In profile: JLL Victoria's head of property and asset management, Melinda van der Westhuizen
NAME: Melinda van der Westhuizen
POSITION: Head of property and asset management
COMPANY: JLL
Describe the most interesting property you have sold.
I can't confess to selling - rather I have purchased a student accommodation facility on behalf of a not-for profit organisation for use as asylum seeker accommodation - both interesting and socially worthwhile.
What are the ingredients to being successful in your job?
Integrity and ethics; listening before speaking; resilience and learning from the challenges; celebrating the wins; understanding clients fully and tailoring solutions for them and building a strong team and actively encouraging their professional and personal growth.
What aspects of your role do you enjoy the most?
The clients - by understanding their drivers we can tailor services and optimise their investment outcomes - and our people. Our team is our strength and the foundation is the combined skill and contribution of each individual.
Where would you invest a spare $750,000?
Firstly, am I after long term capital growth or a dividend yield along the way? Let's presume I am in it for the medium term and want the dividends and the capital uplift. I think I will be looking at a slice of a diversified property portfolio with some exposure to development activity and the majority to ownership of core assets across commercial, industrial and retail classes.
Which football team do you support?
Carlton...did I mention I am patient?
What's your favourite app or techno gadget?
This will sound unexciting, but I like to spend my time on things I want to be doing at work and in my leisure time, so technology that minimises time spent on the mundane such as banking apps are my lifeline.
How do you use social media?
Facebook is how I track what my teenagers are up to! Seriously, LinkedIn is great for industry networking and Facebook is how I keep in touch with interstate friends and contacts. I suspect I could be a twitter tragic so I haven't gone there yet...it could be addictive.