Ray White Canberra's new Head of Performance and Growth is all about potential

Looking at Mayo Pospisil’s journey to becoming Head of Performance and Growth at Ray White Canberra, his new role seems nothing short of a perfect fit.

Mayo left his native Slovakia at age 19 with a plan to spend a year learning English. That was over 20 years ago.

“I couldn’t get back to Slovakia for the first four years,” he says.

“My mother was not impressed.”

For a decade in Sydney, he worked the night shift for the Yellow Pages, starting in data entry.

“I would finish at 11 pm and then work in bars and nightclubs. I was in my mid-20s, so I had all the energy in the world,” he laughs.

Working from Sydney and then Brisbane, his journey at the Yellow Pages was a linear climb up the ladder. From data entry, he moved into training and team leader roles before sales, then sales support and operations, data analysis and eventually, an account director role.

As he grew, so did the Yellow Pages, as print products evolved to meet the needs of an increasingly digital landscape.

In 2017, the opportunity arose to make a lateral move as Business Development Manager for Canberra property website Allhomes, part of the Domain Group.

He says it was a step down from his role with the Yellow Pages, but it was a move to the right industry for him. There, he learned about the unique business environment that was real estate in the ACT.

His work spanned across Allhomes residential and Domain media clients, and he got the opportunity to grow his media sales knowledge and understanding of the market.

He also fell in love with the Australian Capital Territory.

“I love the seasons here. Like in Slovakia, you get spring, summer, autumn and winter; each is its distinct season,” he says.

“I love the lake; I’m on it every day on my stand-up paddle board. I love the proximity to the snow fields where I love to ski. I’ve recently learned to snowboard there and it’s quite addictive.

“I did Sydney in my 20s and survived. This is close enough to the big smoke for me now.”

Mayo spent the first four years building up Allhomes’ commercial real estate.

“I worked really hard to build it up from almost nothing to being quite a significant revenue stream for the organisation,” he says.

“There’s a satisfaction like no other that comes from growing things, particularly from the ground up.”

His last two years at Allhomes were spent in a sales manager role, leading a residential sales team of five. During that time he became an integral part of growing something else entirely – people.

As Head of Performance and Growth at Ray White Canberra, Mayo will be helping the company explore and expand into new markets.

“I had the opportunity to consider a number of businesses,” Mayo explains, “but what most attracted me to Ray White was the ambitious yet caring culture.

“Their values are unique in my experience in the real estate space, where they champion things like Teamwork, Reliability and Humility.

“Also, the way they’ve grown their business from three people to over 140 means it’s a great place for me to learn and grow in my career.”

People recruitment, management and coaching are the muscles he most looks forward to flexing in his new role at Ray White as he works with agents and their databases, digital profiles and marketing strategies to supercharge their success and win listings.

“I don’t need to be a real estate agent to lead, grow and nurture people,” he says.

“I am excited to share what I know about getting the best out of marketing for our vendors.”

Mayo’s high-level goal is to minimise the company’s growing pains, even as it scales. He reckons it won’t always be easy, but it will be worth it.

“As much as the real estate industry presents a nice, shiny veneer and it seems like everyone drives around in shiny cars, the pay gap can present a challenge to recruitment, particularly in the ACT where you’re competing with the public service. This is one challenge I am passionate about addressing,” he says.

“Overall, I just want to help people find their true potential. I have had amazing leaders throughout my career who’ve helped me flourish. I have come to realise that as you get older and wiser, you need to pay that forward. I hope I can do that in this role.”