The Foundation welcomes Penny Ransom as Chairman
After 7 years of chairing the Property Industry Foundation, GPT CEO Bob Johnston has stood down to glowing accolades from the industry and Penny Ransom, Group Executive and Head of Investment Management at Investa, has stepped up to the plate.
In addition to 7 years as the Chairman, Johnston also a board director for 2 years. During his period of tenure, the Foundation has experienced significant growth and Johnston was key in driving the strategic plan which has focused the Foundation’s activities around building homes for homeless youth. In the past 9 years, the Foundation has built 133 bedrooms which have provided safety and security to hundreds of young people – some for one night and some for years.
John Kenny, CEO Asia Pacific of Colliers International and director at the Foundation, said that Johnston had given many years of dedicated service and leadership. “Bob can rightly be proud of the many milestones achieved during his term including guiding us through two 5-year strategic plans that simplified our purpose, goals and messages as well as ensuring a seamless transition to a new management team,” he said. “He stands down having completed arguably the hardest task for any leader – leaving the board with greater diversity and experience than when he found it, with wider industry participation and a clear succession for his own role.”
Penny Ransom has been on the board for one year, after many years on the NSW Board of Advisers. She said that she was delighted and proud to be the new chairman at the Foundation. “I have been involved in the Foundation for many years and think it is a fantastic initiative for the industry to come together to create new opportunities for homeless youth,” she said. “I am fortunate that Bob Johnston has left the organisation in great shape with a strong board and management team.”
For Johnston, it’s the end to a total of 9 years on the board and he remarked this had been a period where the property and construction industry had come together to have a meaningful and tangible impact on youth homelessness. “We are an industry with both the skills and the means to make a difference to the most vulnerable people in our society – young people without a safe or secure place to live,” he said. “I appreciate the support of the many donors and the wider industry, which has enabled the Foundation to have an impact and I am delighted that Penny Ransom will be the new chairman.”
