PEXA Group has announced the departure of CEO Joe Pepper, with Krystle Kocik and Simon Wright appointed as co-chief executive officers of PEXA UK effective from 1st July 2026.
Pepper (pictured) joined PEXA UK in September 2023, taking over the role from James Bawa. He leaves having overseen several milestones in PEXA’s journey in the UK, including the launch of the PEXA remortgage proposition and sale purchase platform.
Most recently, PEXA announced it was working with NatWest on remortgage transactions, with the bank actively transacting fee-assisted remortgage customers on PEXA’s digital property transaction platform.
Commenting on his departure, Pepper said: “It has been a privilege to work alongside the UK housing market over the past two and a half years, demonstrating the value that the adoption of an electronic conveyancing platform such as PEXA can deliver in enhancing the property transaction process for all parties.
“I have every confidence in PEXA’s UK team to build upon the foundations established over this period, and I look forward to seeing the pace of adoption continue to accelerate in the years ahead.”
PEXA Group CEO Russell Cohen said the new leadership structure will put PEXA in a strong position to “drive PEXA’s UK growth strategy and deepen its commitment to customer success”.
He added: “I am delighted to announce the appointments of Krystle Kocik and Simon Wright as Co-CEOs of PEXA UK. Together, Krystle and Simon have significant experience at PEXA, as well as a wealth of experience and knowledge of the UK financial system.
“They bring a deep understanding of PEXA’s value proposition, the UK lending market, as well as complementary skill sets that will underpin both conveyancer and lender adoption.
“On behalf of everyone at PEXA, I would also like to thank Joe for his contribution to PEXA UK at a crucial time for the business. Joe has helped lay strong foundations for our UK operations and has been a passionate advocate for the modernisation of the property market. We wish him every success for the future.”
With around 20 years’ experience in product and digital transformation across the property technology and financial services sectors, Kocik joined PEXA’s Australian business in 2011 and moved to PEXA UK in 2021.
Most recently, she held the role of group chief product officer and is part of the Group Executive Committee. She has been responsible for the end-to-end design and delivery of the PEXA platform, overseeing customisation and modernisation initiatives designed to ensure the platform meets the needs of the UK conveyancing market.
PEXA has described her work as “central” to its integration with the Bank of England, “a critical milestone in PEXA’s growth journey”.
Kocik also led the team which delivered NatWest’s implementation of remortgage transactions on the PEXA platform.
Wright has almost 30 years’ experience in financial services across strategy, operations, customer banking and transformation. He joined PEXA UK in 2021 as chief operating officer and has led the integration of the Optima Legal and Smoove businesses into PEXA Group. The integration of Optima Legal with the PEXA UK platform ultimately delivered the two-day completion timescale of NatWest’s first remortgage transaction via PEXA.
