CEO’s report
Gil King REIV CEO
At the end of the year, it will be almost five years since I walked into the REIV office to take on the daunting role of Chief Executive Officer. I had a lot of ideas for change, and as the first few weeks passed, I developed additional ideas for change. To be brutally honest, the REIV was an organisation that needed a refresh. One of my annoying habits is that I rarely look back and worry about the past. I tend to look at the here and now, and into the future. The words of Socrates have always held true to me: “The secret of change is to focus all your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” This, of course, is another annoying habit of mine – I love quotations.
By now most of you will know that I have announced my decision to retire at the end of this year. And, of course, if you didn’t know, well … now you do.
I remember sitting in that big office on the first floor and wondering how the kid who was enrolled in but rarely attended Noble Park High School got to sit in that chair. I have many people along my journey to thank for unwittingly allowing me to steal their good ideas and traits, and discard their bad ones. To say there were many organisational challenges is an understatement. I set my sights on some main goals. First, there was a poor, top-heavy organisational structure which needed to be corrected. Second, I was keen to promote a culture of responsible accountable spending backed by strong financial management with clear and
transparent reports to the Board. Next was to future-proof the organisation (little did we realise how important this would be when COVID-19 hit in 2020 and we were able to seamlessly transition to working from home due to our newly developed and comprehensive Business Continuity Plan). Next, the culture of the organisation needed to change to ensure 21st-century policies and procedures were developed, put in place and monitored. Finally, it was important to develop trust among the staff and ensure that respect for others was paramount. At the time I thought that was pretty much it, but like all organisations I soon came to realise that it was like peeling an onion. As I removed one layer, there
REIV CEO Gil King and former REIV President Leah Calnan hold a webinar for Members.
2017 REIV Ignite Conference: Former REIV President Joe Walton, REIV CEO Gil King, Western Bulldogs Coach Luke Beveridge and Wesfarmers Department Stores CEO Guy Russo. 6 | The Estate Agent – NOVEMBER 2021
REIV CEO Gil King, Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas and former REIV President Leah Calnan.
