Home topics news News News Ola appoints Ebay exec as new Australian MD Gali Blacher July 5, 2018 Ola, a ride-sharing platform, is strengthening its presence in Australia with the appointment of Simon Smith as Managing Director. Smith will head and develop the leadership team and play a pivotal role in building Ola’s presence including strategy, marketing, product development, customer service, and engagement with driver-partners and other stakeholders. Smith’s previous roles include Chief Executive Officer of eBay Australia, Non-Executive Director of Sportsbet, VP of Virtual Offices at Servcorp and a consultant at McKinsey and Company. Speaking of his new position, Simon Smith, Managing Director, Ola Australia, said, “I relish building organisations from the ground up and I am delighted to join the ranks at Ola. It’s rare to find a brand like Ola that has built its success on a community-first approach, and that is committed to giving driver-partners a better deal with industry-leading commissions.” Ola is currently available in Perth, Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane and the Gold Coast and shortly will launch in Adelaide. Dynamic Business had a chat to Smith about Ola and his new position. DB: What makes this app different to Uber? SS: Ola is a community-oriented transportation platform that’s driver focussed. We are finding Australian customers deeply care whether drivers are getting a fair deal and are choosing Ola because of that. Driver-partners are earning more through lower commissions and customers benefit from lower tariffs than other platforms. By enabling driver-partners to provide the best