sapoa national councillors
Councillors in conversation
Q
Who is Pieter Engelbrecht? I’m the development head at Growthpoint Properties Limited and the current chairman of the SAPOA Innovative Excellence Awards. I started my career in quantity surveying and have more than 27 years of development experience.
Pieter Engelbrecht
Lionel Kisten
Q
When did you join SAPOA? What are your thoughts about the organisation?
Growthpoint has been a very active member of SAPOA for more than 10 years. We also have relevant people in leadership positions who are active in the committees. Growthpoint staff are definitely very involved in attending the programmes, running them or being part of the committees. With an outgoing president (Estienne de Klerk) and a past president (Norbert Sasse), we are big supporters of the organisation. As spokespeople for the industry, we also support many initiatives and enjoy all the opportunities that stem from them.
Q
What have been your greatest achievements with SAPOA so far?
Hatla Ntene
Q
Who is Essop Basha? I am the head of utilities management at Growthpoint
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In the last year, Growthpoint has received a record amount of acknowledged best-practice and excellence awards for our industry. Properties and was responsible for the establishment of this division in 2009. I have held several different positions throughout my working career, from IT systems design and development to business administration, HR, training and development, and IT finance. I have a strong background in project management as well as stakeholder engagement.
Q
When did you join SAPOA? What are
The developments we entered address the urban challenge and direct impact on communities and the environment. Together, the committee spearheaded to include, for the very first time, the recognition for heritage entries. I am also proud to mention that I lectured at the SAPOA PDP course, where I spoke on the urban design of mixed-use developments and enjoyed some exciting feedback.
Q
What are the current industry challenges and how can these be solved? How can SAPOA assist with these? The trend of integrated convergence, where mobility is the norm, will allow the user the freedom of choice to thrive in inspirational spaces. This means that we enable the inhabitants of a building to do their work away from their desk with the use of intelligent business systems. The challenge is to create a place where memories can be made, and where people and businesses can thrive simultaneously. SAPOA can assist with this by ensuring that we recognise leading innovation and that the members learn from these best practices – and, in doing so, future-proof their buildings.
your thoughts about the organisation? I joined SAPOA about four years ago, when the Energy Efficiency Committee was still called by that name. The committee has since transformed into the Sustainability Committee, of which I am now the chairman. The committee now focuses on all aspects of sustainability. SAPOA is a phenomenal organisation that provides significant contribution to the entire industry.
Q
What are your plans with SAPOA going forward? What would you like to achieve alongside or for the organisation? I would like to ensure that the Innovative Excellence Awards remain the forum to acknowledge best practice and excellence in our industry. We’re also hoping to launch the SAPOA Innovative Excellence Awards coffee-table book that will give recognition to owners, developers, architects and property practitioners. This has been a very exciting project, and will highlight and showcase some amazing buildings that our skyline can be proud of.
Q
Who is Lionel Kisten? I’ve been involved in the property industry for at least three decades, and have experience in property management, asset management and property development, pertaining mostly to retail and commercial. I am the executive director of Landmark Real Estate Services. Along with Adam Markovitz and Anthony Changfoot as the founding members, we established the company about 13 years ago.
Q
What have been your greatest achievements with SAPOA so far?
I think my greatest achievement with SAPOA so far has been the establishment of several key relationships, including Eskom, the National Business Initiative (NBI), Business Unity South Africa and the Energy Efficiency Leadership Network, which involves the NBI and the Department of Energy. Another achievement is the hosting of the very first
SOUTH AFRICAN PROPERTY REVIEW
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2014/04/07 1:54 PM