Charles Anderson
Founder & Executive Director
BCM (VPM), Cert. Real Estate Economics & Finance (LSE)
Charlie is a proven leader in value creation through business strategy, management and development, with over 25 years of business experience spanning residential, healthcare, and retirement living across New Zealand and Australia. Before founding Urban Villages, he served as General Manager of Property and Development at Metlifecare, where he oversaw the most successful development period in the company’s history. During his tenure, company assets grew from $2.22B to over $3.5B, seven new greenfield village sites were acquired, and New Zealand’s first 6-star Homestar rated retirement village was delivered. He led the creation of more than 1,000 new units alongside 2,500 refurbishments, more than doubled annual unit production, improved development margins, and secured multiple awards for built form excellence.
At Urban Villages, Charlie partners with operators, boards, and investors supporting and leading business strategy, design and development of retirement communities. His work is grounded in clear frameworks for strategy, master planning, financial modelling, wellness programming, and operational excellence - all aimed at unlocking stronger resident outcomes and superior commercial performance.
Charlie holds a Bachelor of Commerce and Management (VPM) from Lincoln University and a Certificate in Real Estate Economics & Finance from the London School of Economics. He is a member of the Retirement Villages Association of New Zealand and a regular contributor to sector thought leadership, developing new models and systems to better serve the next generation of retirees.
Charlie believes the future of retirement living isn’t just about a continuum of care - it’s about creating places where people can live well for longer, where strong communities and strong returns go hand-in-hand.
Duncan Anderson
B.Com Ag, MBA
Duncan is a hands-on Project Manager and Business Improvement Specialist with 25 years experience in improving process and delivery across challenging sectors including Healthcare and Construction.
Originally an accountant and trained in Lean Thinking and Six Sigma, Duncan brings the practical and visual tools to construction project planning and delivers measurable benefits. He first deployed Lean Principles to Construction in NZ in 2010 when he helped the $1.2B BBUGL / Transpower Alliance deliver a step change in performance on the new 220km 400KVA power transmission line from Taupo to Auckland.
Most recently Duncan has specialised in operations and delivery improvement in high rise construction, working predominantly with Icon NZ on several multi storey towers in Auckland. Duncan held the role of structure site manager on the 57 Level Pacifica Tower in 2018/19 which was the first large scale jump form and PT structure in Auckland since Metropolis. With the structure team struggling to meet planned cycles on complex lower levels Duncan took over site operations on level 5 and reduced the weekly floor cycles from 2 weeks to 6 days utilising lean planning principles and to solve the delay constraints.
Duncan’s key skill is engaging with groups of specialist sub-contractors and creating disciplined planning processes where work is tracked daily, where problems can be identified early and solved collaboratively.
