A new chairperson has taken the helm at the Property Investment Professionals of Australia (PIPA).
PIPA has unanimously elected Nicola McDougall, who has been a voluntary PIPA board director since 2014, as new chairperson. She replaced Peter Koulizos, who decided to step down from the position after four years of service.
McDougall “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, who remains a PIPA board director.
McDougall has been involved in property research, analysis, and reporting since 2006 and was the editor of Australian Property Investor magazine. She was also executive manager of corporate affairs at the Real Estate Institute of Queensland, and is a business owner, author, and successful property investor.
“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,” McDougall said.
Under McDougall’s leadership, PIPA will also work towards transitioning its QPIA training program into a Certificate IV qualification, which the organisation hopes, in lieu of regulation in the sector, “will become the minimum educational standard for anyone working in our industry.”
