Lorna Willis
Lorna Willis
Property Developer & Strategist
Personal & Business Summary
- 35 years of experience in Property Development
- Corporate Advisor, strategist & negotiator for mergers & acquisitions
- Qualified Architectural Designer & Interior Designer
- Winner of National Design Awards
- Accredited and accepted by National Establishments including the Building Practitioners Board; Australian Institute of Company Directors.
- Interviewed and quoted for 2UE Radio Sydney and The Financial Review Melbourne
- Owner, Operator, Managing Director, CEO of several successful start-up companies in Victoria and Qld.
- Founder of the WOW Property Women, with an expanding network currently at 153 Members for the Sunshine Coast
- Member of the Girl Torque Motor Bike Club
- Mother of 4 daughters and Grandi to 9 grandchildren – some who are on the other side of the world.
Property Summary
With a background of over 35 years in property, Lorna’s vast and varied experience has been the catalyst in establishing the WOW Group.
Previously an Architectural Designer gaining the experience from a vast variety of projects worked on for clients; Lorna stepped out from her business to pursue property developing on a fulltime basis in 2004. Since then her passion for property has been targeted towards commercial and larger sized developments, directing the Victorian based projects from Town Planning right through to completion.
Lorna has designed a wide range of her own personal projects including ‘change of use’, amalgamations, demolitions/alterations/additions, subdivisions, over-55 villages and commercial precincts. Completed many property acquisitions of different zones, including 219 Acres of farm land. Met with the surveyors, engineers, and town planners on site. Got dirty covered in mud & cement in the trenches; put on the tools and worked alongside the trades; all the while pushing to get the next Development Approvals through Councils & Building Approvals in place. As projects successively got larger, the necessary upgrade of vital skills such as project management, stakeholder communications and relationship building continued to evolve. Financially engineering, delivering complex property deals – even when the banks say NO! became a solution focused work of art.
In 2010 Lorna also completed The Australian Institute of Directors Course in Melbourne and in 2011 the MBE Corporate Advisory and Capital Raising Course in Sydney.
Since moving to the Sunshine Coast in 2013, Lorna has assisted other developers such as Mark Kratzmann & Don Moffatt, by being instrumental in the strategic planning to obtain funding for a variety of projects. Lorna also takes the opportunity where possible, to sign on as an Arm Chair Developers/Investors in these carefully selected projects, to personally diversify and leverage returns. Several other members of the WOW Property Women have also chosen to follow suit as Arm Chair Developers/Investors.
Having taken the time to now establish her own trusted professional team on the Sunshine Coast, Lorna draws on her past experiences and expertise to mastermind and deliver projects in conjunction with her associated parties; to collaborate and create a high standard of finished excellence.