Reflections on Christine Gray’s incredible career

It’s the end of an era at Ray White as Christine Gray retires after 25 years with the leading group.

The unflappable Christine started out as Brian White’s executive assistant in 1997 and ended up also running the W Concepts event team which is famous for organising incredible events across Ray White and Loan Market in Australasia.

Her role evolved from day one as Brian took more and more control of the day to day management of the group and its direction.

“My role evolved into more of a project management role depending on what Brian’s priorities were for the company at the time - that included being part of teams charged with initiatives like brand refreshes, website design and launch, the development of an intranet site and several iterations, campaigns to combat competitor threats,” she says.

Then came the Centenary of the company in 2002 and Brian handed Christine the project of managing the Centenary Conference.

“I had only done a few smaller conferences up until that point and I am forever grateful that he had so much more confidence in me than I did - to him there was no question I was up for the job,” she reflects.

“Little did I realise the event would become so big with 1300 attendees. That event well and truly set the foundation for the future Connect conferences.

“As the fourth generation came into their own, Sam, Dan and Ben ran their own areas of the business, all requiring events and fabulous fancy dress parties.

“And so, the events team was formed! And I have held the role of Brian’s EA throughout the journey.”

There were only 400 or so offices when Christine Gray joined the group.

“We were in the middle of a name change from United Realty to Ray White in New Zealand when I started and not long after that, Ray White opened its first office in Indonesia. Loan Market (then Ray White Financial Services) had begun the year before and only had two brokers and one admin staffer,” she says.

“To watch the growth of the group and the expansion into other areas such as Ray White Invest (now White & Partners), property management specialisation, rural, commercial, marine, etc has been phenomenal and a real privilege to witness.

“The other big change in the 25 years has been the focus on technology and how much the family has invested into resources that have revolutionised the process of real estate from a “catch and kill” approach to a focus on customer experience.”

With so many memorable events - each one unique and special - it’s naturally hard to pick a favourite but Connect 2022 will go down in the history books as Ray White best conference to date!

“It was very memorable for a lot of reasons, not least of which was the record 2800 attendees and the now famous White Party but special mention has to go to the Centenary Conference in 2002 as it was our first major event. The amazing dinner was in a marquee the size of Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium which required every member of staff at the Royal Pines, from the general manager down to the greenkeepers from the golf course, on hand to ensure everyone received a hot plated meal on possibly the coldest night ever in Queensland.”

The hallmarks of Christine’s successful career are her flexibility, patience, time management and creativity.

“It is important to be flexible because no matter how much you plan and what you expect, so much can happen that requires you to turn on a dime and deliver creative solutions. The secret is to make sure the delegates never know what’s happened behind the scenes,” she says.

“The events world is still suffering badly from COVID-19 all but wiping out the industry. The flow on effect of staff and skills shortages, stricter regulations in venues, the preference for many speakers to deliver online rather than in person and freight delays cause many challenges in delivering quality events.

“But I have been blessed with a brilliant team (thank you to Kirby Pearce and Emma Vandenham) who don’t compromise our standards and will carry the baton moving forward.

Finally Christine’s top three speakers that she enjoyed over the years:

1. Li Cunxin (Mao’s Last Dancer) for the passion with which he tells his amazing story

2. Olympic cyclist Anna Meares with her humble story of incredible triumphs, low points and resilience

3. Vinh Giang as he’s a very clever combination of magic skills which translate into communication skills in a highly entertaining presentation.

Thank you Christine Gray for your dedication and passion.