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The winners of The Urban Developer’s inaugural Urban Leader Awards were announced at a gala dinner in Sydney on Wednesday night.
The new awards, supported by Zagga, spotlight the industry’s top talent and urban leaders from across the country.
The Urban Developer’s founder and chief executive, Adam Di Marco, said the standard of nominations had been exceptional.
“It is a priviledge for us to honour and recognise the outstanding people who are helping shape our industry,” he said.
“In its first year, these awards have underscored the incredible talent that is driving the sector forward with innovation, skill and leadership that is without equal.”
Spanning 14 categories, the awardees were revealed at a soldout event at Doltone House, Hyde Park.
Congratulations to all our winners!
Manvir Singh
KPMG
Manvir Singh, a certified practising valuer in KPMG’s deal advisory and infrastructure team, brings experience, insights and innovation to their valuation services.
With a specialisation in social infrastructure and natural capital, Singh is responsible for KPMG’s market research, feasibility modelling, transaction analysis and reporting for major property groups.
He has also been an active member of the Property Council of Australia, Green Building Council of Australia and the Urban Land Institute’s Young Leaders Group.
The judges recognised his active engagement in the industry, complexity of work, innovative approach to emerging sectors and the speed of his career progression in his win.
Nick Holuigue
Maddocks
Nick Holuigue heads up a team of more than 40 legal experts at Maddocks, dedicated to property development in Victoria. He has extensive experience in advising on a myriad of real estate transactions and is an active member of key industry bodies including as a board member of UDIA Victoria.
Holuigue is an extremely passionate client relationship partner for many of the firm’s largest commercial developer clients, including Beulah, Mirvac, ID_Land, Satterley and Tong Eng.
The judges recognised the rapid growth of the Maddocks team under Holuigue’s leadership, the extent of his involvement in the sector, his passion for the industry and the calbre of the client book.
Belinda De Lia
Urbaniste
Belinda De Lia has more than 20 years’ experience working closely with the Victorian government, local government and the private development sector. She is a director of Urbaniste, a town planning consultancy specialising in the management of statutory and strategic planning applications and representation of VCAT matters.
She has been a member of Building Victoria’s Recovery Taskforce, set up by the state government to fast-track priority projects, and was recently involved with the AIA secondary school, one of the first Islamic schools in Australia.
The judges recognised De Lia’s entrepreneurial success in building her own practice, ongoing strategic and statutory planning success, and her broader commitment to community initiatives.
Omid Safai
Rise Engineers
Born in Iran, Omid Safai migrated to Australia in 1999, completing his education with a Bachelor of Engineering and a Masters in Civil and Structural Engineering.
In 2017, Safai founded Rise Consulting Engineers, which has quickly become a reputable firm in Sydney, known for its innovative and sustainable engineering solutions. Rise provides civil, structural and remedial engineering services for clients, with almost 1000 projects completed across NSW, Queensland and Victoria.
The judges recognised Rise’s unique approach—combining technical excellence with creativity, sustainability and client-centricity— as justification for excellence in this category.
Drew Bowie and Cathy Houston
MA Financial
Drew Bowie and Cathy Houston have been instrumental in the growth of MA Financial’s real estate credit business since its inception just seven years ago.
Starting with an initial investment of $10 million, Bowie and Houston have now completed more than 300 individual loan investments totalling $3 billion in committed capital to developers across Australia. With a real estate investment team of more than 200, the ASX-listed MA Financial platform is now one of Australia’s most significant lenders to the Australian property sector.
The judges have recognised their prudent but rapid growth, the innovative structuring of the loan book and the responsible approach to managing disruption and volatility in recent years.
Paul and Anthony Mancini
Mancini Made
Mancini Made, led by brothers Paul and Anthony Mancini, specialises in the design and construction of architectural homes and apartments.
Over the past decade, Mancini Made has delivered more than 200 projects for clients across Victoria through an innovative, vertically integrated business model that leverages the architectural and construction backgrounds of its founders.
Their ‘single point of contact’ approach, coupled with precise workflows, supplier arrangements, unique pricing structures and a large social media reach, have been identified by the judges as the reason for the win.
Tas Costi
Costi Cohen
Tas Costi is the co-founder of Costi Cohen, one of Australia’s first dedicated commercial buyers agencies for the property sector.
Under his leadership, the firm has secured in excess of $500-million worth of property in just five years and assembled a select team of experts with more than 50 years of experience. His forward-thinking strategies help clients avoid overpaying, unlock access to exclusive off-market opportunities and achieve above-market yields.
