NICOLA McDougall has been elected as the new chair of the Property Investment Professionals of Australia (PIPA), as Peter Koulizos steps down.
McDougall has been a voluntary director of the PIPA board since 2014, before last week being unanimously elected as the board’s new chair.
“PIPA has grown in prominence significantly over recent years due to the steady guidance of Peter, as well as former chairs Ben Kingsley and Margaret Lomas, who all continue to be wonderful advocates for our industry,” said McDougall.
McDougall will be stepping into the role of former chair Peter Koulizos who held the position for four years and will remain as a PIPA board director.
“It has been very gratifying to work with other likeminded individuals who are also passionate about improving the standards of those who work in the property investment industry,” said Koulizos.
McDougall has experience in property research, analysis and reporting stretching back to 2006, was the former editor of Australian Property Investor magazine and executive manager of corporate affairs at the Real Estate Institute of Queensland.
“She takes on the role as chair with not only many years of PIPA board experience, but also a wealth of knowledge and experience in industry associations, lobbying, public relations, and journalism, as well as property research and analysis,” said Koulizos.
McDougall noted the growth witnessed at PIPA over the past two years, with membership increasing by 25%, while the updated Qualified Property Investment Adviser (QPIA) training program has seen a 47% boost to members in the same period.
“As chair, I hope to continue to grow the brand awareness of PIPA and QPIA members so that more consumers are able to identify, and work with, the most ethical, educated, and professional property investment advisers,” added McDougall.
Over 2022 PIPA will work towards transforming its QPIA training program into a Certificate IV qualification, to align with sector regulations.
