Don Ha has stepped aside as head of RE/MAX in New Zealand, with Mala Maharaj named the new chief executive officer for the franchise in that country and Fiji.
Ms Maharaj has long been Mr Ha’s greatest supporter, working alongside him in real estate for two decades, first as the general manager at Don Ha Real Estate and then, subsequently, as general manager at RE/MAX Revolution.
In 2020, she joined Mr Ha on the leadership team in a corporate role, as chief operations officer.
Heavily vested in RE/MAX New Zealand from the outset, Ms Maharaj also stepped up to become a co-owner in the New Zealand master franchise in April last year.
She now looks after the day-to-day operations of the major franchise business, the systems and processes, and the network of broker-owner clients and their businesses.
Ms Maharaj said she was honoured to have taken the role as CEO and she was looking to invest in RE/MAX’s people in New Zealand and Fiji.
“My goal is to grow the brand in both countries,” she said.
“I want to work with the broker-owners and the agents as well, and help people achieve their dreams at the same time.”
Cheryl Luster, Director of Global Development, RE/MAX, LLC congratulated Ms Maharaj and Mr Ha on the leadership changes.
“I am very excited for Mala and for RE/MAX growth in the region because she is a true business professional, and a wonderful leader and ambassador for RE/MAX worldwide,” Ms Luster said.
Mr Ha said Ms Maharaj was a natural choice as the next CEO of RE/MAX New Zealand and Fiji.
He said of the past four years he had spent hundreds of hours leading the brand through growth and profitability and Ms Maharaj had been there “every step of the way”.
“She knows the business inside out,” Mr Ha said.
“She is fully experienced and possesses the optimum qualities to lead RE/MAX New Zealand into the next phase of growth instead of me, so I decided it was time to turn to my other talents and loves of coaching, teaching, mentoring, marketing, brand awareness and sponsorships.”
Mr Ha will now take the role of chairperson of the Board for RE/MAX New Zealand and RE/MAX Fiji.
This also allows him to sink his teeth into his great love, Don Ha Project Marketing where, since the start of April this year, he has brought in $200 million worth of new listings and has had vendors invest more than $150,000 in marketing dollars.
Sales figures have been on a fast upward trajectory, while website traffic has risen about 30 per cent since April.
Winner of global RE/MAX awards, the Don Ha Projects Team has successfully been involved in billions of projects nationally and internationally.
This has created employment for hundreds of contractors and suppliers, while client reach is global, through the Asia-Pacific and through Europe, with locations in Beijing, Shanghai, Singapore, Japan, Australia, New Caledonia, France, UK, Mongolia and more.
Mr Ha said RE/MAX was set to become an even greater brand in New Zealand and Fiji in the next five years, courtesy of its values – loyalty, trust, respect and hard work.
