Kareene Koh has been appointed as Domain Home Loans general manager (GM) and chief executive officer (CEO) on Monday, as Domain continues to expand their finance offerings.
Ms Koh has 20 years of experience in financial services and consulting, having most recently been the CEO of BrickX and an operating partner in private equity fund Potentia Capital.
Prior to these roles, Ms Koh’s career journey included holding roles in strategy for National Australia Bank and at Deloitte Digital where she was a partner for over three years. She worked with Deloitte Australia for eight years.
“I’m incredibly excited to be joining the Domain team and motivated by the opportunity to lead Domain Home Loans’ re-imaging and re-designing of customers’ property journey when it comes to finance, and helping ensure they feel supported every step of the way,” Ms Koh said.
“Domain Home Loans is an exciting solution for property purchasers, and growing this business as part of Domain’s marketplace strategy is a challenge that I’m excited to be leading, as general manager and CEO.”
Back in 2019, Ms Koh shared the career advice she sticks by after she was appointed as BrickX’s CEO.
“All of the decisions I’ve made have been about pushing me into another space,” she told Medium at the time.
“What I care about is when I get out of bed I’m excited and learning, I’ve never made a decision based on trying to earn a higher salary, gain more status, or receive a more prestigious title. I believe that if you instead focus on learning you’ll have a rich career and rich experiences in your personal journey.
“I work very hard and I always have. I’m very driven. If I don’t understand something I’m not afraid to ask questions and put the effort in to understand it.”
She went on to explain she always focuses on building a strong team when entering a new role.
“I am a visionary. I need team members who are detail-oriented so for me it’s been about building a team to compliment my own skills and shortcomings,” she told the publication.
“Nobody is ever successful in their own right. Very rarely do people achieve things on their own, and I think the notion of a hero startup founder is just not true.
“Look at your weaknesses and build your team around you. Always wonder to yourself: Have I got the cross-section of the capability that I need in this role? Do I understand the context of the work around me?”
Launched in 2017, Domain Home Loans is a joint venture with mortgage broker Lendi.
Domain Home Loans aims to differentiate itself from the market as a digital-first experience. It has reported a 4.6 star app rating.
Domain Home Loans is expanding to deliver a refinancing experience.
They note less than 10 per cent of Australians refinance their mortgage to take advantage of lower interest rates. The digital offering is set up to combat such a low number.
Domain Group director Jason Chuck welcomed Ms Koh to the team.
“We are certainly excited to be welcoming a leader of Kareene’s background to Domain, to steer Domain Home Loans in a hotly contested property market, in which financing purchase is more than ever at the forefront of customers’ property decisions,” he said.
