DAY 2 – 29 September 2022
Independent Economic Analyst, Change Maker
Thabi Leoka started her career as an Economist at Investec Asset Management where she was a pan-Africa economist for the Africa Fund. She then joined the Emerging Markets team in London.
Political Economy Analyst & Futurist
Daniel Silke is recognised as one of South Africa’s leading political economy analysts and most passionate keynote speakers.
Chief Executive Officer, Exemplar
Jason joined McCormick Property Development (MPD) in 2002. At the time, the family-owned business employed less than ten people and owned minority stakes in six small rural shopping centres.
Managing Director: South Africa at the Vukile Property Fund
This portfolio comprises of 59 properties valued at c. R16bn generating in access of R1bn in net property income per annum.
Itumeleng Mothibeli is the Managing Director: South Africa at the Vukile Property Fund. This portfolio comprises of 59 properties valued at c. R16bn generating in access of R1bn in net property income per annum. His real estate experience spans research and analysis, investment appraisal, retail developments and asset management both in the unlisted and listed real estate environments. He is a Director on the board of SAPOA, is actively involved in numerous structures of the South African Council of Shopping Centres (SACSC). He holds an MCom in Finance from UCT, an MPhil in International business from GIBS and is an alumni of the Mail and Guardian’s Top 200 Young South Africans. Itumeleng has a huge passion for sustainable business principles, bridging the chasm between the informal and formal economies and responsible investing.
Chief Executive, Property Council of Australia
Ken Morrison is the Chief Executive of the Property Council of Australia, which champions the industry that employs 1.5 million Australians and shapes the future of our cities.
Ken Morrison is the Chief Executive of the Property Council of Australia, which champions the industry that employs 1.5 million Australians and shapes the future of our cities.
Ken has played a significant role in shaping cities, tax, planning and infrastructure policy for over two decades and sits on a range of government taskforces and committees.
He is also a director of the Green Building Council of Australia, a director of the Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council, a member of the National Affordable Housing Alliance and is a Property Champion of Change working to achieve a significant and sustainable increase in the number of women in leadership roles.
Before taking up his current position in 2014, Ken was the Chief Executive of the Tourism & Transport Forum, the peak CEO forum for the tourism, aviation and transport sectors. Prior to this Ken held several executive positions at the Property Council of Australia, including Chief Operating Officer and NSW Executive Director.
Ken holds degrees from UNSW and UTS and has undertaken courses at the Australian Institute of Company Directors and Harvard Business School.
Chief Executive, European Public Real Estate Association
Dominique Moerenhout is the CEO of EPRA (European Public Real Estate Association), the voice of the publicly traded European real estate sector.
Dominique Moerenhout is the CEO of EPRA (European Public Real Estate Association), the voice of the publicly traded European real estate sector.
He joined EPRA in 2017, moving from BNP Paribas Real Estate Investment Management where he held the CEO position for Luxembourg and Belgium. After working in a private bank followed by five years as a management consultant on large financial sector projects for KPMG Consulting, he joined Fortis Real Estate in 2004, where he was COO for international investment and fund management activities in Luxembourg, Belgium and Spain until 2011, before moving with the company to the UK. Moerenhout is a native French and Dutch speaker and fluent in English. He holds a Master in Business Administration from ICHEC Brussels and a European Master in Financial Analysis (CFA) from the Belgian Association of Financial Analysts.
Chief Executive, Liberty Two Degrees
Amelia is the Chief Executive of Liberty Two Degrees (L2D) since listing the company as a Trust REIT in December 2016.
Amelia is the Chief Executive of Liberty Two Degrees (L2D) since listing the company as a Trust REIT in December 2016.
In 2018, Amelia led the reconstitution of L2D to a Corporate REIT as well as the alignment of the company to investor preferences, effectively positioning the business for sustainable growth.
Today, L2D is co-owner in South Africa’s most iconic shopping centres, namely Sandton City, Nelson Mandela Square, Eastgate Shopping Centre, Melrose Arch and Liberty Midlands Mall among others across the country focused on creating experiential spaces to benefit generations.
Amelia’s experience spans 21 years in the property sector, initially established at Old Mutual Property in various postions before exiting her role as the Chief Operating Officer and then joining STANLIB in 2012 to establish the STANLIB Direct Property Investment business, before taking on the role at L2D.
