In conversation with Ulana van Biljon, COO of Emira Property Fund

Tinus: I get another chance to talk to one of our outstanding businesspeople, while it’s a difficult time for the real estate sector with added pressure from high interest rates, there are still some real estate funds that catch the eye. It’s my privilege to talk to Ulana Van Biljon tonight. She is the Chief Operating Officer of Emira Property Fund.

Good evening Ulana and welcome to the programme. Before we get to the real estate industry, give us a little background: where are you from, where did you go to school and where did you study?

 

Ulana: I am a born and bred Durbanite and those years were really good years. It was a great place to grow up. When we got into high school, my parents allowed us to catch the train, because in those years that was the public transport available, and you had to use the train. We took the train alone to the CBD of Durban and then walked to the beach. We just frolicked on the beach and in the sea all day on weekends. It was a real carefree and happy time to grow up in Durban.

I matriculated at Port Natal High School. Many people say they can’t believe there are Afrikaans schools in Durban, yes there are. It was quite far from our house and again, I had to catch the train at twenty to seven in the morning. That was after I had walked for about twenty minutes from home. But my father was in Port Natal High School and that is why all three of us children also finished high school there.

I was an active child and participated in sport from Monday to Thursday, so I always got home late in the afternoon, around half past five. Now, when I hear kids say they get home that late then I tell them it was the same for me. But I am a big advocate of children taking part in sport. I think it teaches you a lot about discipline. It teaches you to win and lose.

After school, I went to Kovsies to study B-Com and it was nice for me to experience this big town, I know it’s a city, but to me, it was a big town, after the city life of Durban. So yes, that’s my youth briefly.

 

Tinus: What led you to make the decision to go from Durban to the Free State?

 

Ulana: You will never believe me, you know when you grow up near the sea, like us in Durban, we never had holidays at the sea. Our vacations were all inland and mostly at hot springs. I had already enrolled at the University of Pretoria and then we went to Aliwal North’s hot springs, we were there in the June-July holidays and I met a Christian group from Kovsies. They just looked like such a nice bunch of people to me, and I decided right then and there and told my parents that I wanted to go to the Free State. And that’s how I made the decision.

 

Tinus: You say you studied commerce at Kovsies but ended up in the real estate industry. How does one jump from one to the other?

 

Ulana: I jumped to another place first. I always thought I would go in a financial direction. At that point, I thought I might take the CA route, but then Sanlam presented an exhibition for careers in human resources at Kovsies. I had never thought of going into human resources before, but it was one of my good decisions because it formed the foundation of my way of working with people and ultimately everything depends on how you work with people.

Then I made another big leap in 1995 when my husband and I got married and he got a position in Durban. We then moved from Johannesburg to Durban and, at that stage, I was working for Sanlam Properties and they did not have a position for me in Durban as a human resources manager. The MD at that time then said: you know what Ulana, we are going to make you a centre manager at Musgrave Centre.

Wow, Tinus, that was a bigger-than-big decision, but the best of my career. At that time there were no women centre managers at Sanlam Properties. I didn’t know anything about centre management, but I decided to take the opportunity and start by focusing on getting to know tenants and their businesses. I applied the basic skills of managing people in the centre management position.

I must tell you that that leap, was big and a very difficult experience for me. But, I think it was more difficult for my colleagues who had to adjust to a woman running a shopping centre. But it did not impact me, I am not that kind of person. I told myself to focus on what you know. When I took over the centre manager role, it was during a major renovation of Musgrave Centre. I had to manage the unhappy tenants, the unhappy public and the project team who were these tough, experienced property/construction people. So again, I focused on people, I focused on my relationships, and I focused on what’s important.

And yes, the rest, as they say, is history. I’m in real estate and not looking back.

 

Tinus: You have been with Emira for more than a decade now and through difficult times such as Covid, and low occupation of office space during that time of course. And now high interest rates in which you have to do your job. What are the major obstacles you had to learn to overcome? Except for these tough, experienced men you talked about already.

 

Ulana: A position like a chief operating officer at Emira is very diverse, which I love. The obstacles are also so diverse. There’s been challenging times, and not just Covid, like you say, it’s high interest rates, inflation and many other things. I personally wouldn’t call them obstacles that I have had to overcome. It is most important for me to make sure that as the COO I focus on the basic principles and identify the focus areas for our team during these difficult times. During Covid, it was important to me to give direction and support where it was needed. You may not know, but throughout this time, Emira was one of the few companies that consistently paid dividends to our shareholders.

I really believe that you shouldn’t just focus on an obstacle, but rather on what’s important, getting the basics right and focus on what is required – so I don’t see things as obstacles. I usually deal with challenges by going back to the basics and identifying the components my team and I can manage.

 

Tinus: You have also been rewarded for your work if you look at the position where you are now. You have been awarded for your work with prizes. What are the highlights that stand out for you in your career?

 

Ulana: Wow Tinus, I think when I was appointed Executive Director at Emira in February 2012. Of course, it was always something on my horizon, but it was not something that I thought I would be able to achieve. So, it was a major highlight. That was eleven years ago and as you may know, there were very few women Executive Directors in Johannesburg Stock Exchange listed companies at that time, and even fewer in the real estate industry. I’m very proud that I was recognised and appointed to that position.

In 2019, I was awarded the Standard Bank Top Women Award in real estate, and I’m immensely proud of that too.

 

Tinus: And now you are also a beekeeper with Emira.

 

Ulana: Yes, some people say I am the queen bee, although I’m not so sure about that. Emira, a few years ago as part of our biodiversity efforts, became aware that the bee population is decreasing in the world. For those who may not know, bees are incredibly important for the pollination of not only plants but crops. Farmers can’t survive without bees, so we installed 16 beehives on eight of our properties and our bees have been very busy, especially in the last year. They produced 85kg of honey earlier this year, which we then distributed to some of our tenants and some of our service providers.

 

Tinus: What a beautiful story. Do you have some advice for someone who now wants to get into this real estate industry?

 

Ulana: I think I’m going to generalise it a bit. In our industry, but I think this is true for any industry, we must seize the opportunities. As women, we often fear opportunities, and I understand that. I’ve been scared many times throughout my career. But, when opportunities come your way, you must take them. Very important, you must work hard. Success doesn’t come overnight. You must keep going and persevere. Another important thing is to share your opinions, don’t stay silent. Be an example, make sure your attitude is positive. Many people are very good at their jobs, but sometimes their attitude is not so positive. People want to work with others who are positive and who give guidance.

The final point that is important to me is output. We can all sometimes say “but look what I put in!”. That’s not really what’s important. If you don’t produce outputs with your inputs, eventually people won’t notice you and won’t accept you in the industry.

 

Tinus: Unfortunately, our time is up, but I usually end these interviews with a question of who are you when that office door closes, and you go home in the afternoon and start the weekend?

 

Ulana: Ulana van Biljon is her husband’s wife. We’re both important to each other and we’re really blessed and extremely grateful for what we have. We love to travel; we travel abroad for three weeks if possible. One thing that no one knows about me is that I can be a couch potato. I can just sit on the sofa, watch programmes and relax.

 

Tinus: Thank you very much, Ulana. That was Ulana Van Biljon, the Chief Operating Officer of Emira Property Fund.