If you want to get technical – a chat with Fred Macedo

It should not be a surprise to hear that when you make a phone call to Arizto's Chief Technology Officer, that he picks it up through his wristwatch.

"One of those – trying to get rid of the phone, being tech dependent," laughs Fred Macedo.

The journey for Macedo from his native Portugal to becoming a key man in overseeing Arizto's cutting-edge technology, which helps over 200 agents around the country offer a superior service to their home owners and buyers, is quite unique.

"There was never a plan to come to New Zealand, I was visiting Australia and New Zealand like everyone does, and I really enjoyed it," he says.

Working for a software consultancy, in 2006 Macedo had the chance to come back Down Under by taking up a contract with a third party representing a major dairy giant in Australia , which was then extended another six months in New Zealand.

Six months has become 18 years.

"I met a girl, and I was young," he says without a hint of irony.

"Everything just happened, which was great. Back then and now, Auckland is the place to be."

While the youthful relationship ran its course, Macedo was still quite happy remain in Aotearoa, where he used his skills to work on projects for a range of top companies like Sektor, 2Degrees Mobile, The Jetts Fitness, and consultancy for software groups working with leading local retail and banking brands.

He gravitated to project work to have oversight of the full plans for the technology those companies needed, rather than being a contractor called in just to do a specific task.

"I need to know what will happen after the work is done.

"For good or bad, I go with the flow a lot.

"I'm just lucky to be around projects where the outcome was more important than the [personal financial] result.

"My life has been rewarding."

This led him to a little upstart real estate company six years ago – Macedo very interested in helping Arizto grow and change the industry, as the technology he maintains and puts in the agents hands lets them swiftly do work which previously would have taken hours on paper.

"The tech does everything, it's fundamental. But at the end of the day, you can print the PDF and get the vendor to sign if they want."

Speaking to team members every day, Macedo loves to hear stories about how they can take on more listings in more places than they would previously have managed with a paper-focussed company, and how their lowered overheads lets them get listings and make better relationships with clients thanks to offering better value commissions.

"The tech is just here to help you. It's the best to get the deal across – all parties win."

As he liaises with staff both in New Zealand and overseas – his 3pm would be the latter's 10am – Macedo likes how the now-established system means he can work mostly from his home office, other than the standard office catch-up meetings.

He works with the local entities like REINZ and tech giants like Apple to make sure as they upgrade their systems that the Arizto app and Dashboard still connect properly to it.

Macedo voluntarily had the code for that online technology audited twice by industry experts and it passed with flying colours.

"We were lucky enough to have the directors willing to invest in the tech, and it's unlike other companies that crumbled over time.

"The tech is good because [support] people care and learn what the agents do.

"I like to tweak everything, and make things as better as possible. The feedback is awesome.

"There are no days the same, which is love-hate. But I'd complain it's boring if it was all the same."

That feedback from agents about how they input information allows the support team to add more button features while also integrating more agents as the nation-wide team expands, the robustness of the programming a real source of pride.

"People get a knowledge they can't get most places nowadays.

"We're growing and the system doesn't even flinch.

"That's why we're so cocky about it because we know our system is pretty good."

If Arizto is moving with the times in New Zealand real estate, it's Macedo and the rest of the hardworking support team who are paving the way.