Can you provide a brief overview of your background? 

By profession and qualification I am an accountant before moving into General Management roles across a few different sectors, including at big sportswear brands and in the drinks industry, before joining the real estate sector around 20 years ago. My experiences across all those sectors have ranged from strategic leadership to finance, sales, marketing, business development and general management.

That diverse skillset means that rather than harnessing strength in one operational capability, I’m able to use my experiences from inside and outside the property industry to approach delivering growth not just with a robust commerciality, but also as a leader who isn’t afraid to try doing things differently to achieve success. 

What are the key highlights of your career so far? 

A few come to mind, but when I was Managing Director at Colliers, I was responsible for delivering the first pan-European property management service line, driving and growing the digitalisation and ESG offering across Europe. I was balancing the uniqueness of each country’s jurisdiction with the underlying need for alignment and creating and building out that team.  

However, joining Hollis provides the opportunity to bring the skills and experiences that I’ve had in scaling up businesses in other industries and real estate advisory firms and deploying those very skills in a new arena. I think my biggest highlight is yet to come! 

What role does Hollis have to play in shaping the real estate industry? 

It’s clear that we have a substantial role to play in supporting our clients through big and complex challenges. If you look at where investment in real estate is going to be over the coming years a lot of it will be in areas where we have real strengths to support clients – project management, repositioning of assets or repurposing of assets, advising on ESG and energy strategies, M&E or FM advisory, and more. 

We take time to really understand our clients and because of this, we’re well placed to tailor our advice to their specific needs, be it through clear, robust technical advice or support.  

What are your initial impressions of Hollis and its people? 

I’ve had a warm welcome – the team are very engaging, and it’s been great to meet people and have them ask questions and talk to me about what they do. It’s immediately clear when you come here that Hollis is a people business. Our reputation as very technically skilled experts is evident in the great work our teams are doing with our clients. 

It’s when you combine the welcoming nature with the skilled talent that the real magic happens. As we apply technical expertise and professionalism with a genuinely proactive approach to engaging with and understanding our clients to drive lasting relationships. You can tell it’s because our people genuinely care about doing the best for their clients, rather than what’s in it for them. That level of client care, along with such specialist advice, is very impressive. 

Tell us about the Hollis strategy for growth? 

Hollis has a tremendous track record and has grown significantly and consistently over time. The business has undergone a restructuring aimed at maximising where we see opportunities ahead, and the management board have set a new vision and mission and some ambitious growth plans to deliver them. 

When you look at the current market, it’s showing early signs of coming back this year. The opportunities that it brings to leverage and grow our capabilities, both for us and to help our clients capitalise on that market shift, makes it an exciting time.

We’re building on a strong existing platform that delivers for clients from start to finish. Our key focus areas will be around Europe, sustainability, energy, innovation and tech. But it goes beyond having the right resources; we’re considering where innovation is best deployed, and if we’re investing in tech, is it the right tech?  We’re all very excited and looking forward to continuing to deliver.  

What are your initial priorities for Hollis as you set out in your role? 

My priorities are evidently focused on executing the strategic goals the management board has set out. The real key to doing that in the first 100 days is to really get under the skin of the business and talk to all our stakeholders to fully understand how they see the future, what their needs are, and how we can best support them. 

So, I’ll be meeting with our clients, our people and our wider partners to discuss our performance, ask questions and build relationships that will give not only us but also all our stakeholders the best platform to achieve our collective goals.