| Award: |
The Real Estate Personality of the Year Award |
| Candidate’s name: |
Monika Rajska-Wolińska |
| Company’s name: |
Colliers International Poland Sp. z o. o. |
| Current position: |
Managing Partner |
| Description of the position: |
As Managing Partner for Poland, Monika is responsible for the strategic and operational activities of the company, searching for new development opportunities and innovative solutions. As part of the Colliers EMEA Board, Monika decides on the company’s strategy in Europe, Middle East and Africa. |
| Work experience in this position: |
Promoted to Managing Partner in 2011, Monika has strengthened the company’s position both locally (revenue, EBITDA and employment increase) and globally (Colliers went public). She has launched four new departments and five new local offices (Gdańsk, Poznań, Wrocław, Łódź, Katowice). |
| Description of business activity (profile, market sectors served, etc.): |
Colliers International is a global leader in commercial real estate services with more than 16,300 professionals operating from 502 offices in 67 countries. It delivers a full range of services to real estate users, owners and investors. It has been active in the Polish market since 1997. |
| Size of the company managed by the candidate (headcount, regions of activity): |
Since Monika’s promotion in 2011, the company’s employment has increased by 72% and currently amounts to 251 people spread over Warsaw (HQ), Kraków, Gdańsk, Poznań, Wrocław, Łódź, and Katowice. |
| The y-o-y increase in profits/income generated last year: |
Revenue increase by 25.3% EBITDA increase by 25.2% 2014 was an exceptional year for Colliers Investment and Debt Financing services. Colliers International closed the largest number of investment transactions in the CEE region compared to other international agencies. |
| Career path (Previous employers, professional progress, when was the candidate promoted to the current position, etc.): |
Monika has over 16 years of experience in the real estate sector, previously working at Unikat and Knight Frank. In 1999, she joined Colliers International where in 2007 she was assigned to create the Real Estate Management Services department from scratch. In 2011, she took over as Managing Partner from Hadley Dean. In 2015, Monika joined Colliers EMEA Board as the twelfth member. |
| Biggest business achievements, especially those made last year: |
Under Monika’s leadership, Colliers was named Warehouse Agency of the Year 2014 (4th time in a row), Property Management Company of the Year 2014 (over 1 million sqm under management), Office Agency of the Year (2012, 2013), Retail Agency of the Year 2012 (Eurobuild Awards). In 2014, Colliers closed the largest number of investment deals in CEE. Monika has launched the tenant blog najem.ca, OfficeMAP and RetailMAP, and has introduced workplace solutions at Colliers Warsaw HQ. |
| - Contributions made to the improvement of the CEE commercial property market: |
Implementation of the RetailMAP tool (first retail space search on the Polish CRE market) with plans to adapt it to other CEE markets following the success of OfficeMAP by Colliers. Monika initiated meetings with Polish cities’ authorities to discuss urban planning issues and support Poland during the MIPIM and EXPO fairs. Colliers in Poland introduced the Urban Land Institute to the Polish market |
| Other industry awards and prizes: |
Under Monika’s leadership, the company has been honored with many prestigious awards granted by Eurobuild, CiJ, CEEQA, International Property Awards and Puls Biznesu. In April 2015, Monika was named Professional of the Year in the prestigious CEE Quality Awards. Colliers EMEA team awarded Colliers in Poland with the Best Country Award. |
