I am an accomplished Australian–South African property development executive with over 26 years of global experience in delivering landmark real estate and urban development projects for REITs, sovereign entities, government institutions, and income funds. My career spans five continents and has been anchored in leadership roles across Sydney, Warsaw, Dubai, Johannesburg, and now NEOM in Saudi Arabia. My work has focused extensively on urban transformation in Australia, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), Eastern Europe, and Sub-Saharan Africa.

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As a specialist in large-scale, masterplanned mixed-use precincts, districts, and cities, my expertise lies in creating future-ready, human-centric environments rooted in sustainable and cognitive urbanism. I’ve led some of the world’s most ambitious urban projects, combining architectural relevance with advanced sustainability frameworks. As a sustainability strategy expert, I have been instrumental in developing and overseeing ESG reporting initiatives—most notably, a corporate ESG report ranked by FTSE Russell in 2019 among the top 30 in corporate South Africa, and the highest-rated ESG report within the property fund sector that year.

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Currently, I serve as the Chief Operating Officer for The LINE at NEOM—a 170 km-long, 750m m2 , net-zero, vertical linear city that is redefining the urban development paradigm. My responsibilities include orchestrating complex delivery mechanisms across disciplines, overseeing sustainability strategy, and coordinating with global development teams to achieve NEOM’s visionary goals.

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Prior to this, I was Chief Development Officer of Attacq Limited, a JSE-listed REIT. I was recruited from Dubai by Spencer Stuart to lead development efforts for Waterfall City, a 2,200-hectare smart city in Johannesburg, South Africa. Under my leadership, we developed more than 2 million square meters of bulk across commercial, industrial, and residential precincts including Waterfall Logistics Hub and Waterfall Junction. Waterfall City was recognised globally, winning World’s Best Mixed-Use Development for four consecutive years and Africa’s Best Mixed-Use Development for seven years.

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I also served as the Chairman of the Green Building Council of South Africa, following a prior term as a Vice Chairman and Non-Executive Director. This role aligns with my long-standing commitment to sustainable architecture, precinct development, and environmental leadership in the built environment.

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Earlier in my career, I held key development roles in the UAE. I served as Development Director for a 225,000 sqm twin-tower mixed-use development in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), which included a 64-storey Rosewood-branded tower comprising a hotel, serviced apartments, and residences, as well as a 40-storey commercial tower, all set on a shared luxury retail podium.

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Before that, I was Vice President of Property Development & Masterplanning for the DIFC Authority (DIFCA), overseeing the planning and development of a $25 billion, 110-hectare global financial precinct with a total GFA of over 2.5 million sqm. I was invited to join DIFCA by its CEO, having previously worked together on Dubai Festival City, where I served as a Senior Development Manager following my relocation from Sydney in 2003.

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Between 2006 and 2010, I was based in South Africa as Head of Property Development at Vukile Property Fund, a $1.5 billion retail-focused REIT. I led the diversification of the fund into new asset classes, including hospitals, student housing, high-rise residential, and developed two new 50,000 sqm regional malls, as well as a commercial tech campus.

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This followed my role as Managing Director of Development at Liberty Properties, overseeing major projects for the $3 billion Liberty Property Portfolio and the $600 million Pan-African Development Fund. My responsibilities spanned multiple countries, managing both new builds and the conversion or expansion of existing retail and hospitality assets.

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Following the 2008 Global Financial Crisis, I founded a strategic property consultancy based in Dubai, advising global clients such as Intelligent Engineering (Canada/UK) on infrastructure projects—including bridges and stadiums—and working with government-linked entities such as the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) and the Cape Town Partnership, focused on revitalising urban precincts.

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Earlier in my career , I was headhunted by Wood Hamil Ingram to establish a new real estate division for Al Ghurair Group, one of the UAE’s most prominent industrial conglomerates. As Managing Director and the company’s first employee, I set up the development business, produced a 5-year strategic plan, and initiated two projects in Dubai with a combined development budget of $180 million. The GFC brought these to a halt, at which point I pivoted to full-time consulting.

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Prior to that, I worked as Development Director for an $800 million Sharia-compliant hospitality fund based in Paris, overseeing the strategic packaging of hotel and mixed-use assets in 15 cities across Europe and the MENA region.

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My career began in Johannesburg and Warsaw, delivering public and private sector developments before relocating to Australia and then the Middle East. Over the past 26 years, I have held senior delivery and executive development roles for developers, contractors, and consultants across 25 countries, with additional opportunity engagements in another 8. I have led simultaneous multi-country project deliveries and received multiple awards for project excellence in Australia, South Africa, and Canada.