Age 45
Where are you based at the moment (who do you work for)?
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I live in Knysna, Western Cape, South Africa, and work for DHL Supply Chain, in their Real Estate Solutions business in the Middle East and Africa (MEA), and
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I am also an owner and director of my own export yacht manufacturing business, The Knsyna Yacht Company Pty Ltd in Knysna (www.knysnayachtco.com)
In what year did you complete your honours degree?
2002
What path did you follow before ending up with your current company?
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2000 - 2005 Site Engineer Concor Construction (Pty) Ltd.
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2005 - 2009 Development Manager Summercon Property Development (Pty) Ltd.
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2009 - 2015 Development Manager Resilient Properties (Pty) Ltd.
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2015 - 2019 Development Director CEE Region Rockcastle REIT
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2019 - Purchased the Knysna Yacht Company
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2023 - current Development Director MEA Region DHL Real Estate Solutions
What is your current position and what does the role entail?
As Owner of The Knysna Yacht Company (Pty) Ltd.
As one of two shareholders and directors, I am involved in everything related to owning and running a manufacturing business, from production to finance, marketing including sales, health and safety, compliance, and human resources. My BSc (Honours) degree has been invaluable in equipping me for this venture!
The company manufactures and exports luxury sailing catamarans globally.
We employ over 75 people, have an annual turnover of around R100m, and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) of around 12%.
We bought it as a distressed company and have spent the last 5 years turning it around.
As the Development Director for DHL Real Estate Solutions, MEA:
I am wholly responsible for the planning, leading, organising, controlling, and co-ordinating of all project resources in my region with a view to finding and executing real estate opportunities in the region.
In the region we have various business units dedicated to developing in the region i.e., legal, capital markets, construction, programme management, investments, and execution excellence. My role as the ’developer’ for the region is to manage and coordinate all departments with a view to successfully developing the region and the real estate assets in the region from ‘start to finish’.
I in turn report to the Global Head of Real Estate Solutions located in the United States of America.
What advice would you give a current construction management student?
Listen carefully during all your lectures. What you learn during the BSc (Honours) programme are things that you can and will be able to apply in the working world!
I highly recommend ’cutting your teeth’ on site! Ideally working for a well-established large contractor involved in large scale building and civils projects.
What you learn there in terms of managing project resources, systems, and procedures will be invaluable. You will see firsthand all the theoretical materials and methods you learnt during the course being applied, and will also gain an appreciation for the challenges facing the general contractor (GC). This will provide you as a future manager with a major appreciation for the environment in which GCs operate, and what it takes to get a project across the line within time, budget, health, safety, environment, and quality constraints.
I strongly believe that you cannot design or manage anything in the built environment without having been at the ’concrete face’ in the industry. I have experienced, firsthand, the difference between architects, engineers, quantity surveyors, and principal agents who have on-site experience, and those who do not, and that is a stark difference.
While working on site you will also learn about cost consulting, construction contracts, quantity surveying, managing stakeholders including clients, the labour force, the consultants, and your managers. The experience I gained working on site as a site engineer has been extremely valuable.
One of the biggest reasons given by most of my employers, including the most recent, for appointing me was on account of having both the technical background as well as the commercial and legal experience and acumen. These days it is not easy for employers to find people with the technical background and understanding!
In summary, my best advice to new entrants into the industry would be to become as well rounded as you possibly can!
What was your favourite module?
In order of preference:
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Construction Management, and Economics;
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Structures, and
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Materials and Methods.
I have used what I learnt in those modules extensively throughout my career!
I did not enjoy Business Management, Economics, and Accounting much but have come to rely heavily on the basic grounding I was offered in those modules throughout my career. In short, the BSc (Honours) was challenging due to the number of modules and courses to complete, however, it was an extremely well structured curriculum, which more than prepared me for the working world.
Who was your favourite lecturer?
Professor Smallwood, mostly for his passion and belief in the courses he presented and his love and passion for the industry.
What are your plans for the next 5 to 10 years?
Work smarter not harder!
Retire early!
Make more time for my daughters and wife!
20 November 2023