I am an Australian / South African C Suite property development professional and have been involved in developing new property assets primarily for development , REIT or income funds and Government entities globally for the past 26 years . Based in Warsaw, Sydney, Dubai ,Johannesburg and NEOM , I have focusing primarily on Australia, the Middle East and North Africa , Eastern Europe and Sub Saharan Africa enviroments.

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I specialise in masterplanned mixed use precincts , districts and cities with a sustainable and cognitive city foundation for functional and architecturally relevant buildings and human centric environments. As a sustainability strategy expert I am involved in setting sustainability strategy and reporting progress via the corporate ESG report which in its first year ( 2019) was rated via FTSE Russell as being in the top 30 ESG reports in corporate South Africa and the top property fund ESG report.

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I am currently the Chief Operating Officer for The LINE  a 170km long Linear and net zero masterplanned vertical city at NEOM Saudi Arabia.

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As an award winning master developer involved in the Worlds best mixed use for 4 consecutive years and Africas best mixed use for 7 consecutive years , I have a track record of delivering world class mixed use projects.

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I was head hunted by Spencer Stuart while based in Dubai to relocate to South Africa as the Chief Development Officer for Attacq Limited a JSE listed REIT responsible for developing over 2 000 000m2 of bulk in Waterfall City , Waterfall Logistics Hub and Waterfall Junction industrial precinct. Waterfall is a 2200Ha masterplanned city in Johannesburg, South Africa and has won both Africa and Worlds best mixed use award for 2018 / 2019 / 2020.

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I was also a non-executive Director of the Green Building Council of South Africa  (GBCSA) and the current Chairman of the board. This aligns with my passion for smart and sustainable architecture and precincts and helps me advocate for a more sustainable built environment. 

 

Before locating to Johannesburg I was the Development Director for a 225 000m2 mixed use 2 tower complex in the Dubai International Financial Centre consisting of a 64 Story Rosewood hotel, serviced apartment and residential tower and a 40 Story commercial tower on a common retail podium.

 

Prior to this role I worked for the Dubai Government as Vice President of Property Development and Master planning for the DIFCA (Dubai International Financial Centre Authority), a $25 Bil 110Ha global financial precinct in the heart of Dubai of over 2 500 000m2 GFA. I relocated to Dubai from Johannesburg after being approached by the DIFCA CEO with whom I had previously worked for at Dubai Festival City 10 years earlier .

 

In the 4 years prior to this role I was based in South Africa and I was the Head of Property Development for Vukile Property fund, a $1.5 Bil retail centric listed REIT where I lead the creation of alternative asset classes focusing on developing hospitals and medical facilities, student accommodation and high rise residential buildings as well as 2 new 50 000m2  regional etail assets and a new commercial Techo Park campus for the fund. I joined Vukile after being the Managing Director of Development for Liberty Properties one of the largest real estate developers in Africa with a focus on new retail, mixed use high rise, Sustainable converting existing assets as well as expanding existing retail and refurbishing major hospitality assets. Property was developed for the $3 Bil South African LPP fund (Liberty Property Portfolio) as well for the $600 Mil (SADPDF) Pan African development fund across 6 African countries.

 

Since 2008 and the onset of the GFC I had been a self employed strategic property consultant based in Dubai to a number of companies on projects across the world as well as helping companies with strategic property needs translate these into tangible delivery plans. Clients included Intelligent Engineering based in Ottawa and London on global buildings, bridges and stadiums as well as Quazi Government institutions such as the CTICC (Cape Town International Convention Centre) and the Cape Town Partnership redeveloping an urban precinct in the Cape Town CBD.

 

Before setting up my own consultancy post 2008 GFC, I was head hunted by Wood Hamil Ingram to set up a new real estate development company in Dubai for the Al Ghurair Group one of the largest and most prominent industrial Groups in the UAE. As the MD of Property as well as the General Manager and the first employee ,I was responsible for the establishment of the company and 5 year business plan as well as starting 2 projects in Dubai with a development budget of $180 Mil. At the onset of the GFC in 2008 the business was scaled back and all property developments put on hold and I was retrenched, resulting in me starting consulting to companies I had worked with over the years.

 

My background prior to this role was based in Dubai as a Development Director for an international fund manager based in Paris on an $800 Mil Sharia hospitality fund in the MENA region. This role involved packaging up hotel and mixed-use schemes in 15 cities across Europe and the MENA region.

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I was recruited to Dubai from Sydney in 2003 to work as a Senior Development manager on Dubai Festival City and prior to Sydney I was based in Johannesburg and Warsaw working for Project and Development consultants.

 

Over the last 26 years I have worked for developers, consultants and contractors, and have worked in public and private sector developments in Australia, Eastern Europe, Africa, and the Middle East in executive development roles as well as in senior delivery roles. I have worked on projects in 25 countries and been involved in opportunities in another 8 countries .I have delivered projects across multiple Continents simultaneously and have won industry awards for project excellence for projects delivered in Australia , South Africa and Canada.