Impact & Influence

Toni Trease has spent over 23 years in real estate, starting with just five people in the group before building her career alongside the King family at Elders. In December 2023, that business merged with McGrath Northern Rivers, and today Toni serves as Chief Operating Officer and Partner across four offices: Alstonville, Ballina, Lennox Head and Byron Bay helping lead a team that holds close to 7...

Angie Donaghey's career at Cunninghams Real Estate began at reception and, after two career breaks, led to her becoming Head of Property Management and recently named Partner. She leads with people, not numbers, building one of the industry's most structured onboarding processes and choosing to measure her team's wellbeing over KPIs, because when people feel supported, results follow. In this epis...

Gareth Jones, Managing Director of 4Sight Risk Partners, traded a professional football career for insurance broking, spending 35 years learning from some of the best in the business before founding a specialist risk and insurance business helping mid-tier growing and complex businesses make smarter risk decisions. Today, 4Sight Risk Partners has an impressive 97% client retention rate. Joined by...

Andrew Chamberlain's leadership journey took a sharp turn when he and his wife Belinda took over the reins of Blackshaw, one of the ACT's most respected real estate brands, in 2019. Stepping into the CEO role was a significant shift, but Andrew leaned into it with intention, learning fast and drawing on the foundations built by founder Peter Blackshaw. Today, Blackshaw spans seven offices across C...

Andrew Colagiuri, CEO and Founder of FLK it over, built the platform from the ground up after seeing first-hand the inefficiencies agents faced every day. What started as a simple digital signing solution in 2018 has evolved into a workflow platform used by agencies across Australia, helping streamline property management, sales and operations. In this conversation with Kylie Walsh, Andrew shares...

Kane Bradley, Director and Licensee in Charge, joined LJ Hooker Maitland in 2011, beginning a succession journey that would see him take full ownership of the business at the end of last year. Along the way, he faced one of life's greatest challenges: a stage four prostate cancer diagnosis in 2023. By trusting his instincts and advocating for his own health, Kane was able to catch i...

Daniel McCulloch   grew up in Tamworth pursuing a shearing apprenticeship, only to find his way into stock and station agency almost by accident. By 21 he was representing Australia at the World Auctioneering Championships. Two decades on, he’s one of the country’s most respected rural real estate professionals, co-founding McCulloch Agencies with his wife Karina and growing the b...

Nicholas Christou's Real Estate journey began at 15, working weekends in Sydney's Inner West alongside a mentor who would go on to shape his entire career. That inspiration carried him through 16 years in the industry, from admin desk to sales agent to general manager, and eventually to a bold leap across the world. After years of dreaming about New York, Nic spotted an opportunity on LinkedIn, to...

Kurt McNevin-Zablocki's real estate career began with initiative at just 15, he reached out to sales managers across Sydney's Eastern Suburbs looking for after-school work, and landed at Di Jones Real Estate, where he spent over five years building a strong foundation in the business. In 2016, driven by ambition and a sense of adventure, Kurt took that same proactive approach to New York City, rea...

Holly Parker's career started young - right out of college, having grown up watching her father, an investment manager, build relationships and grow wealth for high-net-worth families. That early exposure sparked a passion that's carried her for 32 years and over $13 billion in career sales, making her one of New York's most decorated real estate professionals. Holly recently made the leap to Comp...

Sara Rotter's path into real estate started with an unexpected turn while completing her pre-med studies at Harvard, a chance run-in with her property manager during a rental mix-up sparked a curiosity about the industry that she couldn't shake. She followed that curiosity and never looked back. Today, Sara is Senior Executive Vice President and Managing Director of Sales Downtown at Brown Harris...

A common question, and one that is does not a one size fits all answer: how many properties should a property manager be managing? In this solo episode, Lauren Kirk, Director of REGROWTH, challenges that default thinking, that portfolio size alone was never the right metric and that chasing a "magic number" can actually hold businesses back. Instead, Lauren unpacks a more useful lens: building you...

