Network & Industry News

David Edwards appointed as new First National Real Estate Chief Executive

Yesterday, National Chair, Rob Westwood announced that after an extensive recruitment process involving both internal and external candidates, First National has appointed David Edwards as its next Chief Executive. 

David is an experienced CEO who brings to First National Real Estate a strong track record in cooperative and franchise-based organisations such as Mitre 10, Placemakers (New Zealand) and Forty Winks.

He is known for working with independent and family-owned retail businesses, where he has driven business growth, innovation and results.

David describes himself as possessing a 'servant leader' style, with his focus being on the growth and well-being of all team members. He is passionate about creating cultures where motivated people can thrive and form cohesive, highly effective teams.

'As we move forward in servicing your business, the needs of your staff, and the customers who place their trust in First National Real Estate, we are committed to integrity, innovation, and industry best practice,' said Rob Westwood.

'I want to take this opportunity to thank everybody who has assisted in this process, the internal candidates who stepped forward, and the entire corporate administration team who I know will see this new chapter as an exciting step into the future.'

David commences on the 8th of April and will be in contact with our membership shortly thereafter. In the interim, please feel free to connect with David on LinkedIn and welcome him to First National.

AWARDS: QLD GEM Award Winners Announced

Our Queensland agents were presented with their 2024 GEM Awards at Hilton Brisbane on Saturday 9 March. 

During the evening, the FN Cleveland was declared winner of the Magnificent 7 – No.1 Sales Office of the Year - for a fourth consecutive year - and FN Townsville (Aitkenvale) - won Magnificent 7 - No.1 Investor Relations Management Office of the Year for the first time.

Topping the individual awards was Melissa Starkey, FN Surfers Paradise, who took home Magnificent 7 - No.1 Investor Relations Manager of the Year; Sonya Scott, FN Property Solutions (Palm Beach), who won Magnificent 7 - No.1 Business Development Manager of the Year, and Ryan McCann, FN Cleveland, who achieved Magnificent 7 - No.1 Salesperson of the Year. 

$3,000 Raised for FN Foundation

The network specifically thanks former member and FN Advocate, Wayne Nicholson, for donating two fundraising items and conducting the auction personally. Winning bids were received from:

• $800 - Rugby Union Photo, Lance Baxter, FN Complete (Rockhampton)
• $2,200 – Origin Photo, Warren Daniells, FN Surat Basin Chinchilla

AWARDS: VIC/TAS GEM Award Winners Announced

Victoria’s and Tasmania’s agents were presented with their GEM Awards at Grand Hyatt Melbourne last Saturday night. 

FN Charles L. King & Co (Echuca) was announced Magnificent 7 – No.1 Sales Office of the Year (for second consecutive year) and FN Hall & Partners (Dandenong) was declared Magnificent 7 - No.1 Investor Relations Management Office of the Year (for the fourth year in a row).

Topping the individual awards was Jackie Lyons, FN Hall & Partners (Dandenong), who took home Magnificent 7 - No.1 Investor Relations Manager of the Year; Stephanie Millard, FN Bonnici & Associates (Wodonga) who won Magnificent 7 - No.1 Business Development Manager of the Year, and Ethan He, FN JXRE (Clayton), who achieved Magnificent 7 - No.1 Salesperson of the Year.

UPSKILLING: QLD Power Up Conference receives accolades

Delegates at our Queensland Power Up sales conference were pumped about the quality of speakers and the ideas they took back to their agencies to drive better results. 

However, it was the feedback of two ex-franchise new network members – Andrew South and Celly Jeal - that remind us that it is always interesting to receive an external perspective. 

‘Thank you for putting on a great day at Sales Power Up in Brisbane. I thought the variety and quality of the speakers was exceptional. That is easily the best day of training I have attended in a long time.  Well done & thank you.’

