🔑 A founder hands over after 17 years, a new president in the west, a Margaret River beachhead

In this week’s edition of Movers +Shakers…

eXp founder Glenn Sanford hands global leadership to Leo Pareja

Glenn Sanford, who founded eXp in 2009, has handed the chief executive role at the group's Nasdaq-listed parent company, AGNT, to Leo Pareja. Leo has run eXp Realty since April 2024 and led the group's acquisition of NextHome, and took over on 8 October after a unanimous board vote. Glenn stays on as chairman. Leo says his focus is giving every agent the tools, technology and ownership stake to compete in an AI-native market. More here

REIWA Council elects Rob Mandanici as Institute's new president

REIWA has a new president. The Council has elected Rob Mandanici, who served as Suzanne Brown's deputy for the past two years, with Peta McKenzie elected Deputy President. Rob's background spans residential sales and residential and retail property management, and CEO Blaine Slater says his experience of legislative change in Victoria will help in understanding how similar reform could play out in WA. More here

Knight Frank appoints Ben Turner and Georgia McDonald to NSW team

John Brasier's NSW office leasing team at Knight Frank has two more signings. Ben Turner, most recently JLL's Head of Office Leasing, Sydney CBD, joins as a partner focused on major project leasing, large backfills and development leasing. Georgia McDonald comes from Cushman & Wakefield as associate director, with more than seven years in the Sydney CBD office market. Both start in early 2027. More here

Mark Murray joins LJ Hooker ahead of Margaret River expansion

LJ Hooker Property South West is heading to Margaret River, and Mark Murray is its agent on the ground. He'll work remotely in the region until new premises open next year, adding to principal Brent Spooner's offices in Bunbury, Busselton, Collie and Dunsborough. Mark started in real estate in 2012 after more than 15 years farming broadacre properties and running his own business, and sits on the REIWA Rural Committee. More here

Alessandra Knez joins Harcourts as property operations manager

Property management teams across Harcourts Victoria and Harcourts SA have a new support role to call on. Alessandra Knez is the new property operations manager for both, bringing 15 years in real estate and Property Management of the Year recognition in 2025 and 2026. She's also a certified life and mindset coach, and Head of Property Management Karmen Costigan says that focus on people will help offices build capability and confidence. More here

Raj Bhandari brings established Kellyville agency to First National

Raj Bhandari's Hills District agency now trades as First National Kellyville. The sales and property management business has run from North Kellyville since 2019, and Raj says clients will keep dealing with the same local people. What changes is the support behind them – training, technology, marketing and property management resources – with First National's cooperative structure a big part of the appeal. More here

LATEST ROLES

Chris Perrone joins Knight Frank's industrial tenant team

Businesses hunting for industrial and logistics space have a new adviser at Knight Frank. Chris Perrone has joined as Associate Director, Tenant Representation – Industrial, based in Melbourne, most recently from property and warehouse matching platform uTenant. Chris will work alongside Partner Richard Trumbull on site selection, lease negotiations, relocations and renewals, and brings more than a decade across commercial property, logistics and business ownership. More here

PRD Queanbeyan adds Adam Heading to its sales team

Local agent Adam Heading has joined the sales team at PRD Queanbeyan. Sales and Operations lead Martina Woodford says Adam has built a strong reputation across the region for his honest approach, market knowledge and long-term client relationships. He's seeing buyers do more research and focus on value, with Queanbeyan's affordability, lifestyle and proximity to Canberra still drawing local and interstate purchasers. More here

Dan White tells members Ray White has "more of the best"

Ray White's awards season has wrapped, with more than 5,500 members at eight events across Australia and in Auckland. In the spring White Report, Managing Director Dan White told members the events followed a record year for the group. By Ray White's own figures, 24 of Australia's top 100 agents by value of property sold are with the group – more than the next three brands combined. More here

Marcus Washington: Building freedom and flexibility in Pakenham

Marcus Washington's Area Specialist Solutions now owns its own factory. Five years after joining Area Specialist, Marcus has bought a factory outright and set up an office inside it, giving the Pakenham business room to grow. He now has two sales consultants and a property manager, the rent roll has gone from 30 to 110 properties in eight months, and he's aiming for 600 under management within five years. More here

REA Group's Excellence Awards mark a decade with 11 categories

REA Group's Excellence Awards are marking their 10th anniversary, and submissions are open until 11:59pm on Friday 6 November. There are 11 submission-based categories, from Rising Star of the Year to Most Influential Woman in Property, plus a data-driven Top Agent award that eligible customers enter automatically. Winners receive grants of up to $10,000, with finalists and winners announced in February. More here

Jellis Craig targets $100,000 in first Foundation Month

Jellis Craig is spending October raising money for the Jellis Craig Foundation and five charity partners, including LifeChanger, The Big Umbrella and The Lighthouse Foundation. Its first Foundation Month began with a fun run around Albert Park Lake on Friday 2 October, where around 300 team members turned out with families and pets. Staff are fundraising individually, every open for inspection this month carries donation materials, and the target is $100,000. More here

ALSO, DID YOU MISS…

• Troy McGuinness joins Colliers to lead ACT office leasing
• Richard Clucas, Michael Hallam join hohm Property Group as partners

And finally…