1 00:00:04,200 --> 00:00:07,120 Speaker 1: Welcome to the past five Sunday interview by Fear and Greed. 2 00:00:07,320 --> 00:00:09,480 Speaker 1: I'm Sean Almer. What does it take to lead a 3 00:00:09,520 --> 00:00:13,079 Speaker 1: company through a period of immense change. Jason Pelogrino is 4 00:00:13,119 --> 00:00:16,320 Speaker 1: the president of property platform Domain, which is a great 5 00:00:16,320 --> 00:00:18,800 Speaker 1: support of this podcast. Jason was CEO of Domain from 6 00:00:18,800 --> 00:00:21,240 Speaker 1: twenty eighteen until February last year. He left then returned 7 00:00:21,239 --> 00:00:23,599 Speaker 1: in August to take up the job again as part 8 00:00:23,680 --> 00:00:26,400 Speaker 1: of the co Star Group. Jason Pellogrino, Welcome to the 9 00:00:26,400 --> 00:00:26,960 Speaker 1: Fast five. 10 00:00:27,040 --> 00:00:27,760 Speaker 2: Thank you for having me. 11 00:00:27,920 --> 00:00:30,280 Speaker 1: Let's start with your own story. What's it like leaving 12 00:00:30,440 --> 00:00:33,000 Speaker 1: and returning to the same business. 13 00:00:33,360 --> 00:00:36,120 Speaker 2: I'm in a really unique position where I am the 14 00:00:36,200 --> 00:00:39,519 Speaker 2: same person turning up to a new business telling them 15 00:00:39,520 --> 00:00:43,000 Speaker 2: that everything has changed. And so for me, it's actually 16 00:00:43,040 --> 00:00:47,600 Speaker 2: quite a challenge of leadership to pivot. But it's also 17 00:00:47,680 --> 00:00:49,760 Speaker 2: a unique privilege. There's not a lot of leaders who 18 00:00:49,800 --> 00:00:54,640 Speaker 2: get a second shot at an opportunity, an ability to 19 00:00:54,640 --> 00:00:58,480 Speaker 2: reinvent themselves midstream with the same organization, and so I'm 20 00:00:58,520 --> 00:01:00,000 Speaker 2: looking into that opportunity. 21 00:01:00,120 --> 00:01:02,520 Speaker 1: So they must have its passes and minuses. You know, 22 00:01:02,560 --> 00:01:05,520 Speaker 1: how you're accepted, You're giving a different message potentially slightly 23 00:01:05,520 --> 00:01:08,920 Speaker 1: different to what you were doing six months previously. How 24 00:01:08,959 --> 00:01:09,800 Speaker 1: do you do that? 25 00:01:10,280 --> 00:01:12,800 Speaker 2: So the easy part is actually accepting that the context 26 00:01:12,800 --> 00:01:15,520 Speaker 2: has changed, the strategy has changed, the opportunities that sit 27 00:01:15,560 --> 00:01:18,319 Speaker 2: behind us has changed. You know, we have access to capital, 28 00:01:18,360 --> 00:01:21,920 Speaker 2: to technology, to capabilities we never had before. The hard thing, 29 00:01:22,160 --> 00:01:25,080 Speaker 2: particularly as a leader, is to look back at the 30 00:01:25,200 --> 00:01:28,640 Speaker 2: strategies you put in place, the decisions you made, and 31 00:01:29,000 --> 00:01:32,880 Speaker 2: change those and particularly where they are you're emotionally attached 32 00:01:32,920 --> 00:01:36,000 Speaker 2: to those decisions. They may be right, they may be wrong, 33 00:01:36,080 --> 00:01:38,720 Speaker 2: but to reinvent yourself. So I am looking at this 34 00:01:38,840 --> 00:01:42,840 Speaker 2: very clearly and trying to guide an organization through this change, 35 00:01:42,880 --> 00:01:45,640 Speaker 2: where I am very clearly saying this is not Chapter two. 36 00:01:46,160 --> 00:01:47,880 Speaker 2: We may have the same brand, we may have the 37 00:01:47,920 --> 00:01:50,720 Speaker 2: same a lot of the same purpose, but this is 38 00:01:50,760 --> 00:01:54,440 Speaker 2: a completely different novel. And so let's rewrite this novel together, 39 00:01:55,000 --> 00:01:57,320 Speaker 2: and let's rewrite this novel without being tied to the. 40 00:01:57,280 --> 00:02:01,760 Speaker 1: Past co Star purchased domain. Therefore, the Coast Star culture 41 00:02:02,320 --> 00:02:05,600 Speaker 1: necessarily infiltrates domain. And I say that in a negative sense. 42 00:02:06,040 --> 00:02:08,000 Speaker 1: How do you do that bringing the cultures together? 