Employment
History

Head of Regional Development Operations at NEOM, the $500 billion giga-project being built in the Tabuk Province of north-west Saudi Arabia under the Kingdom's Vision 2030 programme — overseeing THE LINE, Trojena, The Islands on NEOM and Oxagon across a 26,500km² region. Also Regional Head of Trojena, and previously Chief Operating Officer of THE LINE.

THE LINE is a 170km-long, net-zero, master-planned vertical city for 9 million people, comprising some 750 million m² of vertical mixed-use assets. Trojena is NEOM's 2,100km² mountain community at 2,500m elevation: a year-round mixed-use destination that will host the 2029 Asian Winter Games, the first held in the Arab world.

Regional responsibilities have also spanned Al Fashah Island, a 4,500-key mega resort, and Landscapes of THE LINE, a 9,500km² regional zone with 3,500 keys. Serves on steering, decarbonisation and partnership committees across the wider NEOM programme.

Board role held concurrently with Attacq. GBCSA is the non-profit organisation responsible for the certification of green and sustainable buildings in South Africa through the Green Star rating system, and the Southern African representative of EDGE by IFC.

The council is the leading advisory body for sustainability in the built environment, including research and lobbying of industry and government. GBCSA's listed constituents ranked in the FTSE Russell Top 30 global ESG index in 2019.

Chief Development Officer of the $3 billion Attacq Property Fund, a JSE-listed REIT, leading development across Waterfall City — a 2,200-hectare master-planned, mixed-use smart city on a greenfield site between Johannesburg and Pretoria, and one of the largest privately developed urban projects in Africa.

At build-out Waterfall City provides 28,000 residential units housing 80,000 people, 800,000m² of mixed use and 1.6 million m² of commercial space, alongside hotels, schools, sporting and recreational facilities including 42km of walking and cycling trails and an equestrian and polo centre.

Delivered over 1,300,000m² of new mixed-use assets in the Waterfall CBD and over 1,000,000m² of new industrial and logistics assets in the Waterfall Logistics Hub. Waterfall City was voted the world's best mixed-use development for four consecutive years at the International Property Awards, and Africa's best for seven.

Development Director within the $3 billion OGRED Property Fund, responsible for a 225,000m² mixed-use skyscraper complex valued at over $600 million in the Dubai International Financial Centre.

The scheme comprised a 64-storey hotel, serviced-apartment and residential tower alongside a 40-storey Grade A commercial tower, unified by a shared retail and amenity podium.

Vice President of Property Development within the $3 billion DIFC Property Fund, responsible for close to 100,000m² GFA of new DIFC-developed assets valued at over $220 million.

Head of Master Planning and Infrastructure for the 2,500,000m² precinct, creating all master development schedules and design guidelines, and Master Developer overseeing utility, road and infrastructure roll-out for DIFC-developed assets and third-party developers.

Authored the DIFC ten-year strategies for Security, Sustainability, Smart City and IT.

Head of Property Development at Vukile Property Fund, a $1.5 billion JSE-listed REIT, managing a $200 million programme of new development across South Africa focused on new asset classes: hospitals, high-rise affordable residential and student accommodation.

Co-developer of two new 50,000m²-plus regional retail centres for the core Vukile retail fund, and led the conversion of older office buildings into affordable residential and student accommodation for a residential fund start-up.

Managing Director of Property Development at Liberty Properties, the property arm of the Liberty Group. Development Managers to the $3 billion Liberty Property Portfolio, managing $400 million of new development work across South Africa.

Development Managers on the $600 million Pan-African Property Development Fund, feeding a future $2 billion Pan-African income fund, and on the $150 million Nigerian Hospitality Fund rolling out 15 limited-facility hotels across West Africa.

Following the global financial crisis, established an independent strategic property advisory practice based in Dubai. Initially consultant, then advisor and eventually shareholder in the holding company commercialising Intelligent Engineering's heavy engineering technology for buildings, stadiums and bridges worldwide.

Established the Dubai office as General Manager, helped establish manufacturing presence in North America (Phoenix) and Asia (Shanghai), advised on regional manufacturing partners and supported offices in Ottawa, Singapore and London — creating high-rise and commercial opportunities with world-leading architectural and engineering firms.

In Cape Town, provided strategic development management on two major developments in the Lower Foreshore and a major urban regeneration project; produced a high-rise project assessment for the City of Cape Town; advised on project sustainability and consultant selection for a landmark development; and wrote the commercial assessment of the greater Foreshore precinct supporting the city's Urban Development Framework.

Head-hunted from Guidance Financial Group to be General Manager and Development Director of a start-up real estate development company within Al Ghurair Group — one of the UAE's most prominent industrial and commercial conglomerates — developing a substantial existing land bank across Dubai.

Authored the business plan, assembled the leadership team and designed $180 million of mixed-use projects across Dubai in nine months, before the 2008 property crash prompted a market withdrawal.

Development Director for Design and Construction of the $800 million MENA Sharia Hotel Fund — a two-year contract as Non-Executive Director of the 4+4-year fund based in Manama and managed from Paris, rolling out a new five-star regional hotel chain across the MENA region and key European and Asian cities.

Fifteen hotels were developed simultaneously in Cairo, Dubai, Muscat, Kuwait City, Jeddah, Riyadh, Manama, Doha, Beirut, London, Geneva, Marrakech, Casablanca, Kuala Lumpur and Paris. Guidance established the Shaza hotel brand in joint venture with Kempinski Hotels, developing its own properties and taking operator positions in others.

Set up the Dubai company as General Manager, establishing all financial and legal entities; assessed all sites and undertook master planning, concept design, feasibility studies, consultant selection and management of all design activities on fund-developed properties.

Senior Development Manager on a two-year contract at Dubai Festival City, the large-scale mixed-use waterfront development on the Deira creekside — the start of a long career in the UAE.

Led four major Four Seasons projects — the golf course and clubhouse, country club, resort hotel, and high-rise hotel and condominium tower — completed the business case and concept design for a 60-storey residential tower, and developed two international school complexes.

Three-year assignment in Sydney with Sinclair Knight Merz (now Jacobs), a leading multi-disciplinary engineering consultancy, while completing Australian residency.

Led the redevelopment of Australia's busiest tourist facility, Scenic World in Katoomba: administration buildings, workshops, new cable-car stations and cabins, upgraded municipal access and service roads, multi-storey car and bus parking, and refurbishment of the main retail building and three restaurants. Also led a storage-capacity and surge-control upgrade at Lyle Dam using fuse-gate technology, the refurbishment of the Sydney Olympic Park aquatic centre, and nine new schools across the Sydney metropolitan area.

Project and Design Manager at EC Harris International (now Arcadis) across the Johannesburg and Warsaw offices, carrying out feasibility studies, concept design, value engineering, technical due diligence and project management for industrial and commercial clients in South Africa and Poland.

Began professional career at Basil Read Building, a subsidiary of Bouygues Africa, after being awarded a Basil Read bursary as Building Student of the Year at Technikon Natal.

Design Manager for the $40 million design-and-build prison for 1,392 inmates at Empangeni for the Department of Public Works, and Assistant Design Manager on an A-grade office park for Anglo American Property Services and the conversion of disused factories into a mini-factory park for Frame Textile Corporation in Durban.