Passionate about serving the property industry, Amelia was the President of the South African Property Association (SAPOA) from 2014 to 2015. She is also past Chair of Women’s Property Network (WPN) and served as a trustee for the education trusts of WPN and SAPOA until 2018. Recently, she has been appointed to the SA REIT Executive committee and serves as the chair of the Research committee.
Amelia is the founding member of the WITS University Industry Advisory Board of the School of Construction Economics and Management. The Board consists of construction and property industry leaders, and aims to build stronger ties and nurture strategic relationships with the construction and property industry.
As a women leader, Amelia was among the 50 women CEOs to be identified and selected as part of the Africa.com Definitive List of Women CEOs leading corporate Africa. The Definitive List of Women CEOs showcases women who have travelled an aspirational path in their career and have risen to the top.
Analyst and Portfolio Manager, STANLIB
Ahmed joined the Listed Property team in September 2016 and focuses primarily on local listed property research.
Ahmed joined the Listed Property team in September 2016 and focuses primarily on local listed property research.
He also assists with portfolio management for the SA-focused property funds. He has 13 years sell-side research experience focusing primarily on the South African listed property sector. He spent ten years with Deutsche Securities and three years with Renaissance Capital as equity analyst (Vice President). He was a rated analyst in the listed property sector as well as the electrical and other equipment sector. He has a passion for ESG research and is tasked with that research for listed property companies. He has been at STANLIB for almost six years, working as an analyst and portfolio manager on the actively managed listed property funds.
In his spare time he enjoys reading science fiction and history books, self-reflection, riding superbikes and spending time with his three young children.
Chief Executive Officer, Sakeliga (Business League)
Piet le Roux is the Chief Executive Officer of business organisation Sakeliga (Business League) since 2017.
Piet le Roux is the chief executive officer of business organisation Sakeliga (Business League) since 2017. Sakeliga (Business League) is a non-profit business group with around 12 000 members across industries in South Africa, and several affiliated chambers of commerce. The group’s mission is to improve the environment for business through policy and structural interventions, for public benefit wherever its members do business.
Le Roux has extensive background in research, analysis, and academia. Previous occupations include serving as academic director to the private university, Akademia, as well as leading operational and governance roles in applied research and policy institutes.
Le Roux’s comments on economic and policy matters regularly feature in local and international media.
Le Roux has an honours degree in economics from Stellenbosch University and a master’s degree in economics from Unisa. His master’s thesis dealt with the impact of black economic empowerment on economic growth.
Chief Executive Officer – Sasria SOC Limited (Mpumelelo Tyikwe)
Mr Tyikwe, with over three decades experience in the insurance industry, has been with reputable companies such as Santam, Standard Bank, Alexander Forbes, Land Bank Insurance Services and Constantia Risk & Insurance.
Fellow: Insurance Institute of South Africa (FIISA)
Post-graduate Diploma in Management (University of Wales)
Mr Tyikwe, with over three decades experience in the insurance industry, has been with reputable companies such as Santam, Standard Bank, Alexander Forbes, Land Bank Insurance Services and Constantia Risk & Insurance. During his stay at these businesses, he played pivotal roles that covered business growth and what drives it, spearheaded innovation and led turnaround strategies, spanning twenty years.
His experience vastly covers aspects such as claims optimisations, customer centricity, financial capital optimisation, talent management and balanced scorecards that assist to execute strategy. Not only these, Mpumi has over the years proven his capability in leading strategy development, accompanied by interventions curated towards business growth and profitability.
Stakeholder management, through dialogue, is also one of Mpumi’s strong characteristics as he is aptly capable of seeing the benefit that perfectly suits both internal and external stakeholders.
Mpumi’s skills are deeply rooted in very strong corporate governance orientation, where he has been exposed to both private and public sectors, enabling him to understand that certain public sector governance prescripts, like the PFMA, are anchored in King IV Code of corporate governance.
Chief Executive Officer (South Africa), Growthpoint Properties
Estienne de Klerk has been involved in banking and listed property for more than 25 years. He is experienced in take-overs, mergers and acquisitions as well as transformation deals and capital raisings.
Chief Executive Officer (South Africa), Growthpoint Properties
Estienne de Klerk has been involved in banking and listed property for more than 25 years. He is experienced in take-overs, mergers and acquisitions as well as transformation deals and capital raisings.
Estienne is a chartered accountant who started his career with the marketing department of Eskom Durban Distribution, followed by roles in banking and property finance with Investec Private Bank. In 2002 he joined Investec Property Group’s property fund management business, which was then building its property funds under management including Metboard Properties Limited and Growthpoint Properties Limited. He was appointed Fund Manager and Executive Director of Metboard, and later went on to become Executive Director and Group Managing Director of Growthpoint before being appointed Chief Executive Officer (SA).
