Simon Smith to head Ola's operations in Australia

Ride hailing app Ola today said it has appointed Simon Smith as the Managing Director of its operations in Australia.

In this role, 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, Ola said in a statement.

He previously held various roles including that as Chief Executive Officer of eBay Australia, Non-Executive Director of Sportsbet, VP of Virtual Offices at Servcorp and a consultant at McKinsey and Company, it added.

Ola, which competes with US-based rival Uber in the Indian and Australian market, had announced its plans to foray into the Australian market in January this year. Thereafter, it started offering services in Perth, Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane and the Gold Coast.

The Bengaluru-based company plans to shortly launch its services in Adelaide.

"Simon is a very entrepreneurial and strategic leader who has demonstrated strong business and people leadership in his career. He will lead Ola's mission to build the future of mobility in Australia and create impact for the millions of consumers and tens of thousands of driver partners," Ola co-founder and CEO Bhavish Aggarwal said.