Alice Smith celebrates 10 years at ICD

Where do you see yourself 10 years from now?

That is a difficult question for anyone to answer, especially if we consider that 2020 has thrown many curveballs in our path.

If you asked ICD’s Development Director Alice Smith this question 10 years ago Alice might not have been able to tell you that she would spend her next 10 years developing her knowledge and expertise to take her from Researcher to Development Director but that is exactly what happened.

Having joined ICD Property in its early days during 2010, Alice Smith has seen the company grow from humble beginnings completing its very first development to now being one of the country’s most notable developers with a pipeline of over $2 billion.

After completing a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Melbourne, Alice went on to pursue a Bachelor of Architectural Design and Masters of Architecture both from RMIT. Passionate about the beauty of built form developments, she began working in the architecture and design industries before eventually progressing onto property development.

Alice first joined ICD Property as a Researcher, conducting due diligence for new sites and growing ICD Property’s pipeline of acquisition projects. After many years of providing innovative input and leadership to ICD Property’s development team as a Development Manager, Alice then advanced to Development Director which now sees her responsible for the delivery of all ICD Property projects in line with the company’s vision.

An integral member of the ICD Property family, 2020 marks the 10^th year of Alice’s tremendous journey with the company.

Alice has witness ICD’s growth from the ground up, so we caught up with her to ask for an insight into her ICD journey.

Did you ever expect your ICD journey to lead you into your current role as Development Director?

“Never, my aspirations were so low in hindsight but deep down I knew it was a company and a team that I wanted to be a part of, regardless of how long it lasted or where it took me.”

What are the biggest learnings you take from your 10 years at ICD?

“If I had to choose the most important thing ICD has taught me then I would have to say – to be confident. The faith in my abilities held by our Chairman and Founder Michael, Deputy Managing Director Sal, Managing Director Matt, other ICD staff and the Mai family from the get go has been directly responsible for me having the faith in my own abilities to just go for it in all my different roles and challenges. I really believe this has fundamentally shaped me into the person I am today, affecting me both professionally and personally, and this is something I can never be thankful enough for.”

10 years commitment to a company and its goals is a big deal especially these days – what is it about ICD that gives you the passion and excitement for your role?

“10 years may seem like a long time to be at one company but at ICD it still feels short to me. My role has varied so much over my time here, I have really had 5-6 jobs. And even within that, property development management is so diverse. You could hold the same title for 20 years and still not get bored if you had the right projects to work on. ICD’s culture is to never get comfortable, always improve and always find the next project (property or otherwise) that will challenge and excite the team.”

As the ICD family continues to mature and grow, we are so excited for our employees to hit these milestones and can only imagine the things we will achieve as a team in the next 10 years.

What is for certain however is that we will continue to strive for excellence and push boundaries.

TPP. Engage. Produce. Grow.