OCR Labs Global, a world leader in digital ID verification, has appointed Joshua Read as Chief Operating Officer, a key senior hire for its continued international expansion. Joshua joins with over 25 years of experience in leadership of operations, partnerships and sales in software, data and information and communications technology (ICT) organisations.

As COO, Joshua will support and direct the global expansion of the business. His focus will be on building a high-performance culture and optimising business processes to enable OCR Labs Global to become the global partner of choice for identity verification and compliance.

Before joining OCR Labs Global, Joshua was the EVP of Sales and Partnerships at Yellowfin Business Intelligence International for close to three years and the General Manager of Partnerships, Consumer Risk, Fraud Prevention and Identity Management at Equifax for six years. He has also held senior leadership roles at KPMG Australia and Telstra Enterprise and Government. At Yellowfin Business Intelligence International, Joshua doubled contract ARR over 24 months, which contributed to the sale of the business at ~$100M. During his time at Equifax Australia, he was responsible for $110M recurring revenue across four lines of business, growing by 10 per cent year on year.

Joshua Read, newly appointed COO for OCR Labs Global, said, “It's rare to find an opportunity where relationships, corporate culture, and industry experience align. While negotiating a partnership agreement for Equifax, I met OCR Labs Global's Leadership Team and developed an appreciation for their unique technology and strategic approach.”

Read continued: “At Equifax, I gained a deep understanding of fraud prevention, identity, and know your customer verification challenges as well as the technology and the legislative landscape. With experience growing fintech companies and a vast partner network, I'm eager to help OCR Labs Global become a billion-dollar unicorn.”

John Myers, CEO of OCR Labs Global, added, “Joshua's track record of scaling businesses and global experience impressed us all. His experience managing operations for large organisations will be invaluable as we support our mission to make user verification effortless. We are excited to see what he can accomplish at OCR Labs Global as we move into our next growth phase.”

Joshua was recognised as part of the top one per cent Equifax executives list in 2018. He was placed in a three-month in-house executive leadership residency in Atlanta, USA, an opportunity reserved for only a limited number of people in the entire company. Joshua was also selected for the advanced executive leadership development programs at Telstra between 2009-2011.

OCR Labs Global is already supporting clients across many industries, including governments, crypto and a variety of platform-based businesses, such as SaaS providers. Customers include  Cognito, HSBC, ING, Reed, Vodafone, ZIP, BMW, Coinmetro and many others customers and partners.