43 00:02:09,240 --> 00:02:13,640 Speaker 2: I think it's about influence rather than infiltrate On one hand, 44 00:02:14,520 --> 00:02:17,360 Speaker 2: it would not be right to resist the fact that 45 00:02:17,400 --> 00:02:20,919 Speaker 2: we are now owned by a US corporate entity, particularly 46 00:02:20,960 --> 00:02:24,799 Speaker 2: a founder at entity, with all the cultural nuances that creates. 47 00:02:25,120 --> 00:02:28,560 Speaker 2: You know, an organization that has fifty eight to fifty 48 00:02:28,639 --> 00:02:31,600 Speaker 2: nine consecutive quarters of double digit growth and is one 49 00:02:31,639 --> 00:02:36,079 Speaker 2: of the largest commercial and residential real estate data businesses 50 00:02:36,080 --> 00:02:38,240 Speaker 2: in the world. You know, who are we to say that, 51 00:02:38,320 --> 00:02:40,040 Speaker 2: you know, you need to meet us and change us. 52 00:02:40,600 --> 00:02:42,919 Speaker 2: And so I think it's about making sure that what's 53 00:02:43,000 --> 00:02:48,520 Speaker 2: unique about Domain, what can contribute to co Star's global capabilities, 54 00:02:48,720 --> 00:02:53,400 Speaker 2: is retained and is actually amplified. But we also are 55 00:02:53,480 --> 00:02:56,240 Speaker 2: quite openly looking for change ourselves in terms of what 56 00:02:56,320 --> 00:03:00,600 Speaker 2: Coastar can bring to the capabilities, the capacity, our ability 57 00:03:00,600 --> 00:03:04,079 Speaker 2: to really transform Australia through that, through that relationship. 58 00:03:04,160 --> 00:03:05,720 Speaker 1: So this time last week we speake to you and 59 00:03:05,760 --> 00:03:08,280 Speaker 1: you talked about not domain. We all know about residential, 60 00:03:08,560 --> 00:03:12,320 Speaker 1: more in commercial, more in data driven results. I mean, 61 00:03:12,320 --> 00:03:13,680 Speaker 1: how do you how do you keep your eye on 62 00:03:14,160 --> 00:03:17,120 Speaker 1: the day to day job as well as introducing all 63 00:03:17,200 --> 00:03:21,760 Speaker 1: this change and culture and getting people to kind of 64 00:03:22,560 --> 00:03:23,720 Speaker 1: walk into your gum. 65 00:03:24,320 --> 00:03:27,840 Speaker 2: Yeah, organizations aren't like a Formula one race where you 66 00:03:27,880 --> 00:03:30,680 Speaker 2: can just take a business into the pits and work 67 00:03:30,720 --> 00:03:32,640 Speaker 2: on it, and it doesn't matter how fast you get out, 68 00:03:32,680 --> 00:03:35,320 Speaker 2: you don't get the chance to stop. So you need 69 00:03:35,360 --> 00:03:39,600 Speaker 2: to deliver results. And particularly with an organization like Coast 70 00:03:39,800 --> 00:03:42,839 Speaker 2: that is founder lad that has been deeply successful, it's 71 00:03:42,880 --> 00:03:47,440 Speaker 2: about making sure that you are executing incredibly rapidly and 72 00:03:47,480 --> 00:03:51,840 Speaker 2: making the right decisions, potentially taking risk based decisions to 73 00:03:51,880 --> 00:03:54,680 Speaker 2: get there, but with always a mind on where you 74 00:03:54,760 --> 00:03:57,760 Speaker 2: are heading and that that heading is different to potentially 75 00:03:57,800 --> 00:04:00,640 Speaker 2: the journey you're on before. So it's it's it's about 76 00:04:00,680 --> 00:04:04,880 Speaker 2: embodying change and activating change through the process. So it's 77 00:04:04,920 --> 00:04:07,440 Speaker 2: not about stopping a business, pausing a business. It's about 78 00:04:07,480 --> 00:04:10,360 Speaker 2: making sure that each day that business is changing just 79 00:04:10,480 --> 00:04:12,080 Speaker 2: enough to get to you where you need to be. 80 00:04:12,880 --> 00:04:16,200 Speaker 1: So, Jason, you've gone from a listed company to working 81 00:04:17,200 --> 00:04:20,960 Speaker 1: effectively privately here, although co Star itself is NASDAQ listed. 