Incoming Peet chief executive and former mining executive, Brendan Gore, has largely missed out on most of the boom times in the sector where he spent the first 14 years of his career.
Incoming Peet chief executive and former mining executive, Brendan Gore, has largely missed out on most of the boom times in the sector where he spent the first 14 years of his career.
And, as he assumes the top job at Peet next week, it would seem something similar is unfolding for his career in property.
While property prices in some Perth suburbs are falling from the lofty heights of the past few years, an unprecedented economic boom has enveloped the sector in which Mr Gore once worked.
But Mr Gore is not too concerned about the outlook for Perth property prices, pointing out that more than 60 per cent of Peet’s earnings are now generated from the east coast, which he expects to provide good growth opportunities in the coming years.
Mr Gore takes on the CEO’s role after a period of expansion that has driven significant profit growth for Peet.
Its land bank has grown to 33,996 lots with an end value of more than $5 billion.
The 39-year-old said he was not daunted by taking on the leadership role in the 112-year-old business.
“It’s a case of continuing to build on what Warwick Hemsley [outgoing chief executive] and Tony Lennon [chairman] have built on,” Mr Gore said.
“We have a 12-year land bank and are in a very fortunate position of being able to manage our resource for the long-term value of our shareholders.
“I would much rather that than [be] trying to buy land to fill next year’s production. That’s where the risk starts to creep in to the decision making process.”
The ambitious Curtin University commerce graduate joined Australian Consolidated Minerals in the late 1980s and went on to take up various operational and commercial roles with Dominion Mining Ltd, Normandy Mining Ltd and New Hampton Goldfields Ltd.
But Mr Gore turned his back on the sector in 2000, just before global demand for commodities took off.
He took a role as chief financial officer with Mermaid Marine, which has become Australia’s largest marine services provider to the offshore oil and gas industry.
But when someone from outside of Peet suggested he apply for a chief financial officer’s role about two and a half years ago, he decided it was worth a shot.
“I have a very strong public company background and their [Peet’s] credibility was one of the attractions,” Mr Gore said.
“A company that has a strong board, a strong culture and strong governance was something I was looking for.”
Mr Gore said there were many synergies between the mining and property sectors, which made the transition to Peet a relatively seamless exercise.
“The beauty about property is that it’s not dissimilar to mining in terms of strategic acquisitions of land holdings and operational, environmental and heritage issues,” Mr Gore told WA Business News.
“There are similarities across the board and I’ve been able to apply many of these disciplines with Peet.”
Mr Gore’s financial nous has helped Peet expand its funding options beyond syndicates, particularly with regard to developing and managing Peet’s Income Property Fund.
Like his predecessor Mr Hemsley, Mr Gore has harboured ambitions to get to the top of the tree.
“Most young executives would give their right arm to get an opportunity like this,” Mr Gore said.
Mr Hemsley said Mr Gore was identified as suitable to eventually take on the role of chief executive officer not long after he joined the company as chief financial officer.
Peet created a new corporate rung on its ladder to accommodate the succession plan and to groom Mr Gore for the chief executive role.
And while it’s a job he’s been keen to step into, he has no intentions of making any big changes when he starts his new role next week.
“You are inheriting a strong legacy so my aim will be to continue the Peet culture, keep the staff and all the little things that have made the company so successful,” Mr Gore said.
“We regularly look at the business model and how we will position the company.
“We take a very long-term view and look at three years, five years, 10 years and 15 years out and have a disciplined, strategic approach to the company.”
