From the time he started school, Scottish-born property development manager Ian Pert knew that to be successful in life, he would have to excel in a field that would buy him a ticket out of his home country. 
Growing up in the manufacturing city of Dundee in the Thatcher era, jobs were few and far between and when it came time to graduate, only six people in his class were able to secure local employment.
"You made sure you got an education that allowed you to travel," Mr Pert told The Australian "It was just a known thing ... something you always had in mind." A degree in quantity surveying took Mr Pert to Glasgow at a time when it was just going through a regeneration that would eventually lead to a reputation as the "City of Culture".
Overseeing the transformation of old buildings into cosmopolitan apartments was put on hold when he finally got an overseas offer in the Middle East.
"It wasn't a glamour post. We were in the 80s (and) it was nothing like it is now - Dubai had three hotels," Mr Pert said.
"I was working in project management and we were, how do you say it, doing a fair bit of military stuff for the Americans.
"It mainly involved supply camps, so for the most part we were literally out in the desert." Three years later, Mr Pert had enough and after weighing up whether a move to Canada or Australia was best, booked a flight to Sydney in 1988.
From there he moved to Queensland, arriving on the Gold Coast in 1990 at the height of the Japanese investment boom.
After 12 years as Queensland national director for the Rawlinsons Group, Mr Pert started GMP management, which has since become a leading project manager of hotel developments across Brisbane.
Currently, he is development manager of the $325 million five-star hotel and apartment tower Mary Lane in Brisbane's CBD for mining magnate Sam Chong, who also owns the neighbouring Four Points by Sheraton.
The project, which will include a Melbourne-style laneway dining experience, was designed by Woods Bagot and residences will be marketed by Colliers International.
Mr Pert said Mary Lane was a unique offering in the Australian market, incorporating an executive residential offering atop a five-star hotel.
"The combination of a five-star hotel, luxury residences and dining precinct is popular in cities such as Singapore, Hong Kong and New York but until now has not been seen in Australia on this scale," he said. "There is no peer in Australia for a project of this type and it's going to add a new dimension to the living experience in Brisbane's CBD.
"The design of the building takes its cues from cosmopolitan cities around the world." Having settled in southeast Queensland, Mr Pert believes Brisbane and the Gold Coast are the places to invest and raise a family."Yes, Brisbane is probably not as mature as Sydney or Melbourne but we are heading that way and are much more affordable," he said. "I certainly have no plans on going back to Scotland ... perhaps only for holidays."