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The wellness organisation’s chairman has announced his intention to step back from the top role, following three years at the helm, with an interim chairman now instated.
Taking over the position as interim chairman is former REINSW president and head of Cunninghams Real Estate, John Cunningham, who stated that Mr Hanley’s role as founder had been “critical to the success of the RiSE Initiative and its assured future prosperity”.
He commented: “The entire board of directors is extremely grateful for the unwavering leadership, strong support and stamina Chris has shown during his time as chairman.”
First established in 2019, the RiSE Initiative is dedicated to improving the mental wellness of those operating within the real estate industry.
Mr Cunningham noted that on inception, it was “always the intention” that the board of directors would refresh every two years “in order to keep momentum within our volunteer team on this not-for-profit initiative”.
But — COVID-19 had other plans.
The original directors worked through this period to take the RiSE Initiative from a volunteer collective to a registered charity, with Mr Cunningham noting that Mr Hanley and other members of the board “continued on tirelessly throughout this time, showing extraordinary resilience at every hurdle”.
Touting a number of live and virtual events under their belt as well as the creation of the Real Care App, the incoming interim chairman said: “Chris put his heart, soul and a truckload of time and passion into getting the RiSE Initiative off the ground — keeping the dream of making a real difference alive for us all.”
For Mr Hanley himself, the time spent with RiSE marks “the best part of my four-decades-long real estate career”.
“The last couple of years have been really hard work for all of us and everyone has worked tirelessly to build the organisation and the Real Care App,” he reflected.
“I have very much enjoyed working with everyone — our team is made up of people who are all unequivocally the best of our profession,” he said.
“Everyone has done a wonderful job and should be very proud and I look forward to seeing RiSE continue to thrive. It’s something the entire industry should rally around.”
Weighing in on Mr Hanley’s contributions, RiSE director Sarah Bell said Mr Hanley’s DNA “will remain tightly wound around every aspect of our organisation”.
Reflecting that great leaders are incredibly rare, she said that “possibly the most difficult thing they have to teach us is how to move on”.
“Watching RiSE reach new people of its own motion and momentum under our recent new initiatives gives me the confidence that the foundations created by Chris are solid and that we can sustain his good work,” she stated.
Looking ahead, RiSE is in the midst of finalising its strategy for the next 18 months.
According to Mr Cunningham, planning for new initiatives and the 2023 RiSE Conference is well underway, with the charitable foundation set to continue evolving and re-examining its structure as required.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Grace Ormsby
Grace is a journalist across Momentum property and investment brands. Grace joined Momentum Media in 2018, bringing with her a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Communication (Journalism) from the University of Newcastle. She’s passionate about delivering easy to digest information and content relevant to her key audiences and stakeholders.
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