Board of Directors

Non-executive Director

BEc LLB BSc (Arch), 56

 

Director since:

18 July 2022

 

Skills and Experience

Mr Ross is an experienced real estate and finance executive with a corporate career of more than 25 years in commercial banking, investment banking, funds management and real estate development and investment. His career has spanned both major financial institutions and large real estate and funds management organisations. His experience encompasses corporate and financial advisory, M&A, and capital raising across equity and debt markets.

Mr Ross was formerly the Managing Director and Global Head of Real Estate for the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) where he had responsibility for all institutional real estate relationships in Australia and internationally including Asia, Europe, USA and the Middle East. In this role Mr Ross managed a large team that provided debt and equity, and global markets solutions to clients and oversaw one of the largest real estate debt portfolios in the Asia Pacific.

Prior to joining CBA, Mr Ross was the Head of Business Development (incorporating M&A and Strategy) at ING Real Estate Investments Australia, where he was a member of the executive committee overseeing the operations of listed and unlisted real estate funds, during a period of great change following the GFC. Mr Ross came to this role after an extensive career in the investment banking sector with both Goldman Sachs Australia and Deutsche Bank (where he was Head of Real Estate Investment Banking for Australia and New Zealand). In his career as an investment banker Mr Ross was a trusted advisor to boards and management teams and managed major M&A transactions and equity and debt capital raisings including IPO’s.

Mr Ross’ foundations in real estate, investment and funds management stem from his career at Lendlease Corporation, where he held roles across the real estate spectrum, from development, investment and funds management, acquisitions and divestments and capital raisings. His experience spanned multiple asset classes (including office, retail and industrial property), and included major acquisitions, and the formation and listing of new real estate investment trusts.

Throughout his career Mr Ross has had broad experience with boards and corporate governance issues both as a management representative and as a corporate advisor. Additionally, he has a broad understanding of real estate markets forged across market cycles, capital structures and credit risk assessment.

Mr Ross has a strong interest in diversity and inclusion issues and was Chair of CBA’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee in the Institutional Bank and a member of the CBA’s Gender Steering Committee.

Mr Ross holds a Bachelor of Economics, a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Science (Architectural) and has a deep professional and personal interest in architecture and planning, in particular the ways cities develop from a commercial, technological, environmental and social perspective.

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