REIA announces new president
The Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA) unveils an all-female leadership team – a first for the national body.
Leanne Pilkington (pictured) will now lead the organisation, with Hannah Gill taking on the role of deputy president, which Pilkington vacates to step into the top job.
Hailing from NSW, Pilkington is the CEO of the Laing+Simmons network and the immediate past president of the Real Estate Institute of NSW (REINSW). Pilkington has served as deputy president of REIA since 2021 and is a member-elected director of REI Super.
In addition to announcing Pilkington’s and Gill’s new appointments, the board of REIA welcomes Pete Matthews, who steps into the NSW directorship, and Joe White, who succeeds departing member Damian Collins from Western Australia.
Richard Simpson has also been appointed as the chair of the finance, risk and audit committee.
Victorian network unveils CEO succession plan
Long-serving CEO Nick Dowling (picture left) is set to transition into an executive chairman role for the Jellis Craig group early next year.
Dowling, who has served as Jellis Craig CEO and board member for 12 years, will move into his new role in March 2024, with existing Jellis Craig executive and board member Andrew McCann (pictured right) to be appointed to CEO.
According to a statement from the Victorian network, the CEO appointment and executive chair transition “are the culmination of the board’s comprehensive succession planning process to ensure leadership continuity and to position Jellis Craig for continued success”.
Speaking of his successor, Dowling noted: “Andrew is the ideal person to lead Jellis Craig into its next chapter.”
Jo Mikleus joins the Acumentis board
Jo Mikleus joined the Acumentis board as a non-executive director on 1 December 2023.
Mikleus is a growth-focused and customer-orientated C-Suite executive with over 30 years of experience in business and financial services.
Her expertise spans public, private, and private equity-backed companies, where she has demonstrated a consistent ability to innovate and lead successfully through various challenges, including structural, technological, social, and regulatory changes.
Mikleus is currently serving as principal at Success2Significance, a boutique growth advisory specializing in business expansion, AI adoption, and customer-centric strategy.
Flex space player appoints GM
The Great Room by Industrious has appointed Josh Alfafara as general manager, spearheading the global coworking group’s Australian operations as it looks to expand its footprint. With over 12 years of experience in commercial real estate, Alfafara has a track record of driving growth in the rapidly emerging flex work sector.
Alfafara aims to leverage his expertise to revolutionise current work practices at The Great Room by Industrious. He has successfully developed strategies to drive growth and expansion of coworking spaces across Australia and the Philippines.
“We’re thrilled to have Josh at the forefront of our venture into the Australian market. His expertise will be instrumental as we pave the way for future growth,” said Jaelle Ang, CEO and co-founder of The Great Room.
Centennial expands its asset management team
National fund manager and developer Centennial has continued its recent hiring spree bringing Jane Travers on board as asset & leasing manager, Qld.
She had previously worked at Charter Hall overseeing $1.5bn of FUM for Charter Hall’s Queensland industrial portfolio.
Based in Centennial’s Brisbane office, Travers’s appointment is timely as the company responds to its growing asset portfolio in the mid-space commercial real estate sector, with a particular focus in Qld, on acquiring last-mile industrial and logistics (I&L) urban infill sites.
Travers has more than ten years’ experience working across both the industrial and logistics and office market sectors and in her most recent role, oversaw $1.5bn of FUM for Charter Hall’s Queensland I&L portfolio.
