Sonya Miller

What inspired you to pursue a career in the property industry, and how has your background in architecture influenced your approach to project management? 

I grew up in a family dominated by property as my dad was an architect – so I often walked around the local building sites in the area working out the layout of each house - and I found it fascinating. 

It was only after completing my architecture degree when I started working for a construction company that I realised my skills were better suited to working alongside the design team, in the practical, problem-solving area of project management. 

As a director, what is your vision for the company, and how do you ensure that your team maintains its commitment to doing things differently? 

In establishing a business, it was an opportunity to bring together all the best experiences I had in my previous roles, and right from the outset establishing some “not negotiables” in terms of behaviour and conduct that we would not accept from anyone – our clients, our peers, or our team. It has been this strong focus on behaviour, relationships and management style that we have built a reputation on doing things differently. 

In your experience, what are some of the key factors that contribute to the success of a property development project, and how do you navigate the challenges that inevitably arise? 

Once you have established that the commercial fundamentals are sound, the success of any development relies on good communication, problem solving, and decisive decision making. When the inevitable challenges arise, you need to be nimble and decisive to determine the best option based on the information you have at the time - too many times we see key decisions stalled in the hope a better option will present itself, which very rarely occurs.