People on the move – 23 June 2015

People on the move – 23 June 2015Steve Maras elected SA President of the Property Council of Australia; Troy Pickard appointed president of the Australian Local Government Association; and Angus Klem appointed as managing director of Knight Frank’s North Sydney office.The Property Council of Australia has announced that Steve Maras will take over the position of South Australia President from outgoing president Ben Yates, managing director of Development & Advisory. Maras is group managing director and CEO of the Maras Group.Maras has identified a number of priorities he sees as needing focus during his presidency including: smart population growth, particularly Adelaide CBD’s residential population; financing, funding and delivery of job-creating infrastructure projects; implementing a modernised planning system free of blockages; and widespread tax reform to enable economic growth.”I am passionate about helping South Australia reach its great potential and I’m confident the Property Council can continue to work with all levels of government and the community to make our tax system fairer, our cities more productive, our economy more prosperous and our housing more affordable,” Maras says.SA Executive Director Daniel Gannon paid tribute to Ben Yates’ two years in the presidency role and welcomed the new leadership team.”Ben has made an outstanding contribution to the property industry and, on behalf of members and staff, I thank him for his leadership, drive and wise counsel,” Gannon says.”It’s also exciting to welcome general manager of Sarah Constructions, Adrian Esplin, to our powerful leadership team comprising Steve Maras, Build Tec’s Anthony Carrocci and KPMG’s Con Tragakis.”The Property Council’s new leadership team is ready to hit the ground running – that starts with widespread reform to our tax system, planning system and people flow.”Meanwhile, Troy Pickard will relinquish the role of president of the Western Australian Local Government Association (WALGA) to become president of the Australian Local Government Association.Pickard has been Mayor of the City of Joondalup, in Perth, since 2006 and has played an active role in debates over planning reform and infrastructure in WA. He says one of WALGA’s greatest achievements in the five years he has served as president has been to educate the broader WA community about the range of services provided by its 139 local councils.At Knight Frank, Angus Klem has been appointed managing director of the North Sydney office. Klem joins Knight Frank from CBRE, where he worked for 16 years – a term that included setting up and managing CBRE’s South Sydney and Newcastle offices. Richard Horne, Knight Frank managing director of NSW, said Klem brings with him extensive experience, deep-rooted client connections and extensive knowledge of the Sydney and North Shore markets.”This strategic hire is in line with our growing business,” Horne adds.