Canadian-born Tracey Fellows, former vice president of Microsoft Asia-Pacific, is set to take home a lavish pay packet for her inaugural year as the new head of REA Group.

REA Group has announced that its interim CEO Peter Tonagh will be replaced by Australia Post executive and former Microsoft Asia-Pacific vice president Tracey Fellows in September.

Tonagh has held the job since March this year following the departure of his predecessor Greg Ellis.

The announcement follows a six month search to find a long-term successor to Ellis which commenced in December last year.

ASX documents reveal that Sydney-listed REA Group will pay Fellows $1.4 million for her first year on job, consisting of a $900,000 base package inclusive of superannuation, as well as a bonus of $500,000 for coming on board, net of applicable tax and inclusive of super.

Fellows will also be given the opportunity to take part in the company’s short term incentive plan, which could be worth as much as $450,000 and is determined by a set of key performance indicators.

Once she takes over the position Fellows will also receive a long-term incentive in the form of performance rights over ordinary shares in the company which will eventually be worth $450,000, on the condition that certain performance objectives are satisfied.

Fellows originally hails from Canada and moved to Australia to pursue her  tertiary education. She is currently the executive general manger of communication management services for Australia Post, and was previously director of Microsoft in Australia and New Zealand from 2007 to 2010.

Hamish McLennan, executive chairman of REA, has described Fellows as a “perfect fit for the company,” particularly given her technological expertise and the importance of this for online realty operations.

REA Group is an internet realtor which is currently the largest media company on the Australia Securities Exchange in terms of market capitalisation. The company’s success has been significantly abetted by its ownership of two highly coveted online properties – realestate.com.au and realcommercial.com.au.

In her new role Fellows will be called upon to maintain REA Group’s strong position domestically, as well as spur its expansion into overseas markets.