It was the first XChange since industry veteran and CEO Tom Manwaring announced his retirement and Jason Aghan began as Group GM on 01 Jul.
“It is a change from being in a 7am to 7pm job and [turning] into an 8.30am breakfast type of guy,” Manwaring quipped.
The experienced executive considered retirement years ago when Helloworld’s Andrew Burnes approached him about acquiring the business, and now, according to Aghan, ETG is “in the best shape it has ever been in”.
“It is the way that Tom has run the business over its journey, but] it’s also [due to] being part of an organisation like Helloworld, with its size, scale and volume of business,” Aghan told TD.
“That adds a lot of benefit to our business, and in turn, puts us in a position to offer a lot more value to our members and possibly target new members.”
Now, Aghan’s top priority is for ETG to continue delivering as it has under Manwaring.
“My goal is to make sure that what he has built…remains the same, then once we start to see those continued great results, there will be time to look at other alternative options,” Aghan said.
During his 55-year career, Manwaring has witnessed several global crises, from SARS to COVID.
Despite geopolitical tensions, he hopes that if the RBA drops interest rates this year, the cost of money will become cheaper, weakening the hit of tariffs and keeping job numbers strong – while Aussies continue to travel.
“I don’t think they could throw anything more challenging to us than COVID, shy of having a world war,” Manwaring said.
While some consumers may turn to AI, there will be others who appreciate agents’ skills.
“You have the latest info in your brain and that is something you really have to support, promote and charge a fee for,” he said.
“Margins will be diminishing because of the reductions in commissions, but you don’t rely on commission to run a business.
“You run a business by growing revenue and charging for your fees and expertise.”
It was also ETG’s first domestic conference, but during the gala awards on Sat night, GM of Partnerships Alisha Dopper hinted the next one will be in either Bali, Hong Kong or Malaysia.
