APAC Leadership team

David Bowie is the Senior Vice President and Executive Managing Director for MRI Software in Asia Pacific. With more than 25 years of experience in the technology space and a focus on enterprise software sales, David is responsible for the company’s strategy in the Asia-Pacific market as well as sales and operational responsibilities in the region.

Prior to joining the MRI team in 2020, David served as Vice President and Managing Director for SAS, an AI and analytics industry leader, where he led the Australia and New Zealand division and spearheaded a journey of significant growth and transformation. He joined the company in 2002 and held multiple roles across professional services, marketing and sales.

David began his career with PwC in accounting, but quickly shifted to become one of the early members of the technology consulting division before taking leadership roles at both IBM and Dimension Data.

David holds a Bachelor of Economics (Accounting) from Macquarie University, a Graduate Diploma of Psychology from University of New England and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Mark Cohen is the Vice President of APAC Product, tasked with oversight of the regional product management and engineering functions. In this role he will drive product innovation and focus on both leveraging and contributing to the global product organisation, to deliver scaled solutions to the APAC market.

Mark brings PropTech industry experience gained as the CTO and CIO of Domain Group, where he held responsibility for product development and delivery. This included establishing the capacity – and the delivery of – consumer-facing machine learning products. Prior to Domain, Mark was the GM of Product Technology across Australia and New Zealand, for Fairfax Media.

He has also held leadership roles and gained broader digital product experience from a range of organisations including smaller startups to ASX200 organisations across ANZ.

Mark holds a BSc in Computer Science and Applied Mathematics from the University of the Witwatersrand.

PresDarren Whitaker-Barnett is the Vice President, Presence Management Solutions for MRI Software joining the company when WhosOnLocation was acquired in 2021. 

Darren was the CEO and founder of WhosOnLocation, a visitor, contractor, and employee presence company with more than 20 years of experience in enterprise business development across the technology, energy, and FMCG space, Darren is responsible for driving WhosOnLocation’s product direction and innovation strategy as well as supporting its global sales strategy. 

Prior to MRI’s acquisition Darren took WhosOnLocation from a start-up in 2012 to a global leader in the visitor management sector serving nearly 5000 facilities in 46 countries. Darren’s achievements include WhosOnLocation being awarded a Red Herring Asia Top 100 Innovator in 2012, Deloitte Asia Pacific Fastest Growing 500 companies, 2016, 2017, 2018, Deloitte Fast 50 finalist 2018, and a CEO Today Global Awards Winner 2021. 

Darren has served as a consultant and strategic advisor to a wide range of industries plus leadership roles at Coca Cola, Brambles Industries, TransAlta, Computer Associates, and Meridian Energy.  

Darren is a graduate of the Auckland Business School Management Programme. 

Angela Mihalarias is the Asia Pacific Senior Director of Professional Services and Client Support for MRI Software.  With over 25 years of experience in the technology space and a focus on the professional services industry across APAC, Angela is responsible for client experience in delivery excellence, productivity, quality and consistency across all client touchpoints.

Prior to joining MRI in 2020, Angela served as the ANZ Managing Director for Pactera Technologies, a global IT consulting and technology services provider, leading the business transformation in establishing their market digital identity whilst stabilising and growing the business base.

Angela began her career at PwC in a technology consulting division before taking consulting and further leadership roles at Lotus Development and IBM.  At IBM, Angela spent time leading different professional services teams and held a variety of business operations roles across business units, including Human Resources, Inside Sales and Software.

Angela holds a Bachelor of Economics (Accounting and IT) from Macquarie University and has an Associate of the Institute of Chartered Accountants.

Stephen B. Wilson is Vice President, Commercial Asia & Residential. He is responsible for growing MRI’s business and account management in the APAC region, including Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, India and South-East Asia. 

Stephen is a pioneer, having established MRI offices throughout the region during his 24 years with the business, spending 14 years in the Asia region.  

With 28 years of experience working mainly in International business and consultative management roles, Stephen brings a client-focused mindset that drives incremental growth and profitability within the global real estate software segment. 

He attended Victoria University of Wellington, majoring in Business Commerce and studied towards a Property Diploma with the Australian Securities while holding several affiliations to Real Estate related organisations (ISCS, APREA, PCA, NZ Singapore Chamber of Commerce). 

Based in New Zealand, Stephen is a proud “kiwi” and native Maori who practices inclusiveness, diversity and equity.    

Richard Exley is the Commercial Sales Director for MRI Software Australia and New Zealand, responsible for business development and account management teams servicing MRI’s commercial and corporate occupier sectors. With over 12 years’ experience in technology sales, Richard is responsible for all commercial go-to-market activities, sales excellence and growth, and has a keen eye on customer satisfaction, experience and retention. 

