Leading real estate brand Harcourts Group Australia has announced the internal appointment of a new national chief executive officer in Adrian Knowles.
The brand has recently welcomed several key figures to its senior leadership team with Lisa Pennell as chief operations officer for Australia, Clayton Treloar as chief executive officer Western Australia and Mitch Peereboom as chief executive officer Queensland.
Industry professional Karmen Costigan was also appointed head of property management this year, while Christian Hamilton is now head of auctions across Australia.
According to Harcourts International Chief Executive Officer Steve Caradoc-Davies, Mr Knowles’ appointment marks the continuation of a successful strategy for a brand that arrived in Australia only 24 years ago and has effectively forged a values-driven path as one of the strongest names in the competitive real estate industry today.
“We are thrilled to announce Adrian’s appointment in this key role as his energy, courage and integrity epitomises the Harcourts’ values,” he said.
“As well as aligning so well with our culture, Adrian is driven to see others succeed which makes him the ideal person to build on our success and continue to drive Harcourts forward.
“Adrian shares our clear vision for the future of Harcourts that puts our network and their clients at the very heart of everything we do as a franchisor, supported by innovation in all aspects of our value offering.
“Our culture is a main point of difference and Adrian will continue to build on the foundation that has been firmly laid by his predecessor, Marcus Williams, together with our world-class Australian support team.”
Mr Knowles joined Harcourts Australia in June this year as chief executive for growth.
His key responsibility has been to identify and invite leading businesses and agents who share the Harcourts’ values to join the network.
“Under this leadership, the brand has welcomed 20 new offices in the last three months alone, all in critical markets,” Mr Caradoc-Davies said.
“Having owned and operated his own successful real estate agency, and having already grown the footprint of another major brand, Adrian’s skill set brings immense value to the Harcourts network.”
Mr Knowles said that the company’s key values of putting people first and doing the right thing are central to the brand’s path forward.
“Our focus is on helping others achieve success – our franchisees, our clients, and our support team,” Mr Knowles said.
“We understand that building and maintaining a strong connection with people and understanding their goals allows us to identify where we can add the most value.
“The coming 12 months is a critical time for our technology, training, and branding strategy as a company.
“But while we’re rolling out brilliant new technology to our people – an upgraded CRM, brand management platform, business dashboards, a data warehouse, new websites, digital proposals and a new intranet – we’re resolutely committed to doing the right thing and putting people first in what is fundamentally a people business.”
Mr Knowles said the group would also focus on supporting its members to achieve their goals and grow.
“That also means inviting only those leaders and agents in the industry who share our values to join our network,” he said.
“It means empowering our industry-leading support staff at the state support offices in each state to deliver innovative, courageous support and guidance to our people and thereby share in their success.”
