A career in Mall Leasing brings challenges, opportunities and a great deal of variety every day. For Beth Westblade, that was all part of the attraction.
VCX: Can you talk us through your career journey so far?
BW: I started my career in the travel industry in 2008, first as a retail travel consultant before quickly transitioning into the wholesale space where I worked as Sales Manager for the next 10 years.
Starting in the travel industry was perfect for me. I’ve always loved travel and had been fortunate to spend four years living and travelling overseas before starting my career. I think travel can teach you so much: how to build new relationships; how to be resilient and creative; what your strengths and weaknesses are.
VCX: After 10 years in travel, what brought you to Vicinity?
BW: I loved the travel industry but it’s no secret it was hit hard during COVID-19. I was unfortunate to lose my role as I was about to head on parental leave which caused me to have a serious rethink.
Travel was all I’d known but I also knew the industry was unstable at the time and that I had a great selection of transferable skills that I was sure could be put to use in an equally fulfilling role elsewhere. So, I got out of my comfort zone and explored roles in other industries I was interested in which led me to retail and Mall Leasing specifically.
Vicinity’s national footprint of assets and long list of retail partners was a big attraction to me. With that kind of scale, I saw an opportunity to use my relationship building skills, creativity, and other transferable skills every day.