Leanne Pilkington

Today’s episode features Leanne Pilkington, one of the real estate industry’s most respected and sought after commentators. After all, she’s been in the industry for four decades. Leanne is Chief Executive Officer and Director of leading New South Wales boutique real estate group Laing+Simmons. She was the first woman to lead a real estate franchise organisation across the country. Addressing the gender imbalance, empowering women agents and contributing to a fairer operating environment are all key passions for Leanne. She continues to pioneer industry firsts such as establishing a women’s real estate networking group, and introducing counselling and employee assistance programs for Laing+Simmons team members, while serving on industry bodies and championing the growth of professionalism in the industry at large. Her experience covers the full spectrum of real estate services: residential sales, property management, retail management and development. Overseeing the whole Laing+Simmons group as well as focusing on the growth and development of each franchise, Leanne is instrumental in developing new products, services and training systems to meet the varying needs of each business owner. Leanne joined Laing+Simmons in 1995 as a Franchise and Administration Manager. In 1997 she was promoted to Marketing Manager and became General Manager in 2000. In 2015 she was promoted to Managing Director. In 2021, Leanne joined the Board of Laing+Simmons as the network’s CEO. Leanne completed her Masters Degree in Business Administration at the University of Western Sydney in 2005. She used Laing+Simmons as her research subject in her thesis which analysed the attitudes and expectations of business owners, sales people and consumers. This has contributed to a strong grasp of issues that affect the real estate group and the property market generally. In this Episode Leanne explains How to change company culture, create your own version of success and dance like no-one is watching. Enjoy.