Gerard Bongiorno
With over 25 years of professional experience in corporate finance, real estate and investment, as well as extensive experience in capital raising and corporate advisory, Gerard has established a proven track record of establishing and managing Australian and international real estate funds.
Previously as Principal of Arcadis Capital, a merchant banking operation, Gerard's primarily role was capital raising for the development of real estate funds management business, mining investment and structured debt for distressed investment.
Prior to forming Arcadis, Gerard was Head of Property Funds Management at Challenger Financial Services Group (CFG), an ASX listed, diversified financial services firm. The CFG business comprised $400m of real estate managed for syndicates and $2.6b managed for the Life fund, with Gerard responsible for management of the syndicates, sourcing new investment opportunities and capital for both the syndicates and the life company as well as the establishment of alternative investment vehicles.
Prior to Challenger, Gerard was Group Special Projects Manager at Village Roadshow (ASX listed entertainment group). Earlier in his career he worked at KPMG in insolvency and corporate Finance.
Gerard received his Bachelors Degree in Economics and Accounting from Monash University and the Program for Management development at Harvard Business School PMD75.
Trevor Hardie
Trevor has over 25 years of professional experience in property specialising in funds management, development and portfolio investment management.
Until the recent takeover, Trevor was the Fund Manager of Challenger Diversified Property Group (ASX: CDI), a $600m market cap listed AREIT with gross assets of $900m, with specific responsibility for the ongoing overall management of the trust. This included responsibility for strategy, financial and investment performance and transaction evaluation and execution.
Trevor has extensive experience and expertise in Retail, Office and Industrial property sectors, International property, debt and corporate structuring experience (Australia, USA, UK, France and New Zealand), Capital markets experience including debt and equity raisings, Strong history in identifying and adding value to properties together with sound commercial judgment in acquiring and disposing of properties, Strong corporate governance mindset and ability to deal at Board level and Strong and credible relationships with REIT investors and understanding of their investment criteria.
Prior to appointment as Fund Manager, Trevor was Portfolio Manager for CDI, responsible for maximising the financial and physical outcomes from the CDI property portfolio. This role was not replaced and has been incorporated into the Fund Manager role. Trevor has also held a number of senior roles within Challenger’s property division; including General Manager of the listed Challenger Income Property Trust (CPIT) previously Village Entertainment Property Trust, Head of Property Asset Management, and Head of Property with peak total gross asset value of A$3.5billion across retail, office and industrial sectors with experience also in the USA, UK, NZ and French markets.
Trevor has a Bachelor of Business majoring in Valuation and Land Economy from Curtin University, a Diploma in Real Estate Management from Perth Tech and a Master of Business Administration from Monash University. Trevor is also a Fellow of the Australian Property Institute (FAPI) and a Licensed Real Estate Agent in NSW and WA.
Chris Garnaut
Chris has had a distinguished career of 28 years in the financial services industry. Chris has acted as an adviser to many of Australia’s most successful business entrepreneurs and has extensive experience in equities and commercial property analysis. Chris studied Business Management at Columbia University, New York and is a regular industry speaker.
Chris was named by Money Management Magazine as one of Australia’s top 10 financial advisers.
Chris is Chairman of Otway’s Investment Committee and is the Chairman and founder of Fawkner Property Management, a private property syndication company, which currently manages A$188m of retail and commercial assets.
Billie O’Heare-Young
Asset & Funds Manager
Billie graduated in mid-2013 with a degree in Property & Real Estate from Deakin University, majoring in Sustainability & Management. She achieved the highest mark ever awarded for Property Management studies.
Billie has previously worked in residential property management in inner city Melbourne, and holds an Agents Representative Certificate.
Billie commenced work with Fawkner Property in late 2013, and is currently working across all areas of property, fund and asset management.
Billie manages all of Fawkner's Otway’s properties in-house, in order to form strong relationships with tenants. Billie works closely with the Financial Controller, Investor Relations Manager and both Directors in her capacity as Asset & Fund Manager