Our people – Oyster

Board of Directors

Oyster’s Board of Directors take a pro-active approach to governance and strategy in relation to all Oyster managed assets.

Joanna Perry

Chair

Joanna joined the Board of Oyster as an Independent Director, and was appointed Chair in March 2018.

She has a wealth of governance experience spanning a range of industries. Her current roles include Chair of Oyster Property Group, Non-Executive Director of Partners Life, Nyriad Limited and Lodestone Energy Limited, and a Trustee of the London-based IFRS Foundation.

Joanna’s previous director roles include listed companies Trade Me, Kiwi Property Group, Genesis Energy and CCO Regional Facilities Auckland, as well as sports bodies Rowing New Zealand and Sports New Zealand. She was also previously Chair of the IFRS Advisory Council. Before taking on director roles, Joanna was a partner with KPMG. She was also a member of the Securities Commission.

Joanna is a Chartered Fellow of the Institute of Directors. She has been awarded membership of the New Zealand Order of Merit.

Mark Schiele

Director / Chief Executive

Mark joined Prime Retail Management in 1997 as General Manager, and was appointed to the Board in 2001. He joined the Board of Oyster Property Group in 2010 when the company was acquired by Prime Retail Management.

He has been instrumental in implementing the innovative strategic direction for Oyster including the development of the successful Dress-Smart Outlet Centre chain, the amalgamation of Prime Retail Management and Oyster, and the growth of Oyster’s funds management business.

Mark is responsible for setting and executing strategy, overseeing all of Oyster’s operations which includes the creation and management of retail and wholesale property funds, formation of partnerships and joint ventures with global capital, and asset management of a portfolio of commercial properties throughout New Zealand, valued at over $2.1 billion.

Mark completed a Bachelor of Property Administration degree at the University of Auckland in 1991. He went on to hold various management positions with Challenge Properties, St Lukes Group, Richard Ellis (now CBRE) and Westfield.

Gary Gwynne

Director

Gary was appointed as a Director for Prime Retail Management in 1997, and joined the Board of Oyster in 2010 when the company was acquired by Prime Retail Management.

Gary began his remarkably successful career in advertising and marketing. He first joined Charles Haines Advertising, then Nestle, leaving in 1971 to establish Colenso Auckland. During his 16 year tenure with the agency, he was Managing Director of both the Wellington and Auckland operations.

In 1987, Gary founded Outdoor Heritage (now Rodd and Gunn), selling the exclusive Rodd and Gunn and Logan labels.

He was a founding director of Dress-Smart and is a former director of Michael Hill International Ltd.

Rob Percy

Director

Rob joined the Board of Oyster Property Group in November 2018, and has more than 20 years of financial services and property experience in both the UK and Australia.

Rob is Cromwell’s Chief Investment Officer and is responsible for Cromwell’s investment, transactions, and merger and acquisition activities. He plays a central role in the development and capital raising of new products for both Cromwell’s ASX listed business and its European and Australian funds management operations. Rob is also integral in the operations of Cromwell’s associated entities, LDK Healthcare and Oyster Property Group, is a Director on both Boards, and Chairs the Oyster Investment Committee.

Prior to joining Cromwell in 2012, he worked for some of the world’s leading financial services firms, including NM Rothschild & Sons, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and Investec Bank. While with Investec, Rob worked closely with Cromwell’s Board and senior management on a number of different transactions over the last decade, including the landmark stapling of the Group in 2006.

Rob holds a Masters in Chemical Physics from the University of Glasgow.

Executive Team

Oyster is a market leader in the commercial property arena with a highly qualified and skilled senior management team, and key personnel combining extensive retail, office & industrial property experience throughout New Zealand. Oyster’s key personnel are people who are easy to communicate with, look to resolve issues quickly and provide relevant analysis of opportunities.

Mark Schiele

Chief Executive

Rachel Barr

Chief Financial Officer

Rachel joined Oyster in 2014 and is responsible for financial management and reporting, capital and cash flow management, and taxation compliance functions for Oyster.

Rachel has more than 20 years of experience working in accounting and finance related roles in both New Zealand and the UK. She worked for nine years at NZX-listed Goodman Property Trust where, during that time, Goodman grew from managing $250M in property assets to managing over $2B in property assets.

