The Property Council sat down with Anabel Chesters, Senior Director of Property Finance at Bankwest to find out more about herself and her career journey.
1. What do you consider to be your greatest achievements in life? (personally or professionally)
My immediate family was located in various places around the world and experiencing some difficulties in managing and assisting ageing parents. Somehow, after much persistence over time, we are now all living in Perth and able to support one another and my parents are able to enjoy time with their grandchildren and great grandchildren. Professionally, after being born, raised, lived and worked in five different countries, I seemed to have landed on my feet on each occasion. Becoming MD of and being involved in the setting up a boutique property fund and asset management company in South Africa, which had a strong mandate to invest in socially responsible projects and remain competitive on investment returns was a challenge. This opportunity allowed me travel throughout South Africa and to be involved in providing desperately needed retail and commercial infrastructure whilst generating above average returns for pensioners through their superannuation funds. Very much a win/win situation. I also consider moving to Australia and becoming a Senior Director at Bankwest Property Finance in a relatively short space of time as an achievement that I am particularly proud of.
2. What advice would you give to future leading women in property?
Stay up to date and well informed on what property is doing as an asset class, expand beyond the state that you live in and look at the various asset sub classes. There is a plethora of good research out there. Build your connections to people in the property industry and leverage off what’s on offer by industry bodies. Improve on your public speaking skills. Knowing your product well (“property”) makes public speaking on your topic a much more comfortable affair, even if it is to internal stakeholders. Build your sense of self confidence if feel you need to. Although we are seeing more women in property of late, invariably I have found that in most day to day business meetings, I am the only woman present.
3. What are the greatest challenges you have had to overcome in your career to date?
Managing time with family commitments. Having started off in the accounting world, working long hours has always been a part of my life and not much has changed. I find that trying to find balance in my life a challenge – something I have to make a conscious decision to do and seemingly doing better, particularly since the birth of my grandson and also accommodating requirements when dealing with ageing parents.
4. What can/ should the industry be doing to promote women in industry?
Flexibility, Exposure, Opportunity and Awareness. Fortunately we are moving into a work environment where the norms of what’s expected are changing and being accepted. Generally women carry the more significant load with family and children, hence flexibility is key. Working remotely and flexible work hours are proving themselves with positive outcomes. Essentially doing away with the guilt of not giving family or work the best of oneself. Make a conscious effort to provide exposure and opportunity to women in the workplace before assuming they won’t take it for whatever reason. Unfortunately not all workplaces are there yet and more needs to be done. At Bankwest we believe that providing equal access to opportunity empowers everyone to realise their potential. A diverse workforce and inclusive culture harnesses the value of our differences. Continued focus to promote women through forums such as the PCA Women in Property keeps this awareness front of mind.
5. Did you always want to work in property, if not what were your original plans?
I started out in accounting with property but then was given a level of exposure to dealing with clients in the front line and being involved in business development at the asset management firm where I worked – and haven’t looked back since. I clearly still deal with numbers today in assessing and structuring property deals but in a different sense with a focus on customer experience being the priority. Truth be told however, I have had a love for interior design, fashion and languages my whole life and it was touch and go for a while as to which direction I would take – very much the opposite of what I do today.
6. What is the next goal or project you are working towards?
More so a goal but in short, Quality vs Quantity. Professionally, I would like to find more balance and therefore more time to dedicate to mentoring in the various aspects of what I do, sharing my experiences and more so, what I have learned along the way. In essence, I hope to add value to someone else’s career. After being in the workforce for over 30 years, I would like to think that finding more professional balance, would translate into more opportunities for me to finally spend more time on one of my other non-work related interests and grow.
7. How did you come to be a Senior Director at Bankwest Property Finance?
I came to Australia 11 years ago having worked predominantly in the property asset and funds management industry, the East Coast was more of a consideration for me professionally – however that was not an option for me at the time given my family is Perth based. Therefore had to consider a slight career change and began working for Bankwest a few months after arriving. Bankwest offered a position in their Property Finance team where I would still work with property (albeit new markets in a new country to come up to speed on) and business development. This was somewhat of a shift and change in mind set, having worked in an environment where the business development objective was to secure money in as funds under management to invest in and develop property, versus lending money out for the same reason. The Bankwest team has experienced considerable growth over the last ten years which has been rewarding in that I have had opportunities to work with a variety of clients both in the listed and non-listed space. It’s an exciting time to be working for Bankwest. We’re becoming a hub for people with different skills, mindsets and new ways of working. This helps us meet challenges in a rapidly changing digital age.
8. Who have been your greatest influences, both personally and professionally?
Personally, the direction my life has taken and who I have become has been entirely influenced by my parents. Individually, they both emigrated to Africa in the 1940’s which led to my siblings and I being the first generation to learn English as our first language and be raised in a culture very different to our parents. Looking back, the opportunities that they afforded me led me in a totally different direction. I have had the privilege of being able to watch and learn from their courage but also from aspects that I have consciously made the call to make my own decisions on where I differed in opinion.
Professionally, there have been many people who I have worked with directly that I have been inspired by, people who have taken the time to support me and to add value as I have moved on and have learned from. From a more public perspective, I have admired the likes of Richard Branson in terms of making the most of opportunities in life and giving them a go and more recently his views of what he looks for when hiring someone new, which debunk more traditional views. Likewise, I have been interested in Gail Kelly’s career, a female banker having achieved so much in a male dominated industry at senior level and raising a family through her journey. Her book, Live, Lead, Learn released last year is a down to earth read.
9. What do you think are the biggest issues affecting the property industry?
Every day I drive to and from work and take note of new residential developments, I am out and about looking at assets or discussing potential new developments. I cannot help but think about how, on a global basis, we can continue to provide property infrastructure across all asset classes, to accommodate population growth, without negatively impacting our planet. We need to find ways to develop better and smarter and acknowledge that much has been spoken about in this regard over the past few years. None-the-less, the pace at which construction is occurring seemingly far outstrips the generation of ideas and outcomes to make this expansion sustainable.
10. Why did you choose to be involved in the Property Council and what are your thoughts on our various diversity initiatives?
Being involved in the Property Council has enabled me to meet and develop connections with people within the property industry. I found it particularly helpful when I first arrived and needed to gain knowledge on the property market, property market participants, issues etc. I was a member of the Industrial Lands and infrastructure Committee for a number of years which provides a more in depth focus on a particular asset class and issues. I support the Property Council’s diversity initiatives, and note that Bankwest has a strong diversity and inclusion culture which I have had the pleasure of experiencing. The Property Council’s efforts in diversity have certainly been noticeable in more recent times with increased participation by women in a number of events.
11. What is the best piece of advice you have been given?
There are a couple of pieces actually that apply to both professionally and personally:
In coping with change: “What you think was normal may not be the case.
Maybe what is happening now is the new normal, so just go with it and relax”
“Always be good to others, it will come back to you many times over”