Karuna Mazzocchi has been appointed as the new chief executive officer for Coronis Group, bringing with her a keen desire to pivot and grow the business and its people.
Outgoing CEO Andrew Coronis will move into the position of chairman.
“Karuna has the passion and strategic vision to take the Coronis Group to new heights. There is no person more deserving of the position,” Mr Coronis said.
Ms Mazzocchi said she was delighted to take the reins at the agency where she started her real estate career 20 years ago.
“I’m really looking forward to this new phase and that final piece in my journey that I’ve been working towards for my whole life,” she said.
“I really want to deliver some great outcomes for our people, our team and our community.”
Ms Mazzocchi said she had a clear vision for Coronis Group, including opening four new offices in South-East Queensland in her first 100 days in the role.
She said another key area of focus would be ensuring career pathways for every Coronis team member regardless of what stage of their career they are at.
“A big focus for me is growth and making sure that we’ve got pathways that can develop everybody, no matter where they’re at in their journey.
“I want to focus on getting people into business ownership and partnerships with us and help support them in that.”
In this vein, Ms Mazzocchi said she was also looking to “pivot” the group’s strategy to provide multiple levels of ownership – corporate franchise, partnership franchise and franchise – for those looking to have their own business under the Coronis banner.
“I want to implement that across the nation in a way other agencies aren’t doing,” she said.
“That will be rolled out over the next 12 months.
“We will be helping people financially as well, seeding them into offices and creating a partnership with them to support them in a more emotional way, a more hand-holding way and de-risking it for them and allowing them to grow a business.”
Ms Mazzocchi said this would include helping business owners understand how to run a business not just from a sales perspective but incorporating a rent roll, mortgage and finance and other revenue streams.
“We want to make sure that every person that embarks on a Coronis office, irrespective of whether they’re in corporate, partnership or 100 per cent ownership, that they’re actually getting what they need out of it.”
Ms Mazzocchi started her career with Coronis in 2003 as an agent and has worked her way through the ranks over the years.
After eight years in a sales role and assisting with Coronis’ expansion, Karuna became an area leader, managing seven offices and a team of more than 90 sales specialists, property managers, admin and support staff.
She became the group’s chief operating officer in 2017.
Before real estate, Ms Mazzocchi worked in retail. She started stacking fruit and vegetables at a greengrocer before working her way up to an area manager role with 18 stores by the time she was 22.
She said joining Coronis felt like the perfect fit.
“I was looking for people that I thought were going to invest in me,” Ms Mazzocchi said.
“I wanted an agency that would give me the space and autonomy to be who I wanted to be.
“I wanted them to be there when I needed support, but not be too overpowering and still allow creativity and movement.
“But I also wanted structured training and to learn the right activities and the right actions from the start.”
Ms Mazzocchi said when she first met Andrew Coronis, there was just the one, original Coronis office, but he had the vision to grow, and she felt she fit that vision.
She said it was reassuring to have Mr Coronis as the group’s chairman.
“Andrew and I are very different people, but that’s something I think is really important because you want that diversity and challenging and robust conversations with the people that you have around you,” Ms Mazzocchi said.
“That’s not just with Andrew but with our whole executive leadership team.
“I don’t want ‘yes’ people around me that don’t challenge what I’m thinking or doing, because I’m not always right and you do need other people to say, ‘Have you thought of this’?”
Ms Mazzocchi said she also hoped that she’d be remembered as a strong leader, not just a strong female leader, but that she also hoped her being appointed CEO would inspire other women.
“I do hope it inspires women to have a crack and to put themselves forward,” she said.
Coronis Group founder, and father of Andrew, Theo Coronis said he was delighted to welcome Ms Mazzocchi as the new CEO.
“She has been an integral part of our team for close to two decades,” he said.
