Dakin appointed Property Council president

He once wanted to be the All Black captain but now the head of an NZX-listed business with $2.3 billion worth of property has been appointed NZ Property Council president.

John Dakin, Goodman Property Trust chief executive and executive director, is the new head of the Auckland-headquartered council with 700 member companies who own billions of dollars of commercial, industrial and retail property.

He takes over from Argosy Property chief executive Peter Mence.

Dakin told the Herald in 2011: "My 10-year-old son asked me the other day what would be my ultimate job and I said I would like to be the All Black captain but that was never going to happen."

Dakin said today: "It's a privilege to have a leadership opportunity again with the council. There are some major issues in the sector, including urban planning, the tax review, Overseas Investment Act review and funding of infrastructure which is important. Clearly, we're under pressure with housing and there's no simple fix but the council can play a constructive role across all those things.

"Constraints in the construction sector are another huge issue, curtailing the ability of the development sector to keep pace with demand. We need some good thinking about resourcing of the Government and private sector," Dakin said.

He has headed Goodman since 2004, responsible for the overall management and operations of the New Zealand business. He has more than 25 years' experience in the property industry, including property and corporate transactions, valuation, research, asset management and investment management and was appointed to the board in 2012.

Goodman invests mainly in Auckland, owns 1 million square metres of rentable space, has an NZX market capitalisation of $1.7b and owns the 108ha $1.2b Highbrook Business Park near East Tamaki.

Dakin was once a Property Council staffer, appointed its research manager in 1993, later becoming its chief executive before moving to Australia and the funds management business.