Industry veterans share Property Council’s highest award

Peter Mence and John Dakin, two of the property industry’s most respected leaders have been honoured as this year’s Property Council New Zealand Members’ Laureate.

The prestigious lifetime membership is 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, Mence and Dakin were called ‘‘leaders for good’’ consistently devoting as much time into developing their teams as they have developing property.

In congratulating the laureates, Property Council chief executive Leonie Freeman said that both had made an enormous contribution to both the property industry and the wider community.

‘‘It gives us great pleasure to present this year’s Member Laureate to not one but two deserving recipients. I’d like to congratulate both Peter and John for this wellearned award.’’

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 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, 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, 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.

John Dakin, chief executive of Goodman, has spent over three decades in the property industry, including property and corporate transactions, valuations, research, asset management and investment management, holding senior roles in the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand.

John’s first involvement with property council was as research manager in 1993. Four years later he became the national director before heading to Australia four years later. John returned to New Zealand in 2003, and in 2004 was appointed CEO of Goodman (NZ) following Goodman Group’s acquisition of the management contract of Colonial First State Property

Trust, subsequently rebranded Goodman Property Trust.

Under his 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 been actively involved with the Property Council since his role as research manager and has 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 and to create a more contemporary and futurefocused organisation representing the property sector.

Mence and Dakin were called ‘‘leaders for good’’ consistently devoting as much time into developing their teams as they have developing property.