Estienne has always been active in the leadership of the South African property industry and is a well-respected voice for the sector. Estienne is Chairman of the SA REIT Association, of which he is a longstanding member having served on its Exco and as Chairman of its Taxation and Regulatory committee since inception, where he laid the groundwork for the country’s REIT framework. He is a Past President of the South African Property Owners Association (SAPOA) and represented the industry in the Property Sector Charter negotiations.
European Head of Real Estate Solutions Research, MSCI (London)
Tom leads European commercial property real estate research, focusing on capital markets.
Tom leads European commercial property real estate research, focusing on capital markets. A regular speaker at industry and client events, he is the chief author of quarterly reports on European and global market trends and capital market liquidity.
He joined MSCI in 2021 through its acquisition of Real Capital Analytics. Based in London, he previously he worked in research at two U.K. property consultancies. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Durham University.
President & Chief Operating Officer, Building Owners & Managers Association (BOMA), USA
Director Lango Real Estate
Top Economic Analyst, Change Maker
Thabi Leoka started her career as an Economist at Investec Asset Management where she was a pan-Africa economist for the Africa Fund. She then joined the Emerging Markets team in London. She has also worked at Barclays Capital (London) as an emerging markets economist, and her coverage has included Brazil and Central Europe as well as a number of African countries. Thabi was head hunted by Standard Bank and moved back to South Africa at the end of 2011 to head up Standard Bank’s research team. She has also worked as the Chief Economist of Renaissance Capital, South Africa.
Thabi is currently an independent economic strategist and conference speaker with a passion for understanding the intricacies of economics. She shares insights on how to drive economic growth on the continent – she believes education is the gateway to success and hopes to see a bigger uptake of aspirational Africans in the corporate environment.
Thabi was a columnist for the Business Times. She writes for the Business Day, Money Marketing and global publications such as Into Africa which is a publication that looks at capital markets on the African continent and BricsPost.
Thabi is a Financial Mail rated economist. She was identified as a Change Maker in 2017. She was named the Economist of the Year by Absip in 2017.
Thabi has a PhD and a MSc in Economics from the London School of Economics. She holds a MA in International Economics from Wits University, an honours in Economics and BA from Wits University
Political Economy Analyst & Futurist
Daniel Silke is recognised as one of South Africa’s leading political economy analysts and most passionate keynote speakers. His success lies in blending both economic and political trends in highly accessible yet insightful physical and virtual presentations. As Director of the Political Futures Consultancy based in Cape Town, Silke serves a host of major global blue-chip companies with outstanding keynotes webinars and workshops aimed at the conference and events industries. He has over 15 years’ experience in delivering flagship presentations on Global, African and South African political and economic trends alongside providing essential strategic foresight for business entities large and small.
Mike Schüssler, owner of Economists dotcoza, an Economic Consultancy, has been extensively quoted in the media over the last three decades.
Mike’s innovative research on employment and household issues has earned him much praise. He is the most quoted and endorsed economist in South Africa for his insights from Academia to Analysts the world over.
His innovative approach has led to new economic measurement indices and management tools such as Transport cost adjustment and logistics indices, the BankservAfrica transaction index and the ABSA SMME Index.
Mike has won the Economist of the Year competition twice; one of only three economists to have won this competition more than once in the past twenty five years.
Jason joined McCormick Property Development (MPD) in 2002. At the time, the family-owned business employed less than ten people and owned minority stakes in six small rural shopping centres.
Nearly two decades since Jason joined the team, MPD has now developed 69 assets and employs almost 100 people in the niche market of rural and township retail. Jason was appointed MD of MPD in 2011 and was personally responsible for 29 of those developments, totalling over half a million square metres in GLA.
Given the rapid expansion of MPD under Jason’s leadership, a decision was taken to separate the development and ownership arms of the company. As part of the restructure, Exemplar REITail Ltd was listed on the JSE in June 2018, with 20 retail centres and Jason as the CEO.
Exemplar’s portfolio has since grown to 23 centres with assets to the value of R1bn having been added.
At the age of 33 he was elected as the youngest director of the South African Council of Shopping Centres (SACSC) and in 2016 he received the SACSC’s inaugural “Young Achiever Award” for his contribution to the shopping centre industry.
