It was once taboo to talk about succession planning in real estate , but just like with many things in the industry , the pandemic turned this on its head .

It became apparent that many business owners were increasingly more curious about knowing how to build and execute an exit strategy . This was based on many different ambitions and timelines .

Our group has always supported discussions and meetings at different times , especially around succession planning , for example a successful conference that was held on the Gold Coast in 2016 . It set the course for many of our business owners and their families at that time when planning their exit strategy through succession .

This increasing need for business owners to not only consider but also build succession planning into their business led to the birth of The Nova Project . It is a vehicle designed and built not for an actual destination , but more so the destiny for each and every business owner in the future .

Spearheaded by respected leaders in the industry including Tony Warland , Brett Graham and Carey Smith , the key to The Nova Project was to retain the wisdom developed by our business leaders over the time of their tenure , and partner that wisdom with new energy , fueled by massive ambition and dreams to fulfil . This is now clearly apparent in many formats from family members coming into leadership roles , like Tiger Malan , now the leader of Ray White Burleigh Group , as his father Larry and his mother Therese have gone on to enjoy the fruits of their labour .

Tony Warland , David Bell , Riley Neaton and Ray White Queensland CEO Jason Andrew

The Nova Project really showed its value when looking at the journey of David Bell , principal at Ray White Rockhampton . It gave David the support he needed to identify , recruit and develop his future business partner , Riley Neaton who has since achieved Chairman ’ s Elite status . When they became business partners , David was 44 years old and Riley had only just turned 25 . This combination has given rise to one of the most impressive growth stories of any real estate business in the Australian real estate industry , not just the Ray White group , with sales now approaching 1,000 per annum , and a property management business verging on 3,000 under management .

Riley is now already looking and planning for his own succession for the future , while David has now been able to achieve a more successful exit strategy than what he ’ d ever imagined .

Following this success , The Nova Project went to each and every market throughout the Ray White Australasian group . What was unifying in each and every state in Australia and the capital cities of New Zealand was that the interest of building a plan for the end game was in high demand with up to 25 per cent of our existing Ray White business owners

throughout the network coming to the table .

The truth is , in 10 years from now , 90 per cent of all of the leaders still in a Ray White business today will be in The Nova Project . This is simply the nature of things . So to make sure The Nova Project delivers in all of the elements of successful succession strategy , the Ray White network finance team ( consisting of seven specialists in business structuring , accounting and financial services ) has become a major part of the plans and discussions . Inevitably , financial capacity is explored and is integral in how transactions and succession plans come together over a defined timeline and with unique structures , which are defined by each business and its leader ' s ambition .

The Nova Project is designed in three adjoining formats : Nova Leaders , Nova Planning , and Nova Succession .

Carey Smith , the chief executive of Ray White New Zealand ’ s operations since 1998 , has put new direction into the necessary Nova Leaders . For many years , the Next Leaders program was for new inspiring Ray White members to discover whether or not business ownership was right for them . Today , with information gathered by the work done in The Nova Project , they have moved to bookend this process so that Next Leaders now become Nova Leaders .

For the purpose of opportunities that The Nova Project is now uncovering , Brett Graham has joined the Nova project team after 37 years as a highly regarded and respected Ray White business owner . With 25 years experience as a

business owner , Brett heads up the Nova Planning model .

This delivers from his experiences and shows the living proof of how and what you need to do to build a procedure , not just for the outgoing business owner , equally to show how genuinely important it is to develop the next generation of leaders .

Tony Warland , director of Ray White Queensland , now in his 35th year with the group , founded The Nova Project . Tony started working in this role after 14 years as CEO of Ray White Queensland . He could see that many of the business owners who had started with Tony ' s involvement wanted to work on how to successfully wrap up their tenure as leader in the business . Tony ' s specialty role involves working in the third part of the model - Nova Succession . This is all about recognising when it is time to start planning a stylish and graceful succession strategy over a period of time that delivers a premium outcome and actually leaves the business itself in a better position at that time than when it first originated so many years earlier .

Looking ahead , The Nova Project has become increasingly supportive to the way we see our past leaders bank all the value of their wisdom with the next line of leadership . Together , with a better future , that in turn actually gives our real estate clients the highest level of enduring professionalism to meet the everincreasing expectations of our industry . Growth will always come from staying open and curious , while complacency will limit your potential .