Over the past decade, CEO Scott O’Neill has built up Rethink Group from a small, single-service advisory into one of Australia’s largest property investment groups.

It has successfully acquired more than US$3.9 billion in property on behalf of clients and expanded into nine specialist businesses covering every stage of the investor journey, from financing and legal to insurance, renewables and education.

But as impressive as this financial performance is, O’Neill says he is most proud of the impact it is having on the lives of its clients.

“What makes this achievement meaningful is not just the scale, but the consistency of outcomes: our clients experience genuine financial transformation,” he tells The CEO Magazine.

“We’ve proven that integrity and performance can coexist in an industry too often driven by volume.

“Every milestone reflects our mission to empower everyday Australians to achieve lasting financial independence through property.”

This has resulted in the CEO being named Property Development and Real Estate Executive of the Year at The CEO Magazine’s 2025 Executive of the Year Awards.

Major trends

While the industry is experiencing high growth, it remains fragmented. O’Neill sees it as Rethink Group’s duty to galvanize its fellow property investors around core values to ensure it grows in the right way.

“As the largest business of our type, we bear significant responsibility to lead the industry in the right direction without compromising quality,” he points out.

O’Neill identifies three strategic pillars that guide the company. The first is a commitment to quality over quantity, resisting the temptation to focus on the short-term – a mistake that could ultimately damage its hard-earned brand image.

“While compromising on property quality could increase deal volume, we deliberately reject more opportunities than ever before, even at the cost of additional revenue,” he explains.

“Deal quality is fundamental to our brand and long-term reputation, so we prioritize client outcomes over short-term profits.

“Reputation is everything. It can take decades to build but be lost in days. If you operate like that in business and in life, you should continually become better.”

The second pillar is a commitment to enhanced efficiency and customer service, which is placing emerging technologies at the forefront.

“Through comprehensive internal reviews, we’re rebuilding the company from the ground up to become AI-native,” O’Neill reveals.

“This transformation will dramatically increase operational efficiency, customer satisfaction and, I believe, create new employment opportunities within Rethink Group as we scale smarter rather than just bigger.”

Scaling smarter leads into its third pillar, which is its enthusiasm to continue growing into pastures new, through vertical integration and geographic expansion.

“This year we’ve grown from eight to nine Rethink companies, increasing our influence across the entire value chain for customer benefit while diversifying business risk,” he says.

“To our knowledge, no other company in our industry has achieved this level of integrated expansion.”

The result is that Rethink Group now has people in all six Australian states and the Australian Capital Territory, along with Auckland and Christchurch in New Zealand.

A thriving culture

This expansion has not come at the cost of a sustainable and welcoming culture, however. O‘Neill is also proud of the way Rethink Group has created an environment where innovation thrives, accountability is cemented and ideas from every level of the organization are valued.

“Our culture is defined by ownership, trust and continuous improvement. We operate with an entrepreneurial mindset at every level; every team member is encouraged to think and act like a business owner,” he says.

“This culture has been instrumental in achieving industry-leading client satisfaction and staff retention, both of which drive our success and reputation.”

Carrying this culture of success forward, O’Neill shares his vision of Rethink Group continuing to push frontiers in a way that will pull the industry along with it.

“Looking ahead, I see the industry evolving toward more education-led, technology-driven and client-centric models,” he predicts.

“Rethink Group will continue leading that transformation, setting new benchmarks for professionalism and trust while expanding our ecosystem.”

While continued profitability for the company looks guaranteed, O’Neill is again looking beyond the bottom line.

“While profit measures success, creating a lasting legacy through education and wealth creation for our clients is what truly matters,” he reflects.

“As our influence grows and more people recognize the transformative power of strategic property investment, I feel more fulfilled than ever in our mission to change how Australians build wealth.”