The 2026 Winners

Over 15 years, Rob and Andrew Gray have grown GRAYA from a single ute into one of Australia’s most recognisable integrated property groups. Over the past 12 months, Rob and Andrew secured six sites and advanced projects including James Place, The Pavilion, The Silo and Northshore Hamilton for Economic Development Queensland. Their leadership combines design ambition with commercial discipline, construction capability and the confidence to pursue complex opportunities.

Andrew Malouf, Director of Spyre Group, has redefined luxury apartment living across South East Queensland through visionary leadership, strategic growth and bold innovation. Since 2014, he has challenged conventional development, transforming apartments from investor-led products into aspirational residences designed for discerning owner-occupiers. Andrew combines creative ambition with strategic insight and operational precision, generating measurable results, repeat purchasers and enduring client confidence.

Marnie lives and breathes GPS and leads by example through exceptional lending performance. In the last financial year, she wrote over $200M in loans while using her expertise to provide structuring solutions that allowed her clients to complete projects that otherwise would have had to wait. She works hand in hand with Shelby Clark, reshaping who can participate in private credit and how that capital supports property development. Her answer was Arkus, a new investment fund built around accessibility that is the first of its kind. Launched in July 2025, Arkus lowered the entry point to $1, allowed investors to contribute in manageable amounts and offered monthly withdrawal opportunities.

Gabriel and Vincent's signature is bringing a level of design, detail, branding and customer experience traditionally associated with premium residential into industrial. But what truly sets them apart is what happens after completion. They stand by what they build. They retain a portion of their own assets, lease them themselves and remain connected to the businesses and people who occupy their projects for years to come.

Lisa-Maree Carrigan has spent 25 years shaping GroupGSA as both a design practice and a business, combining architectural leadership with commercial clarity and advocacy. As a younger architect, she progressed quickly through her ability to ideate and conceptualise, engage clients and authorities, and advocate with confidence. For her, success is measured not only by the buildings she leaves behind, but by the practice she leaves in the hands of the next generation.

Riye has created a purpose-driven organisation dedicated to increasing housing opportunities and improving outcomes for Queensland communities. Her work sits at the intersection of property, social impact and leadership, bringing together government, industry, community housing providers and investors to address one of the most complex challenges of our time: housing affordability and homelessness.

As Fortis' first employee, Avalon has played a role in every project delivered by the business nationally while helping shape virtually every aspect of the organisation's growth. Her influence extends across brand, culture, design, sales, customer experience, operations and leadership, leaving a lasting imprint on the company she helped build from inception. While on maternity leave, Avalon founded BORNE, Australia's first mother-centric postpartum hotel and wellness platform.

When Dan McLennan and Matt Berg established Local in partnership with Macquarie Asset Management Real Estate in 2021, Build-to-Rent was still an unproven asset class in Australia. That commitment is now in active delivery: Local has created Storey and currently operates 90 affordable apartments across three projects in Melbourne occupied by key workers and moderate income earners alongside private market tenants. Dan and Matt built a genuinely repeatable model: private capital, institutional ownership and affordable housing operating side by side in the same buildings, for the same residents.

Heather Browne is a purpose-driven leader who turns complex housing and development challenges into meaningful outcomes, stronger organisations and opportunities for others to lead. Across more than 30 years in property, housing and infrastructure, Heather has combined strategic vision, commercial discipline and social purpose to pioneer new housing models, grow organisational capability and deliver change at scale.

Vision defines Joe Adsett's leadership. Returning architecture to its traditional role as master builder, he has spent a decade mastering his craft, a decade learning the business of development, and now, in his third decade, unites architecture, development and construction under one leader's direction. With a $1 billion Queensland Government appointment at Northshore Hamilton and more than 25 industry awards in the past two years, Joe Adsett is more than an architect. He is a leader shaping the future of Australian urban development.

