Canstar, the Australian financial comparison site, has announced the appointment of Mark Gracey, former executive of MoneySuperMarket UK, as its new Managing Director and Group CEO.

The move follows the retirement of the company's long-serving Managing Director and Group CEO, Andrew Spicer, at the end of February.

Gracey brings over eight years of experience from his tenure at MoneySuperMarket.com Group PLC (MONY), a leading UK comparison site. During his time at MONY, Gracey led several strategic initiatives, including the development of mobile apps for MoneySuperMarket and MoneySavingExpert, the merger of TravelSupermarket with another entity, and the completion of around £150m of acquisitions for the Group.

From 2018 to 2023, Gracey served as the Chair of Podium Solutions, the UK's leading B2B digital mortgage comparison platform. His experience in developing consumer-centric, trusted digital financial services platforms is expected to be a valuable asset to Canstar.

"We are thrilled to welcome Mark, who joins us as only the third Group CEO in our 32-year history. We have many exciting growth opportunities ahead and Mark brings to our business highly relevant international experience and a track record in building consumer-centric, highly credible and trusted digital financial services platforms," said Canstar Group Chairman and Founder, Andrew Willink.

Gracey expressed his excitement about leading Canstar, a brand known for its transparency and simplicity. He noted the parallels between Canstar and the MoneySuperMarket Group, particularly in their commitment to independent comparison services. While these services are widely used in the UK, they remain relatively unknown to Australians, a gap Gracey is keen to address.

"I am incredibly excited to lead this great Australian brand and team. Canstar has established a well-deserved reputation for transparency and simplicity, which has many parallels with the MoneySuperMarket Group. In the UK, independent comparison services are widely used but are still relatively unknown to Australians. I look forward to continuing Andrew and the team's work and mission," Gracey said.

Andrew Spicer, who led Canstar for the last 16 years, expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to build a trusted brand visited online by 12 million Australians annually. He also gave Gracey's appointment a big tick, having known him since 2016 and being impressed with what he can bring to the Canstar Group.

"Very few people have had the opportunity to build such a trusted brand, visited online by 12 million Australians annually who are seeking out help, and with so many wonderful institutional relationships across so many verticals. It has been a privilege to work with the talented Board, management and team at Canstar for 16 years. I am also very excited for Mark to be joining as our new Group CEO. We have known him since 2016 and have been impressed with what we feel he can now bring to the Canstar Group, as its new leader. I wish him the very best," Spicer said.