Australia’s fastest-growing rental housing sector is being run by women

An all-female leadership team is operating one of the country’s largest Build-to-Rent platforms as the sector expands to address Australia’s housing shortage.

While executive leadership in the property industry remains overwhelmingly male, one of Australia’s fastest-growing Build-to-Rent platforms is being run entirely by women.

Nation, the Build-to-Rent platform created by Coronation Property, is led by an executive team responsible for leasing, operations, marketing and resident experience across its growing portfolio of rental communities.

The leadership group, Charlotte Dillon (General Manager), Beatrix Kiss (Head of Operations), Sally Picot (Head of Leasing) and Nicole Kallin (Head of Marketing), is responsible for operating communities across Sydney and a development pipeline of more than 5,000 apartments.

The composition of that team is deliberate. Build-to-Rent is an operational asset class, and Nation has been structured around the disciplines that determine long-term performance: leasing, operations, resident experience and brand.

Their leadership comes at a pivotal moment for Australia’s housing market. Institutional investment is accelerating the growth of Build-to-Rent developments designed for long-term rental living.

Unlike traditional residential developments, Build-to-Rent communities are operated for decades, meaning performance is measured not just by construction delivery, but by occupancy, retention and the quality of the resident experience over time.

Nation’s existing communities have demonstrated strong demand. Both Nation Parramatta City and Nation Merrylands reached 50 per cent lease-up prior to opening and have maintained full occupancy following stabilisation.

Charlotte Dillon, General Manager of Nation, says Build-to-Rent is defined by how well it is operated.

“Build-to-Rent is not about delivering a building and moving on,” Charlotte said.

“You’re operating a community long-term. Leasing, resident services, maintenance, technology and customer experience all need to work together every day.”

“That operational mindset is what ultimately determines whether a Build-to-Rent platform succeeds.”

Nation’s operating model brings those functions together within a single leadership structure, allowing decisions to be made quickly and consistently across the portfolio.

Technology supports that integration, with the Nation app enabling residents to manage their homes digitally while providing real-time operational data that allows teams to respond quickly and maintain consistent service standards across every community.

Coronation Property Managing Director Joe Nahas said the growth of the Build-to-Rent sector means leadership capability is becoming as important as development scale.

“Build-to-Rent requires a very different type of leadership to traditional development,” Nahas said.

“You’re not building and exiting; you’re operating homes and communities for decades. That requires people who understand residents, service and long-term asset performance. The team running Nation brings exactly that experience, and they’re proving how powerful that operating mindset can be.”

Across Coronation Property more broadly, women represent 44 per cent of senior leadership roles, reflecting a focus on capability and long-term leadership development.

Industry data highlights how unusual Nation’s leadership structure remains.

Research from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency shows women represent more than half of Australia’s real estate workforce, particularly in customer-facing roles such as leasing and property management. Yet representation at senior leadership level remains closer to one-third, according to the Property Council of Australia.

For Beatrix Kiss, Head of Operations at Nation, the nature of Build-to-Rent demands a different perspective on how residential buildings are run.

“When you operate Build-to-Rent communities you’re not just managing buildings, you’re managing people’s homes,” Beatrix said.

“That means thinking carefully about how spaces are used, how services operate and how communities form.”

As renting becomes a long-term housing option for a growing number of Australians, expectations placed on residential operators are rising.

Institutional investors, governments and residents are increasingly focused on how rental housing is operated, not just how it is delivered.

Nation’s leadership team believes that will define the next phase of the sector.

“As the sector grows, the real question won’t be who can build the most apartments,” Charlotte said.

“It will be who can operate them best.”