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Australia / New Zealand: The Australia and New Zealand Short Term Rental Association [ASTRA] announced the election of three leaders onto its board at its annual general meeting last week, joining current and re-elected directors.
Aasish Ponna brings a decade of regulatory and legal experience to the board, having built up considerable experience working with the commonwealth, state and territory governments in professional regulation, policy development, application and enforcement. Ponna has extensive litigation experience and appears on behalf of his clients in federal and state jurisdictions regularly particularly in the areas of administrative law such as the reviews of commonwealth, state and territory government decisions.
In addition to operating his own firm, he currently serves on boards that regulate the legal and health profession.
John Ryall has over 30 years of senior management and ownership experience across multiple sectors including service, national telecommunications infrastructure construction, short-term rental accommodation, and the not-for-profit sector. Ryall is currently the managing director of SC Services, a consultant to the short-term rental accommodation management area, and holds non-executive roles on advisory boards.
He also continues to mentor early-stage businesses and their founders, providing them the opportunity to work effectively in a team environment to plan, execute and measure sound growth strategy initiatives, delivered through and by empowering all stakeholders.
Kyle Fitzsimmons is the managing director at Cosmo, a Victoria-based short-term rental property management platform that partners with leading operators and real estate agencies to assist with their operational burdens and provide support from a guest, pricing and consolidated technology perspective. With over a decade of experience in hospitality and property management, Fitzsimmons focuses on growth strategies, daily operations, and maintaining high standards of service.
Before founding Cosmo, he held senior roles in top hospitality and real estate firms, gaining expertise in operations, business development, and customer service.
Yoav Tourel [Goldberg], the chairman of ASTRA, congratulated the incoming directors: “ASTRA’s board and members will benefit significantly with the appointment of Aasish, John and Kyle. I am humbled that three such experienced professionals have put their hands up to work voluntarily to contribute to our industry.
“Our three new directors join the re-elected members of the ASTRA board: Karen Howard, who was unanimously elected vice-chairperson; Catherine Shields; and Tegan Wilde. Sirini Gopal was elected secretary and is joined by other directors, including Andrew Oscari, David Harris and Phil Spyrou.
“Our board is supported by our CEO Mitch Price, our auditors Australian Independent Audit Services, and our accountants Hood Sweeney.
“I would like to thank Jon Lawry who is retiring from the board. Jon is based in New Zealand and did an outstanding job overseeing ASTRA’s expansion in New Zealand. All of us owe Jon a debt of gratitude,” he added.
Reporting on the highlights of the reporting year, Tourel highlighted ASTRA’s advocacy efforts on behalf of its members, knowledge sharing, the ‘Here to Stay Conference’ held in October 2023, and appointing Price as the first ever CEO of ASTRA.
Tourel continued: “We have a lot of work still to do. We are working hard for our industry to be heard by governments.
“To be regulated in a balanced way that reflects the evidence. I look forward to continuing the fight for our industry that we love and care so much about,” he added.
Tourel was re-elected as chairman of the board at ASTRA’s annual general meeting, which was held virtually on Thursday 27 June.
As the peak body representing the short-term residential rental industry in Australia and New Zealand, an industry comprising more than 200,000 properties across Australia and 45,000 properties in New Zealand, ASTRA’s mission is to promote and standardise the industry through advocacy, education and research. Its members represent the interests of hosted and non-hosted residential property owners, operators, managers, agents, and property management and software businesses.
