Leonie has a wealth of experience in the Property sector and shares her insights on leadership, starting out in Property and her actions to create real change in Housing affordability in New Zealand.

Get Inspired

Leonie’s first two jobs were on her uncle’s farm and helping her parents to garden at the school they taught at in Sumner, Christchurch.

Leonie has done a lot since then. Her roles have included building what is now realestate.co.nz, shaping up an existing business in Interactive Property Management, lecturing at Auckland University, and getting clear on KPIs as GM Asset Development at Housing NZ - an area she continues to focus on today.  

She is currently the CEO at Property Council New Zealand and Director of Goodman Property NZ.    

• Find a mentor and work with them over time - you can learn a lot about purpose and integrity if you find the right person to mentor and guide you. For Leonie, this was Peter Cook, a valuer in Christchurch, who taught her that people are your greatest asset.
• Leadership is about keeping going even if a number of people think you’re crazy - Leonie took a wider view of the property sector and identified what could be better, starting Realenz in 1996. Today, this is called realestate.co.nz. Back then, people thought this was a crazy idea.
• Find something you’re passionate about and commit to it - we need to work together to solve affordability in the housing industry to make it more accessible for all New Zealanders.  

Watch the full interview

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