Nigel O’Neil will take over from Mike McCarthy as chief executive officer at the Barry Plant Group from July 1.
Mr O’Neil joined the group in late 2019 and has held the position of head of strategic growth up until this point.
Mr McCarthy will remain a director and will continue to be significantly involved in the business.
Mr O’Neil comes to the top job with a clear vision to propel the group forward by leveraging its ‘family first’ culture and integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) tech tools to “support our people to service our customers like no other brand in real estate”.
Together with new chief operating officer Doug Hutchinson, Mr O’Neil put together a detailed strategic plan endorsed by the group’s board.
“Doug is the industry go-to guru for anything involving technology, and his immersion in the PropTech world has allowed me to effectively integrate emerging technologies into our plans,” Mr O’Neil said.
The plan included carrying out extensive market research with people that had sold over the past 18 months.
“The messages weren’t unexpected, but they did verify that our plan was accurate in what needed to be addressed to propel the business to the next level,” Mr O’Neil said.
“Real estate can be a roller coaster, and there will always be challenges that our group will face.
“It’s overcoming those challenges and helping every Barry Plant office to build ever more successful businesses that will make the role so rewarding.”
Mr O’Neil said he was in the rare but fortunate position to hit the ground running in his new role.
“I have been observing the Barry Plant business for many, many years – initially as a competitor and then, for the last couple of years, from within as their head of strategic growth,” he said.
“I have been able to get a real feel for the culture, the challenges and the strengths.
“It really does take time to gain a deep appreciation for the history and to understand how the business has evolved.
“This understanding is critical to developing a clear path forward that will not only build the business, but also resonate with those that identify with the brand both internally (our offices) and externally with the broader public and our client base.”