Andrew South

FN By The Bay (Birkdale, QLD)

Former franchisee

‘I headed down to Brisbane for a training session, where I was privileged to hear some amazing speakers who imparted their knowledge and experience - I think I was the biggest nerd in the room - furiously scribbling notes! I also shared the room with other First National business owners and sales agents who were truly inspirational and very welcoming to me, the ‘newby’ in the network. The Queensland First National Awards were held on Saturday night; it was amazing to meet so many people and to celebrate their achievements! I’m sorry I didn’t manage to get any pictures at the awards, but everyone looked beautiful! I can’t wait to see what the future holds for First National Tin Can Bay!’

Celly Jeal

FN Tin Can Bay (QLD)

Former franchisee

‘The range of speakers and topics was broad and, after speaking to some other delegates during that afternoon, they highly resonated with William Yip’s approach to business, which suits a more introverted personality type. I think it was a welcome relief to some personality types in that you don’t have to be an extroverted bravado type person to succeed.’

Jake Holmes

FN Moreton (Burpengary, QLD)

UPSKILLING: Claiming Doors Praised by Industry Experts

Industry expert, Lee Woodward, has been delivering his Claiming Doors presentation series in New South Wales in recent weeks – once again to acclaim across the network. 

‘I attended the Lee Woodward training last week in Parramatta and it was worth every minute. Although I have been in the industry for a long time, I always take something away from Lee’s training and this time did not disappoint. Lee’s style of training, his humour and direct approach makes for valuable learning. I have already implemented some of Lee’s ideas and can’t wait to reap the rewards.’

Karen Joseph

FN Manly (NSW)

INDUSTRY: Corporate Team @Ready24

REA’s Ready24 conference at Randwick Racecourse in Sydney provided the opportunity for our corporate team to meet network growth prospects and stay in touch with the latest developments. 

Tennis great, Andre Agassi provided a rousing keynote and Seth Watts provided the latest insights on AI in real estate, indicating AI Bots will soon be looking after your call backs! Other speakers touched on human behaviours and experience, future technologies and personal agenda apps.

UPSKILLING: South Australia & Northern Territory

Don’t Miss Your Chance to See Tom Panos!

First National really does provide you with unique access to the industry’s leading trainers and SA/NT sales agents, now’s your chance to see Tom Panos – a man whose reputation needs no gilding! 

Don’t miss out. Register now.

SERVICE: Holding the Fort in Darwin

SA/NT BGM, Trent Godfrey dodged crocodiles to visit the team recently at FN O’Donoghues (Darwin, NT). They took number one positions for sales and investor relations at our recent SA/NT GEM Awards.  

SERVICE:  Members Share Experience at Zone Lunches

NSW BGM, Sarah Barton has been hosting Zone luncheons with her members, recently bringing together New South Wales’ Northern Hills/North-Western, Inner West and Liverpool/Bankstown Zones.

Hot topics amongst members have been keeping up with technology, embracing AI, virtual assistants, property management market conditions and landlord expectations.

We thank our Performance Partners who attended these gatherings to share their latest news:

• Direct Connect – George Lattouf & Naomi Lloyd
• REA – Luke Dore
• Honan Insurance - Lea Mac & Teighan Carr
• Macquarie Bank - Stuart Hobden

SERVICE: Getting Ready for Rural Muster in Mildura

There’s always plenty going on the background at First National and so Victorian BGM, James Bateman, combined his recent service visit to FN Collie & Tierney (Mildura, VIC) with an assessment of our events team’s planning options for the upcoming Rural & Regional Muster, looked after most ably by Rural Chapter Chair, Robert Stephens.

UPSKILLING: Investor Relations Training with Hayley Mitchell

Hayley Mitchell’s recent IR training covered key aspects of office structure procedures, negotiation skills, sensitive scenarios, and growth strategies. The program is designed to empower property management professionals with the knowledge and tools needed to navigate various challenges seamlessly.

‘Great session as an overview and refresher for the whole team and First National network. We are dedicated to continuing to learn and grow for our clients’

FN Ranges (Belgrave, VIC)