Personnel Articles

NEW ZEALAND-founded startup parts business Partly is poised to go global and take on the $1.9-trillion auto parts industry.

As part of its expansion (on the back of a $3.8 million capital raising last year), Partly has appointed New Zealander Tony Austin in its newly created role of chief strategy officer.

Key focuses of this role include spearheading the business strategy, cultivating rapid growth and global scale, and helping to upskill and mentor the Partly team. He will also take on the title of co-founder, being one of Partly’s founding investors back in 2020.

Mr Austin joins Partly from global e-commerce giant, Amazon, where he worked for more than six years across Europe and Australia, most recently as country manager of Amazon Global Store and general manager of Cross Border Businesses.

Under his leadership, he oversaw strategy, product management and marketing for Amazon Automotive’s European division, before shifting his focus to Australia where he was a key driver in establishing and growing Amazon’s brand presence in the local market, which has been a key driver in transforming the e-commerce landscape to what it is today.

Prior to Amazon, Mr Austin’s experience spans a variety of retail, automotive and e-commerce sectors, including head of Motors at eBay, where he was responsible for the overall strategy and P&L of two multi-billion-dollar categories, and led eBay Motors to be the biggest automotive player in the global vehicle parts and accessory space.

Mr Austin said: “It was clear from the beginning that Partly’s approach was revolutionary. I’ve witnessed first-hand how inadequate automotive parts cataloguing is, and how it impacts millions of automotive parts buyers and fitters globally, every second of every day.

“I strongly believe in the potential of Partly as a customer-first difference maker in the global automotive parts ecosystem, and ultimately for the everyday fitter or car owner.

“There’s a strong alignment of values, charter and complimentary experience set, and I truly can’t think of anywhere I would rather be than in the front seat to help make that happen, especially back home in New Zealand.”

Partly CEO and co-founder Levi Fawcett said: “Partly has gone from strength to strength over the past two years and the appointment of Tony is indicative of that momentum.

“We’re extremely pleased to see how Tony’s wealth of knowledge and expertise across Europe and Australia will accelerate our growth across our global markets, and help us to cement our standing on the world stage as a global category leader.”

By Neil Dowling

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