_60 second interview with Richard Klein, Head of Residential Project Marketing, NSW
What do you do?
I head up the Residential Project Marketing business for New South Wales based in our head office on Pitt Street in Sydney.
How did your career path lead to you working for Knight Frank?
My first foray into property was as a sales agent in 2004 selling resale apartments for Savills in Hampstead, North West London. I then progressed to selling and managing several boutique, off plan developments in the same location, before moving to Savills’ head office in central London as a development consultant. It was an amazing grounding, working on a number of prominent projects from large regeneration schemes like the Olympic Village for the 2012 Olympic Games to One Hyde Park in Knightsbridge, which at the time was the most expensive apartment building in the world. Helping to design $250million apartments and amenities for a project in London gave me an amazing insight into what makes a truly exceptional residential development.
When the financial crisis hit in 2008 I decided to move to sunnier climes and worked in Dubai where I gained significant international experience working for the developers Nakheel and Emaar, who respectively built the Palm Islands and Burj Khlaifa, the world’s tallest tower.
I returned to London in early 2011 when the market recovered and decided Knight Frank, as the market leader in residential development in London, would be the perfect fit for me. In 2016 I moved to Knight Frank Australia, first to Melbourne and then to Sydney where I now work closely with developers such as Crown, Lendlease, CBUS Property and Dexus.
Image: One Hyde Park, London
What are the biggest opportunities you see in your job?
Our in house view is that the residential market in Sydney for off the plan product is still relatively nascent and there are fantastic growth opportunities. With that in mind, we have ambitions to really grow our business in an organic way so that we lay the foundations for a truly market leading division for years to come. We have the fortune of working with exceptional commercial teams in Sydney and are starting to see a real crossover of commercial clients looking to move into residential development so there is a great opportunity to refer business.
Our aim is to become the advisor of choice for developers, where the residential project marketing team is not necessarily the biggest, but is the market leader for the finest projects in Sydney.
Image: Sydney skyline at night
If you had a different job, what would it be?
I would love to be a professional soccer player for Tottenham Hotspur and the England national team. Sadly my advancing years may reduce my chances of a contract.
What are your favourite pastimes/hobbies?
I love being outdoors so Sydney is a great place to be and most days I am likely to be cycling, running or playing soccer. When indoors I am an avid reader of non-fiction, a great biography is hard to beat. I have a passion for travel and always try to visit three new countries a year. I recently became vegan which has really changed my perspective on life and would love to turn the world vegan one person at a time!
What is your number one work mantra or advice?
Have a passion for what you do and a childlike thirst for knowledge. If you keep learning and developing your skills you will naturally become a market leading professional in your field.
Please get in touch
Richard Klein
Head of Residential Project Marketing, NSW
+61 422 366 587