‘Feel the fear’: Meet the CEO helping women ascend the leadership ladder

“Feel the fear and do it anyway,” is the approach that’s helped propel Karuna Mazzocchi into leadership within Australia’s male-dominated real estate industry.  

Ms Mazzocchi has led national end-to-end property business Coronis as chief executive officer since early 2023 after first joining the company some two decades earlier.  

From her beginnings as a salesperson to becoming a transformative chief executive, Ms Mazzocchi’s journey has epitomised resilience and determination.  

Karuna Mazzocchi became chief executive of Coronis in early 2023. Picture: Supplied

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But her leadership has extended beyond the Coronis team and its customers – Ms Mazzocchi has also been focused on improving the representation and promotion of women in property. 

That’s why Ms Mazzocchi received the Most Influential Woman in Property award at the REA Excellence Awards this year, reflecting her impact on Australia’s real estate industry. 

“It feels wonderful to be recognised for the work that I have been doing for the past 20 years,” she said.  

“I think it’s nice for young women in the industry to see other women achieving and see that they can continue their journey of success and grow into business owners.”  

Ms Mazzocchi has been a prominent voice in the industry, taking a lead with her peers to encourage more women into the leadership ranks for International Women’s Day this year.

More work to be done

But Ms Mazzocchi believes the real estate industry still has more work to do when it comes to women holding leadership roles.  

“I’m still disappointed with the how few women there are, especially at the high levels leading companies such as CEOs and managing directors, and it’s not just real estate,” she said.

“I find it a bit baffling in some ways because I believe that women do have the right drive.” 

The chief executive said there were still times when women were holding back from putting themselves forward out of fear.  

Many women still held reservations about how to juggle family and work responsibilities successfully in the modern world, she said.  

Ms Mazzocchi won the Most Influential Woman in Property award at the REA Excellence Awards this year.

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“The world that we live in now, especially in Australia, you can have a family and run a business and create that work life integration to be able to succeed in all of those areas,” she said. 

“People need to understand that it’s not one or the other, you actually can have the integration of all those things.  

“I’d love to see more women stand up, put themselves out there and grow into leadership positions.” 

Where it all started

Ms Mazzocchi got her start in real estate in her early 20s, when she joined Coronis as a salesperson in Brisbane in 2003.  

Despite having no industry experience, she could see that a career in real estate could give her the lifestyle that she wanted and the opportunity to secure her own financial freedom if she put the work in. 

From there, Ms Mazzocchi went from strength to strength, from opening her first agency to becoming an area manager overseeing several offices.  

At the same time, her family started to grow and she had two children. It was on her return from having her second child when she decided to take a different path and was promoted to chief operating officer at Coronis in 2017.  

Then in early 2023, Ms Mazzocchi took the helm as chief executive. 

“I still get to spend a lot of time with our sales team and celebrate their wins,” she said.  

“But what makes me really tick is helping people grow and I love to see people getting to where they want to be in their life.” 

Helping team members within Coronis grow into business owners and secure their own financial freedom has been one of the greatest achievements of her career so far.  

Ms Mazzocchi started her real estate career as a salesperson in 2003.

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She said Coronis had been working on their partnership franchising model for just under two years, successfully launching numerous new offices.  

Every new office that had opened in that time had seen agents improve their commission income and their rent rolls grow in the first 12 months, she said.  

Her team was also helping these new agencies become profitable within the first year, she added. 

“I’m super proud of that,” she said.    

“I really believe the people in our business, whether it’s property managers, business development managers or salespeople, can grow into business owners. 

“They can grow an asset for themselves and create some sort of wealth and financial freedom and then have the choice to not be on the tools if that’s what they want to do.” 

What’s next?

Looking ahead, Ms Mazzocchi said she’s just getting started.  

“At the moment, I’m still quite early in my time in the CEO seat, and I have a very strong five-year strategic plan that we’re executing right now and I’m having lots of fun delivering that,” she said.  

The plan includes growing their franchises and franchise partnerships, expanding their mortgage and conveyancing businesses, and boosting their rent rolls. 

She is also focused on nurturing internal talent and bringing fresh expertise into the fold.

“I’m excited about it all, and it comes with a lot of joy watching us achieve these goals and grow.”