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Highland, which currently touts a leadership team that is predominantly female, is adding firepower to its executive slate with its latest appointment.
The Sydney property agency shared that Laura McKay has been promoted from being the group’s managing director and will now step into the role of chief operating officer following her “proven track record in customer service, mentoring, and sales”.
Ranked as one of the top five agents for REB’s Women in Real Estate this year and bagging the title of number one ranked agent in REB’s Women in Real Estate in 2021, Ms McKay has over 20 years of experience in the industry — 12 of which were with Highland.
Highland noted that Ms McKay’s demonstration of exceptional business expertise throughout her run in the industry had made her “a driving force in the company’s growth”.
In her new role, Ms McKay will be working with Highland chief financial officer Kylie West, who is an original forerunner and partner of Highland and brings 25 years of experience to the table to boot.
Together, Ms McKay and Mrs West will be responsible for providing strategic leadership, direction, and management to the group, which was described by Highland as “the finest form of female collaboration”.
“Laura’s vision and values are so seamlessly aligned with that of Highland’s, and we have every confidence she is the right individual for COO to lead Highland’s continued growth and evolution into the company’s future,” said Mrs West.
Ms McKay has welcomed the appointment with enthusiasm. “Working for Highland is extremely rewarding. I love leading and mentoring my team of enthusiastic and determined sales agents because we all share the same goal of delivering exceptional service to achieve strong sales.
“I’m excited to see what the future holds in my new role working alongside Kylie,” she stated.
Ms McKay will join Highland’s leadership roster, which prides itself as living testament to the expression “the future is female” — which captures the current movement of empowering and including women across every sector of society.
Sarah Street, Nicci Hart, and Nicole Gabriel are also part of Highland’s team of female industry leaders and are also credited for helping the company excel.
Ms Street, who helps lead the firm as the group’s sales director, oversees the firm’s continued strategic expansion into key growth areas across Sydney and is lauded for holding multiple suburb, street, and complex sales records.
Adding to the leadership powerhouse is Ms Hart, who has held the post of head of people and culture at Highland for the last seven years and has also been acknowledged for accentuating the agency’s values while managing a productive team environment.
As the head of brand and marketing at the firm for seven years, Ms Gabriel is also considered by the firm as a valuable addition to its leadership team, thanks to her more than 17 years of experience in developing marketing programs with a “keen focus on engaging customers and driving sales”.
In an industry highly regarded as male-dominated, Mrs West remarked it is refreshing to see the emergence of successful women in real estate.
“It is extremely empowering, especially for the women we employ here and those wishing to get into the industry, to see such a strong team of women paving the way.
“Many will say representation is important, and by employing women in a range of diverse roles, Highland can proudly show we agree,” she concluded.
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