By Gina McClement Head of Marketing, Rockend
When it came to selecting a leader to represent both New Zealand and Rockend, Gillian Dawe was the clear choice. Born and bred in Dunedin, Gillian has lived in Wellington, Christchurch (prior to and during all earthquakes), and Auckland where she is currently based. Bringing high standards, transparency and humour to the role, Gillian also brings an impressive amount of leadership experience and passion for business.
The last 20 years of her career have been spent in the travel and airline industry; her previous position being in senior management at Air New Zealand where she headed up their in-house travel management business. Her strong connection to the country and expansive business acumen will be key in driving Rockend into the future, in which New Zealand is an active priority.
Joining Rockend as the General Manager of New Zealand, Gillian will be driving sales, marketing, retention, and growth; as well as leading the overall strategic direction and stakeholder engagement for the business. “The role appealed to me because of my passion and interest in business, technology, and the potential for Rockend’s New Zealand operation to grow productivity and profit in a Kiwi-centric way, all the while being backed by the investment, knowledge, and resources of Rockend Australia,” says Dawe.
Rockend recognises that New Zealand are the movers and shakers, and world-leaders in both adopting and producing technology, which is why we are investing in and building an NZ-based team who will be dedicated to supporting our customers there. “We are committed to providing our customers with both consistency and a presence that ensure their needs and wants are heard and actioned,” explains Rockend CEO Alister Maple-Brown. Gillian is making it her priority to understand and get to know Rockend’s New Zealand customers, what’s important to them, and to ensure this is being considered and fed back into the future roadmap of the business.
“In many ways, New Zealand and Rockend are closely aligned, which is why the business views New Zealand as the land of opportunity, and an important part of the organisation's future,” states Dawe. Unlike its competitors, Rockend is a privately owned and family run business that has been supporting the property industry in Australasia with market leading software for 37 years. Like New Zealand, Rockend and its suite of products - PropertyTree, REST Professional, File SMART, and STRATA Master – are future-focused. All products are developed to support the rapid rate of innovation experienced by NZ businesses, and are designed to grow with them.
“My arrival means a strong voice for New Zealand within Rockend, a point of escalation, improved business structure, and a clear two-way street for communication that is focused on adding value, innovation and support,” Dawe explains when asked what her arrival means for Rockend’s New Zealand customers. She goes on to add, “If there is one quote that I draw on more than any other to support my values, it is a lesson from American civil-rights activist Maya Angelou: ‘people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel’."
With this newly appointed positon filled by a NZ native of Gillian’s calibre, along with Rockend’s legacy and clear vision for the future, New Zealand customers and its wider community of property professionals can rest assured that they will be invested in, supported and well represented.