her background in “cloud management and web systems”, as well her leadership skills, made her suitable to lead Koala’s technology operations.

“Koala is a fast-growing business and I look forward to expanding our online offerings and accelerating innovation in the business with technology,” Pudney said.

Koala’s technology operations were headed by Peter Sloterdyk until mid-2021; he wore dual marketing and technology hats, but left when he was unable to relocate to Australia during the pandemic.