Property Moves: Senior appointments at Bayleys, Harcourts, latest hotel hires …and more!

4th April 2025 By Staff Reporter | news@propertyticker.co.nz | @propertyticker

The Ticker collects industry appointments and people changes for our Property Moves post every Friday. If you have an industry appointment you would like to share, please get in touch at contact@propertyticker.co.nz.

Bayleys Real Estate has appointed Davina Henderson to the newly created role of national director of strategic business development. 

Henderson joins from NAI Harcourts Cooper & Co, where she was general manager of commercial property management.

She has previously worked at Precinct Properties as Auckland portfolio manager and spent nearly six years at Colliers, where she was most recently national commercial director for real estate management services.

Harcourts New Zealand has named Grant Henderson the agent’s new network development manager.

Henderson will be responsible for expanding Harcourts’ presence in the Auckland region, while also leading and supporting the growth of its franchise network.

He joins from Bayleys Real Estate, where he was general manager of the agent’s Wellington business for 13 years, and he has previously worked for Harcourts Cooper & Co.

Ken Orr will be stepping down as Millennium & Copthorne Hotels New Zealand’s vice president of operations after deciding to move to the South Island for family reasons.

The company said it was discussing other opportunities in the company with Orr.

He started the VP operations role in April 2021, having worked for MCK in various managerial and operational positions over 20-plus years, in Queenstown, Christchurch and Wellington, including as general manager of Grand Millennium Auckland. 

Warren and Mahoney has appointed Katherine Skipper to managing principal.

The newly created role will see Skipper, based in Wellington, take on operational leadership of the practice.

The architectural and interior design practice said Skipper will work closely with managing director John Coop.

The Rees Hotel Queenstown has promoted Micka McDonald to general manager.

McDonald started in the role on 1 April and brings more than 20 years of hospitality experience, 10 of which have been at The Rees, most recently as executive assistant manager in 2022.

Mark Rose, who has been general manager and then chief executive since the property opened in 2009, will continue as a director, overseeing sales, marketing, yield and expansion. He will also keep his shareholding in the management company.

The Property Group has appointed Louise Tucker general manager of the consultancy’s South Island business.

Tucker joins TPG from infrastructure consultants AECOM, where she was area manager for the South Island.

She started in the role on 31 March.

The owner of Wellington eatery Midnight Munchies, Gaurav Patel, has taken over as the operator of Whanganui’s Grand Hotel, which has 40 rooms.

The hotel building is still owned by Sunil Kumar but The Grand Hotel Wanganui Ltd was put into liquidation in January.

Patel told the Whanganui Chronicle he was cleaning the exterior, replacing carpets and renovating rooms and wanted to start Sunday roasts, offer breakfast everyday and open an Asian fusion restaurant at the hotel.