Media Release

Following an extensive recruitment search, Alan Miller has joined Villawood Properties as the company’s new CEO.

Mr. Miller is one of Australia’s most credentialed property executives with 30 years of experience behind him.  He will be moving to Villawood from his position of Development Director for Peet Limited’s South Australian operations.

Villawood Properties lost its beloved CEO, Phil Hanna, unexpectedly in December 2018 and in the time since Executive Directors, Rory Costelloe and Tony Johnson, have been taking an even more active role in steering the company, supported by the senior leadership team.

Mr. Costelloe, who stepped in as interim CEO in February, said the lengthy interview process was driven by the desire to find a candidate with the right balance of industry experience and cultural fit.

“Villawood has spent 30 years building a legacy of sustainability, innovation and a commitment to genuine community building, so it was imperative to us that whoever we appointed shared these values and could deliver meaningful leadership.

“It was also essential we engage someone with the passion to inspire the team to perform to their best, combined with the maturity to be sensitive to what the whole team has been through in the past few months,” said Mr. Costelloe.

Mr. Johnson, who has been instrumental in Villawood’s expansion into Queensland and New South Wales, said Mr Miller’s wealth of interstate experience was viewed as highly beneficial to Villawood’s future plans.

“Alan has held leadership roles for both CIC (purchased by Peet in 2013) and Delfin (now Lendlease), across the South Australian, West Australian and Northern Territory, which we felt provided a unique perspective.

“Both Delfin and CIC were companies that pioneered high standards of community delivery, and we are confident Alan will continue to energise and guide Villawood’s philosophy of innovation and creativity as we move forward,” Mr. Johnson said.

Mr. Miller said that he was excited to meet the team and the prospect of delivering on Villawood’s community imperative.

“Villawood’s community development model, insomuch as the amount of resource and time they invest into creating genuine connections both within the projects they deliver and the community at large, is unique in Australia and sets the company apart from the competition.

“I like the fact that Villawood is an unlisted privately held developer as the decisions that are made will best reflect the interests of the community and the owners because long term considerations are always a factor,” Mr. Miller said.

Both Mr. Costelloe and Mr. Johnson thank Villawood’s staff for their resilience and perseverance, particularly in the first half of 2019. Mr. Miller commenced at Villawood Properties on 5 August.