Canstar, one of Australia’s largest financial comparison sites, which claims to compare more brands than any other service provider, has confirmed the appointment of Angelo Demasi as Chief Product and Technology Officer.
Demasi will be responsible for leading the firm’s digital transformation/innovation strategy, enhancing Canstar’s tech capabilities and providing a seamless customer and client experiences on-site.
With leadership and delivery experience in digital, Demasi has worked as a Partner and MD at international consulting company, BCG Digital Ventures (working across Australia, Asia and the US to promote the firm’s digital strategy and establish new all-digital businesses).
Demasi has previously occupied executive and senior leadership roles leading digital teams at Westpac and NAB, and sits on several different Boards across the tech, energy, health and fitness sectors.
Canstar MD and CEO, Andrew Spicer stated:
“Angelo joins the team with an impressive track record in digital transformations and product development. His deep digital experience will be paramount to leading our talented team in building the next generation of digital solutions for our customers. Canstar has been investing heavily in its technology platform, using leading edge Google, Facebook and AWS technologies. We now have over 80 product and technology specialists working on the business.”
He added:
“Angelo’s remit will also see him take executive responsibility for Canstar Labs, which has been developing machine learning solutions to help consumers understand the likelihood of acceptance by lenders for a loan or credit facility.”
Demasi’s appointment has been announced after several tech partnerships were entered by Canstar, including a tie up with Frollo in the Personal Finance Management (PFM) and open banking spaces and the addition of Tealium as a Customer Data Platform (CDP).
Demasi remarked:
“Australian consumers trust Canstar to help them in making better financial decisions. There is an incredible opportunity to leverage emerging technologies such as AI and ML together with the consumer data right for open banking and energy, and credit reporting to deepen this trust.”
He further noted:
“Canstar is the best positioned Australian business to replicate the success of leading US firms such as Credit Karma – to become Australia’s most trusted digital platform empowering more people to take control of their financial life.”