Industry Veterans Share Property Council’s Highest Award

Two of the property industry’s most respected leaders have been honoured as this year’s Property Council New Zealand Members’ Laureate, a lifetime membership awarded once a year at the Property Council New Zealand Rider Levett Bucknall Property Industry Awards. Having both devoted several decades of service to the property sector, Peter Mence and John Dakin have been hailed as “leaders for good”, consistently devoting as much time into developing their teams as they have developing property.

An engineer by trade, Peter Mence has spent the past 40 years working in and contributing to the property industry working with Progressive Enterprises, Challenge Properties, Richard Ellis and Green and McCahill.

Peter joined Armstrong Jones (NZ) in 1994 and was appointed General Manager of Argosy (then known as ING Property Trust) in 2007. Instrumental in the rebranding and internalisation of the company’s management, Peter was appointed Chief Executive of the business in 2009, a role he still holds to this day.

Peter is a Fellow of the Property Institute and is a past lecturer in Advanced Property Management at The University of Auckland and a current Trustee of Saint Andrews Village, and the New Zealand Sailing Trust. In 2013 he was honoured with the Stuart McIntosh award in recognition of his contribution to the University of Auckland.

Peter was previously National President of Property Council New Zealand, having served three years between 2015 and 2018. During this time Peter demonstrated exceptional commitment to the organisation and to ensuring its future was secure, whilst also taking a keen interest in the development of Property Council’s staff and its services.

Meanwhile, the second recipient of this year’s Members’ Laureate is John Dakin, chief executive of Goodman. John has spent over three decades in the property industry, including property and corporate transactions, valuations, research, asset management and investment management.

During his career John has held senior roles in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. John’s first involvement with the Property Council was his appointment as research manager in 1993. Four years later became the National Director, a role he held for four years before heading to Australia to progress his career in the property funds management sector.

John relocated back to New Zealand in 2003 and in 2004 was appointed CEO of Goodman (NZ) Limited following Goodman Group’s acquisition of the management contract of Colonial First State Property Trust, subsequently rebranded Goodman Property Trust.

In the 17 years since, under John’s leadership the portfolio has grown from assets of approximately $225 million to $3.6 billion (as of March 2021), making it New Zealand’s largest listed property entity.

John has actively been involved with the Property Council since his time as staff and has moved on to become a strong member supporter, Industry Leader, National Councillor and recently, National Chair from 2018 to 2020.

His time as National Chair was dominated by the accomplishment of joining forces with incoming chief executive, Leonie Freeman, to drive inspirational change at Property Council. John’s service in his term as National Chair saw the organisation reposition to create a more modern, contemporary and future-focused organisation representing the property sector. John was instrumental in launching Property Council’s commitment to Diversity and Inclusion in 2018 and is an active champion for change in our industry. His contribution was further enhanced as he Chaired Property Council through the unprecedented challenges of COVID-19 in 2020.

Property Council chief executive Leonie Freeman says: “It gives us great pleasure to present this year’s Member Laureate to not one but two deserving recipients. I’d like to personally congratulate both Peter and John for this well-earned award and thank them for their enormous contribution to both the property industry and the wider community.”

For more information on the Property Council New Zealand’s Rider Levett Bucknall Property Industry Awards, and a full list of winners and nominees, visit the Awards website.

About the Property Industry Awards

The prestigious Property Council New Zealand Rider Levett Bucknall Property Industry Awards are presented to outstanding property projects, developments or substantive refurbishments across New Zealand. The Awards recognise properties that provide an outstanding return and/or delivery of service potential on investment of funds. For some this means a return on speculative investment; for others it means creating a development that supports productive activities, which creates value for both owners and users.

The Property Council New Zealand Members' Laureate honours those individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to both the organisation and wider property industry. This lifetime membership is awarded once a year at the Property Council New Zealand Rider Levett Bucknall Property Industry Awards.

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