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Looking for inspiration?

posted on 25.10.2021

Look no further than Ingrid Filmer.

Ingrid is one of the fortunate few of us to know what they wanted to do very early on in life, and then go on to achieve great things in their chosen profession. Her passion for property management could only be surpassed by her passion for the business she manages, the people in it and their clients. Ingrid has a presence, a passion and an understanding of what it takes to succeed that is truly inspiring. 

‘I can still remember being 15 years of age, in Year 9, and being totally inspired by my mother’s passion for property management. Mum was with Spotless in Canberra and I knew right from then that was what I wanted to do.’

Canberra was an ideal place to begin her career. In property management terms, it is a pretty small pond, but with that being said, it is full of big fish in the industry. While at university working through a banking and financial management degree, Ingrid started with the Property Council of Australia. This exposed her to some of the biggest players in the industry whose insight and knowledge has been invaluable in her personal and professional development.

Making a career move 

Canberra essentially has only four major retail centres, so the career opportunity there to manage a large commercial centre was limited to say the least. So Ingrid packed up and moved to Melbourne.

‘I knew nothing about Melbourne but was fortunate in my first role there with Jones Lang LaSalle to work under the direction of Chris Smith, who to this day has been a source of inspiration and a mentor. The confidence and training provided there led to being offered the role of Head of Management with Burgess Rawson at the ripe old age of 25.’

‘Pretty daunting going from such a structured environment with systems and processes in place to a situation where I had to make the running, and with eight staff to manage. I learnt very early on that listening was one of the most important aspects of management, and surround yourself with good people, staff, consultants and your banker.’

Fast forward to 2012

Ingrid oversaw and negotiated the retirement of the founding principals and took this opportunity to reinvent the business and unite the state offices. 

‘This was an exciting and daunting time, managing the buyout of the principals, bringing on new equity partners and directors and refocussing the entire organisation. New blood is critical to growing the business, new partners are hungry for success and that drives outcomes. Surrounding yourself with consultants you trust that are at the head of their game and working with a bank that demonstrates confidence in your business is critical, employing people smarter than yourself where you can just makes sense.’

Looking after our greatest asset

‘Our people are by far our greatest asset and it’s my responsibility to ensure they are inspired to perform and have the tools and training to deliver in their roles. As members we work with the Real Estate Institutes and the Property Council to deliver training where possible.

‘Getting a start in commercial real estate can be difficult. To bring some of the brightest into the business we have implemented a Cadet program where over three years they are exposed to all aspects of the business, mentored and trained to be the best they can be.

‘This renewal ensures our business thrives and grows and provides opportunity for the next generation of equity partners to come through and an exit strategy for senior people to retire.

‘I see superannuation playing a critical role in this process also and encourage all our people to pay attention to their super. REI Super is our superannuation partner and has performed well for our people for many years. With 10% or more of salary going in each year, it is likely to be their greatest asset outside of the family home and their main source of income in retirement.’

Empowering women

‘When I retire and have more time I would love to get involved in some way to help financially educate women. Many times I have said to friends and colleagues that a man is not a plan for retirement. It is so important we take responsibility for our own financial future. Marry for love, pay attention to your super, save and invest for your own financial security.’

 

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This information has been prepared and published by REI Superannuation Fund Pty Ltd ABN 68 056 044 770 RSE L0000314 AFSL. 240569. REI Super ABN 76 641 658 449 and RSE R1000412 MySuper unique identifier 76641658449129 for the general information of members of REI Super. It does not take into account any member’s individual financial objectives, financial situation or needs.

We recommend that you seek help from a licensed financial adviser before acting on any information contained in this newsletter. Although REI Super makes every reasonable effort to maintain current and accurate information, you should be aware that there is still the possibility of inadvertent errors and technical inaccuracies.

The REI Super Helpline and the REI Super website are provided by Mercer Outsourcing (Australia) Pty Ltd ABN 83 068 908 912 and Mercer Financial Advice (Australia) Pty Ltd (MFA) ABN 76 153 168 293, Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) #411766. 
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