Rebecca Halton grew up watching her mum thrive in real estate, and that passion left a lasting impression. By 20, Rebecca was selling for LJ Hooker herself, carrying that same energy into her own career. Today, as CEO and Auctioneer of LJ Hooker Property Experience, she leads 120 people across three offices and a 4,000-property rent roll, in one of Australia's most sought-after markets. In this ep...

With a career built around solving the real estate industry's toughest tech and data challenges, Dr. Sarah Bell brings a rare depth of perspective to the conversation around AI and change management. Having spent years immersed in the industry before stepping into the world of technology, Sarah understands both sides of the equation: the operational realities agents face, and the systems built to...

Matt Makin from Woodards joins Kylie to unpack what it really means to lead from the front, take control of your own destiny, and create an environment where others can succeed alongside you. The conversation explores how authentic leadership sets the tone, drives accountability, and ultimately shapes the performance of a team. Matt shares his perspective on leading by example, not as a concept, b...

From the classroom to real estate, Ben Hennessy’s path reflects a deliberate decision to step into a new arena with intent and purpose. Beginning his career as a high school maths teacher, Ben chose to transition into the real estate industry , then a transformative trip around the world gave him the clarity to define what he would carry forward, and what he would leave behind. Ben then made...

Join a candid conversation on authentic leadership under pressure — scaling teams, sustaining standards, and why growth isn’t about doing more but doing better. Ethan reframes KPIs: quality over quantity, and how the right metrics and behaviours attract and keep top people. Numbers don’t tell the whole story — the right numbers powered by the right habits do. At the core: l...

As the end of financial year approaches, there’s a natural opportunity to pause, reflect, and reset for the year ahead. This episode explores the powerful role feedback plays in shaping stronger teams and more effective leadership, highlighting why it’s not just about gathering insights, but what you choose to do with them. Lauren shares practical strategies, with a focus on honesty, a...

Lauren Kirk sits down with Andrew for a thoughtful conversation about leadership, business growth and the discipline required to build with intention. Reflecting on his early start selling off-the-plan apartments and the journey that followed, Andrew shares the lessons that have shaped his thinking around what good business really looks like and the kind of leadership it takes to create it. Togeth...

Kahlia Cordony shares what it takes to back yourself and take the leap into business, and the discipline required to maintain a steady hand while navigating an ever-changing market. With a strong focus on alignment across all parties in a business relationship, she explores what it truly means to create clarity, cohesion and shared outcomes. Drawing on her experience, Kahlia unpacks the skills and...

With a career spanning decades, John Cunningham has built a reputation not just on results, but on relationships, values, and a deep understanding that real estate is, first and foremost, a people business. As the founder of Cunninghams Real Estate and a long-standing industry leader, his philosophy centres on creating meaningful environments where teams can perform at their best. This conversatio...

Gavin Croft, Chief Operating Officer for Ray White Queensland and one of Australia’s most respected auctioneers, offers a candid look into what it takes to operate at the top of the auction space, overseeing a network responsible for thousands of auctions each year. From the outset of his career, Gavin knew he wanted to be the very best in his field and that commitment to mastery has shaped...

Virginia Brookes, Founder and Director of Resolver Recruitment, brings decades of real estate and recruitment experience to a thoughtful conversation on making confident hiring decisions in a constantly evolving market. Drawing on her deep understanding of people, process, and leadership, Virginia explains why effective recruitment starts with deeply understanding personality types and behavioural...

Rex Muir shares an authentic conversation on what it really takes to grow from zero to a well established and locally recognised property management department. Starting with the hard work from day one and the discipline of building strong systems early, not “someday.” Drawing on lived experience across every role in property management, Rex brings a grounded perspective on what works...

Join Kylie Walsh for an unfiltered conversation with Ruth and Benjamin, a powerhouse pairing shaping Melbourne Real Estate. Ruth is one of Australia’s most respected auctioneers and agents, a formidable leader with a long, fascinating career in the auction room. Benjamin, who began in 2013, has quickly risen to become one of Melbourne’s top performers and is ranked among Australia&rsqu...