Rafael Contreras and Monica Earl are building a different kind of Australian architectural practice, globally experienced, technologically progressive and driven by a belief that architecture, and the way it is practised, must continue to evolve. They are evolving the practice itself, using accumulated knowledge, CEA Methods, automation and AI to amplify their team’s capability and direct more human intelligence toward design. Their ambition is not simply to build a larger practice, but a more capable one: creating enduring architecture that advances industry, inspires people and gives cities something worth remembering.

Matthew King has played a defining role in the growth and evolution of URPS, combining strong planning expertise with commercial judgement, ambition and a clear vision for the business. His competitive nature drives innovation, encourages creativity and supports calculated risk-taking, while he remains measured in his decision-making. He sees opportunities, backs capable people and knows how to bring the right people together around a shared objective.

Christopher and Nicholas begin with what will make people use a place, return and feel part of it. This is their triple bottom line approach in practice: Planet - energy, materials and the building’s lifetime impact. People - natural light, fresh air, flexible housing, public space, events, art, music, wellness and shared experiences giving people reasons to meet. Profit - Every project remains commercially viable without rebates, subsidies or environmental offsets.

Under Adrian's leadership, Ultra Building Co. has consistently demonstrated its ability to combine technical expertise, strong project delivery capabilities, and a client-first approach to achieve outstanding results. His focus on communication, transparency, and collaboration has fostered long-term relationships with clients, consultants, and industry stakeholders, resulting in a strong track record of repeat business and successful project outcomes.

Kym designs for external developers and for Wilgrow, the group's own development arm. The second role is the unusual one. When the engineer carries the commercial outcome to settlement, she finds out which decisions saved money and which quietly cost it. Most consultants never find out. What sets her apart is her ability to think like developers, bringing an understanding of the bigger picture while still being across the smallest technical detail.

Clinton Arentz has transformed the Trilogy Funds into one of Australia’s leading non-bank lenders. Clinton’s innovative approach to development finance is founded on disciplined capital management, sophisticated risk assessment and tailored deal structuring that enables projects to proceed where traditional funding models often fall short. His leadership is characterised by collaboration, pragmatism and a steadfast commitment to long- term outcomes.

Rhett Oliver is a recognised expert in Property Development law in Queensland, Victoria and Tasmania, with over 23 years' experience as a practicing lawyer. As National Practice Group Leader of the Property & Development team at Colin Biggers & Paisley, his focus is delivering excellence in providing legal services to the development industry and participating in industry initiatives and advocating for industry on important issues. This approach has enabled him to deliver meaningful outcomes for clients while contributing to broader industry discussions on housing, planning and development.

Kevin Brogan is one of Australia's most respected and accomplished property valuation professionals, bringing over 30 years experience across government, local government, private practice and industry leadership. His signature contribution is arguably the Australian Banking & Finance Industry Residential Valuation Standing Instructions, a piece of practical infrastructure that quietly underpins consistency and trust across the entire lending and valuation ecosystem.

Walton Chu created and owns an entirely new category in Australian real estate: the technology-enabled Master-Agency System. Powered by TEAMLINK’s patented architecture (two patents, ten IP claims) and backed by rigorous corporate auditing standards, HOME789 gives a boutique independent the distribution muscle to outpace global real estate giants across 40+ suburbs and 156 projects. His category-defining leadership has earned national recognition, including ABA100 Awards for Service, Marketing, and Brand Excellence, alongside feature coverage in the Australian Financial Review.

For Rob, marketing begins when the project does. He names every GRAYA project, shapes its position and works through the early creative direction before his in-house team brings it to market. That personal involvement has created a consistent brand across a $4 billion pipeline of 16 projects, while giving each its own identity. His signature approach is to build the audience alongside the project. Through GRAYA TV, site walkthroughs and Building GRAYA series, Rob shares unfinished work, commercial decisions and the people behind delivery.

Nir Davison and Lucinda Hartley are serial entrepreneurs who have each spent their careers turning "impossible" ideas into national businesses. Nir and Lucinda regularly hear directly from customers, unprompted, thank-yous, some in tears, telling them they never thought home ownership would be possible. In the mortgage sector, that level of genuine customer connection is rare, and it's a direct result of Zeroo's founder-led, relationship-first approach to lending.