Director appointment marks 'new phase' of property management agency Leah Jay, says Cassandra Lantry

Ms Lantry, who joined the company 13 years ago as a commercial property assistant, explained her first steps in the position will be to move Leah Jay “forward”.

“What I’m charged with now is building on what has been done over the last twenty-four years since the business began,” she said.

“Our industry is evolving, there’s a lot of change in technology, but we see that as a real positive and something we can really use to provide value for our owners and tenants.”

“I will be heading up a lot of our teams and developing the business across the board.”

The addition of a new director within the business truly does mark a new phase for the Novocastrian start-up, which as run under the same existing structure since Leah Jay first founded it in Hamilton in 1994.

While Leah Jay herself will remain in the role of founding director, Ms Lantry will have a key role in overseeing the company’s property management activities, reviewing procedures and policies, and helping implement new systems and processes.

It’s an “exciting” challenge ahead of her as the city continues to grow and change, not least of all because of upgrades in Honeysuckle, across the Newcastle city centre around Hunter Street and beyond.

“I think the market is changing a lot in Newcastle, there’s a lot of lifestyle changes, investments are changing and with the infrastructure and what’s happening here everything is going to change,” Ms Lantry said.

“There will be a lot of opportunities for investors, and it’s an exciting time for everyone. I feel really proud to be able to be the first addition to the director and executive team.

“I’m really comfortable moving forward, I think we’re very well equipped to enter this new phase, and it’s truly very exciting times. It’s a bit surreal – for me – and when I started thirteen years ago it wasn’t something I envisaged, but I couldn’t be happier.”

Ms Lantry also enters the role with the full support of Ms Jay behind her, as the company founder said she believes this role advancement was a “natural step for Cassandra’s journey” at Leah Jay.

“Cassandra has demonstrated exceptional leadership across the business, and has made significant contributions to its direction and development over the last 13 years,” Ms Jay said. “We are proud to welcome her into this key position as we move towards our future goals.”

For the company, the new phase has already begun, with a four finalists at the 2018 Real Estate Institute of NSW Awards for Excellence.

As well as Ms Jay being nominated for the John Greig OAM Community Service, the company’s Belmont office has also been put forward as a potential recipient of the Residential Property Management Team in this batch of awards.

Pippa Rowntree has been nominated for Operational Leadership, while Melanie Frith has been nominated for Operational Support.

Winners will be announced at an awards gala dinner in Sydney on September 27.