In the UK, she gained fund management experience with Rockspring Property Investment Managers, working on various Pan-European property funds.

Rachel is a Chartered Accountant and holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Auckland, with a double major in Financial Accounting and Commercial Law.

STEVEN HARRIS

General Manager – Property

Steven joined Oyster in 2012 and is responsible for the strategic direction of Oyster’s entire property portfolio.

As General Manager – Property, Steven provides consistent asset management processes, strategy and leadership to the entire property team.

Prior to his time with Oyster, Steven was a commercial property valuer at CBRE for six years which, combined with his more recent Oyster experience, enables him to offer expertise in what drives the value of commercial property.

Steven completed a Bachelor of Property at the University of Auckland in 2005, is a member of the Property Institute of New Zealand and is a non-practicing registered valuer.

James Molloy

General Manager – Investment

James joined Oyster in 2010 as a Retail Leasing Executive, and subsequently moved into equity raising and transactions roles.

As General Manager – Investment, James executes the strategy for investment decisions made by Oyster. He is responsible for the creation of fund structures, acquiring and divesting of assets, and securing the appropriate equity for investments through Oysters retail, wholesale and capital partner networks. James oversees Oyster’s Transaction, Investor Relations, Equity Raising teams.

Previous to his time with Oyster, James spent two years representing national retail brands such as Kathmandu, Warehouse Stationery, Noel Leeming Group and Bendon, where he provided strategic property advice to help optimise the performance of their businesses.

James was recognised with New Zealand Property Council’s GreensceneNZ Sheree Cooney Memorial Award – Young Achiever of the Year in 2017. He holds a Bachelor of Property degree from the University of Auckland and is a member of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors.

Karlene Daniels

General Manager – Risk & Compliance

Karlene is responsible for Oyster’s risk management, compliance, legal and regulatory capabilities.

Karlene joins Oyster with over 15 years of experience in the insurance and fund management environment. She joins from Tower Insurance where she was Head of Risk & Compliance for the Pacific region. Prior to this, she held the role of Country Risk Manager at AIG, where she gained in-depth knowledge of the finance and regulatory environment.

Karlene holds a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Auckland and an ANZIIF Diploma in Integrated Risk Management.

KERRYN STRONG

Head of People and Culture

Kerryn has worked with Oyster since 2017 and joined us permanently in 2020. She is responsible for ensuring that Oyster continues to attract and retain great people, enhancing the employee experience and building an exceptional future-fit team who will support Oyster’s ongoing growth and scale.

As part of the Executive Team, Kerryn acts as a sounding board, advisor and coach to the leadership team and provides strategic guidance in ensuring that Oyster’s people and culture objectives are well-aligned with and support wider business objectives.

With over 15 years’ Recruitment, HR and Organisational Development (OD) experience, Kerryn has worked with both large corporate and SME businesses, most recently through a diverse Consulting role within her own business. Her passion is to drive culture change with businesses, enhancing company cultures and people’s experience at work.

Kerryn completed a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Bachelor of Commerce in Management and Employment Relations Conjoint Degree at the University of Auckland, and is a member of the Human Resources Institute of New Zealand (HRNZ).

Vaughan Ludlam

Head of Leasing/Licensee

Vaughan joined Oyster as a leasing executive in 2003, and has led Oyster’s leasing team since 2007.

Vaughan is responsible for Oyster’s leasing team – specialising in retail leasing services as part of the wider division which also provides asset, property and facilities management services to private, syndicated and institutional retail property owners; representing over $300 million in retail property.

Prior to Oyster, He held a diverse consultancy role with Retail Solutions Ltd, which provided his grounding in shopping centre leasing as well as tenancy mix planning and analysis, property development and event planning.

Vaughan has extensive relationships with Australasian retailers, having successfully negotiated over 800 leases across a wide range of retail formats.

Vaughan holds a Real Estate Agents License (REAA 2008), a double degree from the University of Auckland – a Bachelor of Property and a Bachelor of Commerce, and is a committee member on the New Zealand Council of Retail Property (NZCoRP).