Jim Hazel’s work celebrated in King’s Birthday Honours List
- King's honour: Jim Hazel appointed Member of the Order of Australia
- Sector giant: Helped shape retirement living for three decades
- Ingenia growth: From $20m to a $1.5bn business
- Industry builder: Key figure behind Prime Life, Village Care and RetireAustralia
The former Chairman of Ingenia Communities Group has been appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM).
He was recognised in the King's Birthday Honours List for “significant service to the finance sector through a range of senior board roles”.
Jim, together with former CEO Simon Owen, drove Ingenia Communities into the second largest seniors’ land lease operator in Australia. The company was valued at $20 million when he became Chair in March 2012 and is now worth an estimated $1.5 billion.
Jim’s first exposure to the village sector was his role as Chief General Manager of Adelaide Bank, rescuing a number of retirement villages caught in the 1990’s credit squeeze.
He then supported Loretta Byers to establish Village Care, which became the first professional village management group with up to 50 private villages in their fold.
In the 90s, he also backed many families into the sector like the Gannon family, which became the base group of villages in the creation of RetireAustralia.
In the 2000s, Jim was approached to lead the rescue of Prime Life, the largest private retirement village group nationally. As CEO, he turned it around to become the base for what was previously Lendlease’s village portfolio, now Keyton.
In June 2024, Jim was inducted onto the Property Council of Australia’s Property Hall of Fame and he was made a Honorary Life Member of the Property Council's Retirement Living Council.
Jim’s longstanding boardroom career in banking includes serving as a non-executive director at Bendigo and Adelaide Bank for over a decade (2010-2023) as well as serving as a former board member and chair of Elders Rural Bank Limited.
"Fitting to see our industry greats recognised for their community service on the King’s Holiday," Property Council of Australia CEO Mike Zorbas said.
He is Chairman of Precision Group of Companies, Deputy Chancellor of Adelaide University and Chair of Barossa Hills Fleurieu Local Health Network. Jim was instrumental in the merging of the University of Adelaide, the third-oldest university in Australia, and the University of South Australia, which had an antecedent history dating back to 1856.
