Harcourts International has named Rob Forde as Chief Operating Officer International. Mr Forde will be responsible for leading operations and driving growth in six Harcourts territories - USA, China, Hong Kong, Canada, South Africa and Indonesia - as well as taking responsibility for Harcourts’ financial services business, Mortgage Express.

With more than $35 billion dollars (NZD) worth of property sold over the last 12 months across 10 countries, Harcourts’ continued growth demands top-tier industry leaders to drive winning strategy and streamlined operations across the group.

‘Mr Forde is perfectly poised to take on this new role and join the international leadership team, with tertiary qualifications in Business/International Business and leadership experience with Harcourts in both Australia and the US. Since 2015, Mr Forde has been based in the US as Regional Director of Harcourts Pacific; California, Nevada and Hawaii.

“Rob has been instrumental in the rapid growth of Harcourts in the U.S. real estate market, and an effective leader to our business owners and their teams,” said Harcourts International Managing Director Mike Green.

“We are thrilled to have Rob join our international leadership team as this new role within our leadership structure will ensure each country has the highest level of support for their continued success. We believe in the current environment that to be truly successful and continue to grow an organisation must invest in resource and specifically great leaders.”

Mr Forde will work alongside Jo-Anne Clifford, Chief Operating Officer of Harcourts International, who will now be focusing exclusively on operations supporting the Harcourts Australia and Harcourts New Zealand leadership teams and Harcourts International Property Management.

“For me, this new focused direction is about the connection with our people across the network,” said Ms Clifford, who this year celebrated 30 years with Harcourts. “We have designed this working approach to strengthen our unique Harcourts culture, as it’s what sets us apart in the market.”

Mr Forde said that he was excited to return to his home country and join Ms Clifford in carrying forward the global outlook of Harcourts.

“This new role is an incredible opportunity for me – I am excited to be part of the Harcourts International Executive team in developing the international side of the franchise business and connecting with our people in over 900 offices,” said Mr Forde.

With the departure of Mr Forde from Harcourts USA, Ben Brady (USA’s current Director of Auctions) will become Regional Director of Harcourts Pacific.

Mr Forde will be based in the Harcourts International corporate office in Brisbane, Queensland.