Prior to joining MRI Software, Richard worked for Real Asset Management both in the UK and in Australia. Just prior to its acquisition by MRI, Richard was responsible for landing the Real Asset Management brand in Australia, building a cross-functional operation in Sydney, and delivering significant growth through the businesses’ first 18 months. 

Richard holds an Honours degree in Computer Science, and prior to a career in enterprise sales, worked as an accomplished software consultant and project manager, holding Prince2 and other industry accreditations. 

Fiona Tipping is the Marketing Director for MRI Software in Asia Pacific and is responsible for the regions marketing strategy and execution plan.  She has more than 15 years experience leading regional and global marketing teams to drive revenue and product adoption, reduce churn and build brand.   

Prior to joining MRI in 2020, Fiona held Marketing leadership positions at SingTel Optus where she led the Small Business segment portfolio, retention & customer loyalty programs, product marketing and digital communications team.  More recently Fiona held the position of global Marketing Director for enterprise software company Squiz, where she was accountable for driving global growth in NA and EMEA.   Fiona began her career at Accenture Consulting, in the Communication and Technology consulting division. 

Fiona holds a B.A. from Griffith University. 

Michael Abbott is the Vice President of Product Management for MRI Software in Asia-Pacific. He oversees the strategic direction and continuous improvement of MRI’s product solution suite in Australasia.  

Michael joined MRI in 2021 as part of its acquisition of Palace, New Zealand’s leading residential property management software. He joined the company in 2004 to drive both growth and new product opportunities before spearheading the company as CEO from 2015. Prior to this he also held roles as a business analyst and programmer in companies in England, Paris and New Zealand.  

Michael holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Management Science and Information Systems from Auckland University. 

Rob Kearsley is the Director of Commercial Products for MRI Software in Asia Pacific. With 30 years of experience in the global property software market with MRI, Rob is responsible for overseeing product management of the entire @work commercial software suite of solutions in the region.

Prior to his relocation to Australia, Rob was involved in product development and management of the MRI PMX product in the UK and Europe. Having worked with the software since 1991, Rob’s expertise and insight into the software and customer requirements is unparalleled.

He has also lead consultancy and development teams in delivering functionality for the UK, Europe, Canada and Asia Pacific. Most recently he has mentored, trained and supported a new product development team in the UK. He will now be leading teams that will further strengthen regional functionality across the product suite in APAC, with his continuing dedication to a customer focused approach.

As the Vice President of APAC Operations and Talent Management, Dean Carpenter is responsible for MRI’s regional talent strategy – spearheading the search for amazing people, nurturing our culture, developing our team, and providing an environment where our people can do their best work.  Dean also partners closely with the APAC Leadership to develop the regional business strategy and drive the leadership cadence to execute on this plan.

Dean joined MRI Software through the acquisition of Rockend Technology in 2019.  As a seasoned executive within the tech space, Dean has a broad range of experiences gathered over the last 18 years – with roles spanning business strategy, talent management, customer experience, professional services, channel management and workplace experience.

In addition to holding a Bachelor of Business, Dean is a Fellow of the Institute of Managers & Leaders, and a Professional Member of the HR Institutes of both Australia and New Zealand.

Stephen Bakhos is the APAC Finance Director for MRI Software. Responsibilities include all end to end accounting functions covering financial reporting, payroll, tax matters and compliance across APAC. 

Stephen has over 25 years of commercial accounting experience, including 19 of these years in the IT industry. Prior to Stephen’s appointment at MRI in late 2019, Stephen was APAC Financial Controller for Insight Enterprises where he spent 19 years at the Fortune 500 publicly listed global technology company, which focuses on business-to-business and information technology for enterprises. 

Stephen’s experience spans across all functions of financial accounting, financial reporting, company tax, cash management, SOX compliance, mergers and acquisitions and accounting system implementation. 

Stephen holds a Bachelor of Business in Accounting and is a CPA. 

Josh Symons is the Strategic Industry Principal at MRI Software joining the organisation in 2017 via the acquisition of Rockend. In this role, he is responsible for the strategic account management and market growth of the Residential portfolio in Asia-Pacific.

For more than 16 years Josh has been dedicated to the real estate industry leading sales and account management teams that deliver results. He is a passionate and critical thinker focused on exceptional client experiences through understanding market and business challenges within the property industry and how to align strategy & priorities to help clients optimize and scale their businesses.

Josh believes in the importance of placing people and customers at the heart of the business. With previous experience in working with tech startups he understands first-hand the value innovation, data and technology provides as a source of competitive advantage to any business.

Josh holds a Bachelor of Property & Sustainable Development from Bond University as well as Graduate Diploma of Management from Australian Institute of Business. He is currently studying to obtain a Juris Doctor (Law) at University of NSW.