Julie Price: Purpose-Driven Project Leadership

A fearless leader with heart and focus, Julie Price is shaping how projects are delivered in Aotearoa. One partnership, one outcome and one place at a time.

Six years ago, Julie swapped billion-dollar projects in Sydney and the UK to return home to Rotorua. Since then, she has become one of the most respected project leaders in regional New Zealand, driving transformational community initiatives while mentoring the next generation of women in property.

This year, Julie is a finalist for the Women in Property Award at the 2025 Central Property People Awards, recognising her exceptional leadership, cultural integrity and the impact she continues to make on people, places and the property industry.

“Julie is purpose-driven to her core. She’s sharp as a tack and commercially fearless and you can’t pull the wool over her eyes. Yet she has no ego and no need for the spotlight. Julie leaves every place and every project better than she found it.” – Michael Kemeys, Veros

Morgan Jones

Building trust, delivering outcomes.

Julie’s career spans more than 25 years across Aotearoa, Australia and the UK. Her experience includes the $3.4B International Convention Centre Sydney, the $1.2B Royal North Shore Hospital redevelopment and major civic projects across the UK. But it’s her recent work in the Bay of Plenty and Waikato that shows her full capability — blending commercial precision with community value and driving results that matter.

Signature projects include:

Rotorua Lakefront Redevelopment: An award-winning placemaking project that honours Te Arawa heritage and transforms the city’s waterfront
Ōmanawa Falls Visitor Experience: Reconnecting the public to a sacred site through safe accessways, cultural storytelling and environmental protection
Pūkenga Rau Tokoroa ($14M): A new vocational centre for 500+ students a year, creating life-changing opportunities for Māori and Pasifika youth
Marine Parade Coastal Path Upgrade: Balancing public access, construction and environmental restoration along a beloved stretch of Tauranga’s coast
Northern Quarter Redevelopment: A 6 Green Star certified mixed-use precinct shaping the future of Tauranga’s CBD

Julie is widely known as the “local government whisperer,” navigating complex systems without compromising standards, and bringing mana whenua, councils, consultants and contractors together around a shared kaupapa. Whether she is steering a project through consenting, interrogating every line of a variation claim or turning up with kai for a site meeting, Julie brings a rare blend of commercial clarity and relational care.

Mentor. Role model. Shareholder.

Inside Veros, Julie is more than a Senior Project Manager, she’s a mentor, shareholder and culture-setter. She also leads the company’s health and safety programme and is a core member of the Wellbeing Committee, known for her ability to protect outcomes without losing her people-first approach.

“When I started at Veros, Julie took me under her wing. She showed me the ropes and made me feel confident and capable from day one. She’s just so good with people — clients, contractors, the team. People love working with her, and it’s easy to see why.” — Alexandrine Montgomery, Senior Project Manager

Morgan Jones

Julie shares her wins, backs her team and takes on the hard stuff without fuss. Her work ethic is relentless, often scootering to site meetings, climbing tracks at Ōmanawa or juggling phone calls and site visits in the rain, all while cracking a joke and keeping the programme on track.

Legacy in the making.

Julie’s work is reshaping how public realm and community projects are delivered in Aotearoa — with cultural integrity, meaningful engagement and long-term social value at the core.

Her goals for the future are grounded and ambitious:

Champion more women into senior property roles
Embed true co-design in public and community projects
Influence policy and delivery models through on-the-ground insight
Keep delivering places that strengthen local economies and restore connections to the land.

“I feel incredibly lucky to do work that I believe in — projects I can proudly show my kids and say, I helped make that happen.” — Julie Price

Morgan Jones

Julie doesn’t just deliver projects, she delivers purpose. She builds with care and raises the bar for what leadership in this industry can look like.

We look forward to celebrating Julie and all the finalists at the 2025 Central Property People Awards on 23 October, alongside our clients, peers and industry partners. If you’re heading along, see you there.