GPT Wholesale Office Fund's (GWOF or the Fund) management team is responsible for all aspects of the management of the Fund. This includes determining the strategic direction, managing assets, acquiring and selling properties, accessing funding and providing appropriate services to investors.
In addition to a dedicated team, GWOF draws on the wider resources of The GPT Group (GPT) providing access to specialised services and teams for the benefit of investors.
Nicholas Harris
Head of Funds Management, Group Strategy and Transactions - The GPT Group
Qualifications
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Bachelor of Land Economics - (University Medal & First Class Honours) - University of Technology, Sydney
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Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance and Investment - Securities Institute of Australia
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Advanced Management Program – Harvard Business School
Career Summary
Nicholas has been involved in property and funds management for more than 30 years, holding property related roles at BT Funds Management Limited and Lendlease prior to joining GPT in 2006.
Nicholas is responsible for GPT’s funds management activities, plays a key role in the development of GPT’s Group Strategy and oversees its Transactions function. Nicholas is also a member of GPT’s Leadership Team, Investment Committee and Valuation Committee.
Nicholas is a member of the Managers Advisory Council of the Asian Association for Investors in Non-listed Real Estate Vehicles (ANREV) and a member of the Property Council of Australia’s Global Investment Group committee. He is also a Fellow of the Financial Services Institute of Australasia
Martin Ritchie
Fund Manager - GPT Wholesale Office Fund
Qualifications
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Honors Degree in Urban Estate Surveying - Trent Polytechnic Nottingham UK
Career Summary
Martin has been fund manager of GWOF since its inception in July 2006, and has 31 years’ experience in commercial real estate. As fund manager he is responsible for the overall strategy and performance of the Fund, capital management, development, acquisitions and divestments. Martin joined GPT in 2001 as office investment manager and was responsible for the financial performance, asset management and leasing within the GPT office portfolio. In this role he was responsible for all the seed assets prior to the launch of the Fund. From 2004 to 2007, Martin was responsible for initiating and managing the Sustainability program and targets for the GPT office portfolio.
His previous experience includes more than seven years at Knight Frank, Sydney where he was a director, responsible for the management and leasing of landmark Sydney office buildings. Prior to relocating to Australia in 1993, Martin spent more than three years with Baker Harris Saunders in London, responsible for leasing office space.
Katie O'Meara
Business Manager - GPT Wholesale Office Fund
Career Summary
Katie has over 14 years' experience as a lawyer, working within the real estate sector.
She joined the GPT Legal team in 2010. Her legal experience includes funds management, corporate governance, and the acquisition, disposal, development and leasing of commercial property. Katie was previously the company secretary of GPTFM, during which time she was responsible for managing the governance requirements of the GPTFM board and ACRMC, and was heavily involved in the 2016 GWOF Fund Terms review .
Katie joined the GWOF team in April 2019 and is primarily responsible for writing and co-ordinating funding requests, papers and reports for the board, investor representation committee and investors.
Prior to joining GPT, Katie worked in law firms in Australia and Ireland.
Shane Wang
Senior Fund Analyst, GPT Wholesale Office Fund
Qualifications
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Bachelor of Law / Bachelor of Business, University of Technology, Sydney
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Master of Finance, University of New South Wales
Career Summary
Shane has over 7 years of experience across the real estate and funds management sectors. Prior to joining GPT, Shane was a senior analyst in CBRE’s Financial Consulting Group, where he specialised in the delivery of sophisticated financial underwriting and analytical consulting services required by international and institutional grade property transactions. Before that, Shane was a corporate finance analyst at Aveo Group, one of Australia’s leading operator, manager, and developers of senior living communities, where he played a significant role in the company’s mergers and acquisitions, corporate development, and funds management activities.
Shane joined the GWOF team in March 2019 as the senior fund analyst and is responsible for the management of the fund model, assisting with the preparation of fund reports and the analyses of the Fund’s transaction, capital management and other strategic projects.
David Litchfield
Financial Controller, Funds
Qualifications
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Bachelor of Economics (Accounting major), Macquarie University
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Certified Practicing Accountant
Career Summary
David has over 15 years experience in finance and accounting positions within the property sector. He joined GPT as the financial controller of the Wholesale Funds in February 2019.
David worked at Mirvac as the financial controller of two Unlisted Wholesale Hotel Funds. Following the exit by Mirvac from the hotel business in 2012, David was employed by M&L Hospitality, a Singaporean family company specialising in hotel investments, in addition to office and retail holdings. In February 2018 David joined Pro-Invest Group, a boutique integrated real estate business combining hotel investment, development and operational capabilities. As the financial controller, David is responsible for ensuring both Funds comply with their accounting, tax and financial reporting requirements.