AA appoints Phil Coster as chief technology officer

Phil Coster has been appointed as chief technology officer.

Coster joins the AA following eight years as the chief information officer of Mitre 10 and the driving force behind the retailer's five-year business transformation, leading a programme of change to improve operational and organisational efficiency across its retail network.

Prior to Mitre 10, Coster has proven his capabilities through more than 25 years of IT experience, coupled with vast retail and eCommerce experience garnered from his time as CIO at the Ezibuy Group and various roles at Vector, ACP Media and Coca-Cola Amatil.

Additionally, he was recently recognised as one of the top three CIOs in New Zealand in the 2021 CIO awards.

"We received a large number of applications for this position and Phil was certainly a stand out," AA chief executive Nadine Tereora says.

"I am confident that his ability to transform IT and business functions will deliver tremendous value for the Association, and even better customer experiences for our AA Members.

"He is adept at focusing on the practical application of technology in areas such as insights, supply chain optimisation, cyber security and digital transformation and holds a philosophy of leveraging technology to help people perform their jobs smarter, not harder, in the pursuit of outstanding experience for all customers.

"Most importantly Phil is a people person, who cultivates a consistently great culture, and leads teams with a reputation for getting things done, even during periods of disruption and change, by empowering them to work together to get the very best results for the company."

Coster will officially join the AA as CTO within the next few months.