The judges acknowledged the rapid growth of Costi Cohen, along with the important, pioneering role that Costi has played in the evolution of the commercial buyer agency sector in Australia.
Adelene Teh
Beulah
Adelene Teh, through the Beulah Foundation, exemplifies the integration of property with the arts, sustainability and wellbeing to foster healthier, inclusive communities.
Some of the key initiatives include: Seeds of Change, an interactive art exhibition dedicated to global food insecurity; BETA, a public-facing lab at the intersection of art, fashion and the future of retail; as well as other initiatives dedicated to sustainability and waste; large-scale artistic installations and in-house artist residencies. Teh has also established the Beulah Scholarship, which is awarded to a Melbourne University School of Design student for future educational opportunities.
The judges have recognised Teh and the Beulah Foundation’s generosity, originality, creativity and community impact in their decision to award her this category.
Liam Wallis and Katya Crema
HIP V. HYPE
Liam Wallis and Katya Crema are the creative entrepreneurs behind HIP v. HYPE, one of the property industry’s undisputed pioneers in truly sustainable development.
Wallis and Crema have led the delivery of seven sustainable housing projects across Melbourne, including the recently completed Ferrars & York development that achieved an impressive 8.6-star NatHERS rating.
HIP V. HYPE also includes a sustainability consulting arm that works closely with government and private sector clients to position sustainability as a central consideration in urban planning.
The judges have acknowledged Wallis’s and Crema’s unique position as property developers, trusted advisors, thought leaders and technical consultants as core to their decision.
Michelle Savona
Savi Communications
Michelle Savona is the founding director of Savi Communications with more than 20 years’ experience in the advertising and marketing industry.
She has grown Savi Communications from a one-woman operation focused on media buying to a full-service marketing agency with 34 staff across the business. Since identifying the need for a creative and polished presence in the marketplace, Savona has successfully worked with property clients with a focus on generating desire with strong, original solutions proudly supported across all media.
The judges have recognised Savona’s rapid growth, service-offering expansion, client retention and campaign diversity as reasons for their decision.
John Paige
DisplaySweet
John Paige and the company he co-founded, DisplaySweet, have revolutionised the property development industry by pioneering immersive sales gallery experiences for buyers of off-the-plan projects.
Founded more than a decade ago, DisplaySweet has grown to have offices in four countries, has facilitated more than $60 billion in property sales worldwide and is used by 80 per cent of leading developers in Australia. DisplaySweet has now expanded globally under Paige’s leadership and counts major international developers, such as Silverstein Properties in New York and Investment Corporation of Dubai as clients.
The judges have recognised the dominant presence of DisplaySweet here in Australia, along with Paige’s ambitious leadership in expanding the company globally, as the reasons underpinning his success tonight.
Domenic Cerantonio
Cera Stribley
Dom Cerantonio, the creative force behind Cera Stribley Architects, is the winner of one of the most competitive categories of this year’s awards.
In less than a decade, Cerantonio has grown Cera Stribley into a team of almost 100, operating across multiple sectors and with offices in Melbourne, Brisbane and the Gold Coast. His approach to creative architecture, sustinability, social impact, environmental stewardship and community engagement has set Cera Stribley apart from many of the emerging and established firms in Australia.
The judges recognised the firm’s rapid growth, diverse portfolio of projects, architectural merit and corporate values as reasons for their decision.
Oscar Ledlin
Ledlin Developments
Thirty-two-year-old Oscar Ledlin started his commercial development company, Ledlin Developments, in 2013 at just 21 years old. Since then, the concreter-turned-developer has accumulated a $212-million development portfolio, alongside an annual turnover of $65 million.
Underpinning this success has been a unique approach to property—both the types of projects that he’s developed and the way in which they’ve been delivered. These include the highly successful Flexie storage concept, Springvale Business Park and his approach to leveraging social media for marketing.
The judges recognised the overall innovation across the Ledlin business as the justification for the win.
Rob and Andrew Gray
GRAYA
In less than a decade, Rob and Andrew Gray have created one of Australia’s most innovative and Instagram-worthy development companies.
A vertically integrated model that covers design, development, construction, real estate and marketing has enabled Graya to grow their pipeline to $250 million across Brisbane and the Gold Coast. This model is also being extended to other third-party developers through structured joint-ventures and construction partnerships, designed to overcome the current construction challenges.
The judges have recognised innovations in construction methodology, bold architecture, a unique approach to community engagement and social media, and their rapid rate of growth as the core reasons underpinning their decision.
See the full list of finalists in the Urban Leader Awards 2024 here