82 00:04:21,120 --> 00:04:21,880 Speaker 1: Pros and cons. 83 00:04:23,080 --> 00:04:26,080 Speaker 2: There are many pros and cons to that, and I've 84 00:04:26,120 --> 00:04:29,599 Speaker 2: had the privilege of actually working across founder led businesses before, 85 00:04:29,720 --> 00:04:33,800 Speaker 2: such as Google, large corporates and listed companies such as Pepsi, 86 00:04:33,880 --> 00:04:36,120 Speaker 2: so I've seen both sides of it, and actually one 87 00:04:36,120 --> 00:04:39,120 Speaker 2: of my core roles is actually taking a wonderful group 88 00:04:39,120 --> 00:04:41,159 Speaker 2: of people that domain, many of who may not have 89 00:04:41,240 --> 00:04:44,400 Speaker 2: experienced what it looks like to sort of step into 90 00:04:44,440 --> 00:04:47,440 Speaker 2: a founder led business and through that journey and to 91 00:04:47,440 --> 00:04:50,000 Speaker 2: see the benefits of the other side. Look, you definitely 92 00:04:50,040 --> 00:04:55,560 Speaker 2: get clear accountability, you know, rapid decision making, focus on priorities, 93 00:04:55,720 --> 00:04:59,880 Speaker 2: deep understanding of the business. I've never met an executive 94 00:05:00,080 --> 00:05:04,840 Speaker 2: of Andy's scale who runs a global organization, you know, 95 00:05:04,960 --> 00:05:07,279 Speaker 2: with forty years close to forty years in a role, 96 00:05:07,560 --> 00:05:10,400 Speaker 2: who's at the level of depth of customer understanding and 97 00:05:10,440 --> 00:05:14,160 Speaker 2: product understanding that I would aspire to. So that's fantastic. 98 00:05:14,200 --> 00:05:17,120 Speaker 2: You don't tend to get that in many other organizations. 99 00:05:17,200 --> 00:05:18,400 Speaker 2: So that's some of the positives. 100 00:05:19,400 --> 00:05:19,599 Speaker 1: You know. 101 00:05:19,960 --> 00:05:22,640 Speaker 2: Some people point to the negative, we're a locally listed company, 102 00:05:22,720 --> 00:05:25,279 Speaker 2: maybe with control over every single decision point. I don't 103 00:05:25,320 --> 00:05:28,320 Speaker 2: see that that way. I think that whilst we may 104 00:05:28,400 --> 00:05:32,240 Speaker 2: have given up some levels of control to enter a 105 00:05:32,320 --> 00:05:35,640 Speaker 2: global organization, the number of opportunities sitting in front of 106 00:05:35,720 --> 00:05:37,520 Speaker 2: us is way more than we ever had before. 107 00:05:37,760 --> 00:05:40,520 Speaker 1: Fantastic. What's your KPI in two or three years time? 108 00:05:40,560 --> 00:05:43,039 Speaker 1: What will you look back into or three years time? 109 00:05:43,080 --> 00:05:45,760 Speaker 1: To this period. What will you be You hope you'll 110 00:05:45,800 --> 00:05:46,960 Speaker 1: be happy about. 111 00:05:46,920 --> 00:05:49,760 Speaker 2: I need to transform the Australian residential market. I need 112 00:05:49,800 --> 00:05:53,600 Speaker 2: to launch a world class, transformative experience in commercial real 113 00:05:53,720 --> 00:05:56,119 Speaker 2: estate in Australia that just doesn't exist at the moment. 114 00:05:56,640 --> 00:05:59,039 Speaker 2: But probably most importantly in my role and leader is 115 00:05:59,080 --> 00:06:02,880 Speaker 2: actually to lead that change is a cultural change. That 116 00:06:03,120 --> 00:06:07,400 Speaker 2: means that success is that Domain is able to benefit 117 00:06:07,480 --> 00:06:10,359 Speaker 2: from all that's available from the Coast Star group and 118 00:06:10,480 --> 00:06:14,159 Speaker 2: deliver on those opportunities, but also everyone at Domain is 119 00:06:14,200 --> 00:06:17,840 Speaker 2: able to contribute into co Star success globally, and that 120 00:06:17,520 --> 00:06:21,599 Speaker 2: that cultural transition to enable that to happen happens as 121 00:06:21,640 --> 00:06:23,640 Speaker 2: fast as possible and effectively as possible. 122 00:06:23,760 --> 00:06:25,400 Speaker 1: Jason, thanks for talking to the Fast five. 123 00:06:25,600 --> 00:06:26,520 Speaker 2: Thank you as. 124 00:06:26,400 --> 00:06:29,400 Speaker 1: Jason Pelagreno, President of Domain, a great supporter of this podcast. 125 00:06:29,400 --> 00:06:32,080 Speaker 1: I'm Schanielmer and this is the Fast five five year 126 00:06:32,120 --> 00:06:32,520 Speaker 1: and Greed