Government Property New South Wales (GPNSW) is an international industry leader, delivering the core services of policy, transaction, and asset management on behalf of the Department of Finance, Services and Innovation. The organisation draws on its extensive experience in capital and property markets to maximise value for the state and ultimately for the people of New South Wales.
CEO Brett Newman was appointed to lead GPNSW in 2013 after more than 20 years experience in the financial services sector. With a high level of experience in mergers and acquisitions, strategy, real estate funds management, and buying and selling assets, he was well equipped to handle the demands of the top job. The CEO Magazine spoke to Brett about the achievements he is most proud of, the values he is trying to instil across the agency, and the future he sees for the organisation.
The CEO Magazine: GPNSW is a government organisation with a commercial mandate. What challenges does this present?
Brett: Were a separate agency, and we have our own legislation which requires us to operate on a commercial basis. This is quite unusual across government agencies. The key challenge for us is a fundamental one. The government owns $270 billion of property, plant, and equipment [PPE], and over the past four years the government has spent $32 billion on PPE.
Over the next four years, the government is expected to spend $8 billion per year on PPE, and thats excluding the significant infrastructure projects the government has in the pipeline.