In April 2020 during the initial COVID-19 hard lockdown, Jason co-founded the One People Fund (OPF) which delivered food for over 7,5million meals to communities in need.
Jason also played a significant role in protecting a number of Exemplar’s assets against attack during the recent wave of unrest in South Africa.
Educated at Michaelhouse and Stellenbosch University, Jason is a licensed pilot, avid naturalist and conservationist at heart. He remains passionate about community upliftment and the potential that Exemplar and its assets have to fundamentally change the underprivileged and marginalized communities within which it operates; for good.
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Fortress REIT Limited owns, manages and creates commercial spaces that enable greater growth. We have built a dynamic portfolio through our innovative approach to property development and active asset management. We are currently the largest owner and developer of core, premium-grade logistics real estate in South Africa. In addition, we have European exposure to high-growth economies in the Central and Eastern European market through our investment in NEPI Rockcastle plc and our owned Logistic Parks in Poland and Romania. Fortress specialises in the development of logistics and retail properties. Our core logistics portfolio is complemented by a retail portfolio of over 60 commuter-oriented shopping centres.
Pareto Limited is firmly rooted in the South African landscape, and we are invested in growing people through properties that shape our horizon. For more than 20 years, we have been in the business of collaborating with creative experts and key industry players in investing, modifying and reaching new heights and breaking new barriers in world-class shopping centres.
Our extensive property portfolio and broad national footprint boast more than clever investments in some of Africa’s most prime locations –– they’re the heart and soul of communities, beacons of local economy, and thoughtful spaces where individuals enjoy meaningful experiences that extend beyond traditional shopping and predictable hotel lay-overs.
They provide first-class opportunities for the public to thrive and offer sensory ways to shop, play, earn and live, while generating diversified total returns for its shareholders.
From prestigious hotels and diverse, premium shopping centres to the most sought-after conference spaces in the country, our passion for prime iconic properties, world-class experiences and people can be felt equally in our social investments, community upliftment projects and through the positive impact we
make in each of the lives we touch.
RMS is primarily a technology company, specialising in all aspects of the development, implementation, and management of innovative and sustainable energy efficiency strategies. Investment in proprietary smart technologies have resulted in market leadership in our country of origin, a proven business model that we are now expanding internationally.
We instil confidence in our customer base by providing them with the best technical, practical, and financial solutions across multiple utility services with proven risk reduction and recovery methodology.
An active R and D department continuously works with our customer base to explore future technologies and to adapt reporting abilities that allow proactive decision making in the realities of the time=cost utility consumption environment.
Our delivery focus spans from end-user, through the spectrum of property management to the various utilities providers, striving to improve efficiency in every aspect, thereby removing the stress factor historically associated with utility management.
Growthpoint Properties is an international property company with assets in South Africa, Australia, the UK, and Eastern Europe. It is the largest South African primary REIT listed on the JSE.
With a 50% stake in the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town, it owns and manages a diversified portfolio of over 500 property assets, locally and internationally. Growthpoint is included in the JSE Top 40 Index, the FTSE JSE Responsible Investment Index & the FTSE4GOOD Emerging index.
Growthpoint is also a cornerstone investor in Growthpoint Investment Partners, which has launched three unlisted investments in specialist alternative real estate asset classes since 2018.
As a founding member of the Green Building Council South Africa (GBCSA) and owners of the largest portfolio of green-certified buildings, Growthpoint is committed to creating sustainable workspaces with minimal environmental impact while providing spaces for our clients to thrive.
It aims to achieve carbon neutrality through data-driven targets that benefit the business and its stakeholders. Energy efficiency, off-site renewables, on-site renewables and carbon offsets have been identified as four critical players in the company’s carbon neutral strategy.
Dipula is an internally managed, South African focused REIT that owns a sectoral and geographically diversified portfolio of retail, office, industrial and residential rental assets throughout South Africa, with the majority of its assets located in Gauteng. Dipula is listed on the JSE, trading under the code DIB.
The company’s strategy is to own a defensive, diversified portfolio with a bias towards convenience, rural and township centres. Dipula’s portfolio has yielded solid performance since listing. The group’s internalised management team has proven expertise in our chosen markets. This, combined with diligent portfolio management has been the cornerstone of our consistent performance. Dipula is continuously growing, improving and de-risking its portfolio through employing a range of value-add strategies including leasing, conversions, extensions, and redevelopments. We are focused on our preferred market segments and continuously reposition our portfolio in line with changing market dynamics.
