Leaders Growing Leaders: Peter Kavanagh CEO Leaders Roman & Jonathan Bowman-Perks: Inspiring Leadership Interview

Peter Kavanagh – CEO Leaders Romans Group (LRG) Peter Kavanagh, CEO of LRG, which is one of the largest privately owned property services companies in the UK. Peter had an amazing mum who he credits with much of what he has achieved in life. My mum grew up in a very rural part of Southern Ireland before moving to the UK as a young woman. From a very early age she instilled into her children the importance of a strong work ethic, honesty and treating people properly. At 13 I had two part time jobs which helped me to understand that hard work pays off.

At 28 I joined Romans, at the time a small but very entrepreneurial property services business. I worked with a group of great people and the business kept growing. In 2013 we sold to Bowmark Capital and in 2016 the business was merged with Leaders to form one of the largest privately owned property services companies in the UK. In 2018 Peter became CEO. My top tip is – trust and empower the people you work with to make the right decisions, be brave and above all be yourself.

Peter said: I joined Romans in 1991; at that time Romans was a small company employing 10 people. Over the past 29 years the business has grown geographically and also expanded the range of property services it provides. In 2016 both businesses were brought together under The Leaders Romans Group and in total employs over 2,000 people nationwide in over 160 locations.
My role as Chief Executive Officer is a great challenge and the potential of the business is huge .
My role also enables me to work with many great people in all of our businesses.

Having previously worked as a Chartered Surveyor, Peter joined Romans in May 1991 to establish Romans Professional Services, undertaking residential valuation and surveys for lenders and buyers. Peter was instrumental in developing Romans Professional Services into a much broader part of the business and in developing the Group’s land and planning services.

In the 27 years Peter has worked for the business, he has been responsible for many different departments, developing his operational expertise and which was essential in his previous role as Group Managing Director and now as Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

As CEO, Peter is responsible for overseeing the Group’s continued efforts to grow its national, 160 branch network and developing its range of services for the benefit of new and existing clients. He works closely with the business’ key stakeholders to help develop and implement the overarching business strategy. Peter has a strong focus on customer and client relationships and spends as much time as possible building and maintaining positive business relationships.

Peter lives locally in Finchampstead and is married with four children all over 20 years of age.