Work culture Appointment date James is a Chartered Accountant and holds an honours degree in Finance from the University of Cape Town. James has extensive international experience in the listed property sector, having worked in various financial management and audit roles in Australia, the United States and South Africa. His career spans more than a decade of diverse experience in senior financial management and business leadership with key commercial expertise in executing on property acquisitions and developments. James was previously the Finance Director of Castleview Property Fund. Prior to James’ appointment as Emira’s CEO, effective 1 July 2025, he was a non-executive director of Emira. Appointment date Greg is a qualified chartered accountant with over 20 years of experience in finance and operations management, the majority of which have been in the listed property sector. Greg completed his articles at PKF in South Africa and thereafter spent eight years in the United Kingdom where he gained experience in the financial services sector. Greg joined Emira on 1 January 2016. Appointment date Ulana has nearly 30 years’ experience in the property industry, specifically in retail, property and asset management. She is experienced in both private and listed property fund environments. As Chief Operating Officer of Emira, she is also responsible for the asset and operations management of its property portfolio. Ulana was appointed Executive Director on 10 February 2012 and Chief Operating Officer effective 1 September 2015. She was the winner of the Standard Bank Top Woman Awards in the property category in 2019. Appointment date James was employed at a prominent South African stockbroker from 1996 to 2003 as an equities analyst where he covered various sectors including real estate. James was the CEO and a director of Emira Property Fund from 2004 to 2015. He was appointed as the CEO of Castleview Property Fund, a REIT listed on the JSE’s AltX, in 2017. James was re-appointed to the Board of Emira on 1 July 2020 and as Chairman of the Board with effect from 15 September 2023. Appointment date Vusi is a former investment banker with over 27 years’ experience. He is a founder and director of Tamela Holdings (Pty) Ltd. Between 2005 and 2008, he was the CEO of Makalani, a JSE listed mezzanine fund. Prior to joining Makalani he worked for Investec and African Oxygen Limited. Appointment date Jasandra has been a Non-Executive Director of Emira Property Fund since 2019. She is the Managing Partner of Saja Climate Partners, an investment and advisory firm focused on scaling climate technology solutions and power generation in high-growth markets. She is also a seasoned non-executive director on both listed and private companies. Previously, she was the Chief Executive Officer of Nala Renewables, a global renewable energy investment platform, and spent over a decade with Denham Capital, where she served as a Managing Director in the Power and Renewables team and as CEO of BioTherm Energy, one of Africa’s leading renewable energy developers. With over 25 years of experience in investment, private equity, and company building across the energy and technology sectors, Jasandra has held key roles in international markets, including at PCG Asset Management in California, Lehman Brothers in London, and Brait Private Equity in South Africa. She is a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader and was recently recognised by FinErth as one of the top 100 women globally shaping the future of climate and sustainability. Appointment date Derek is the co-founder and CEO of Letsema, an independent diversified holding company with long-term interests in proprietary investments. Over the past 28 years, Derek has worked extensively across various capacities within the Letsema Group. He was appointed as a Non-executive Director of Emira on 15 August 2017. Appointment date Michele has over 30 years’ experience in investment banking with specific experience in commercial real estate debt and equity investing. She is a qualified Chartered Accountant completing articles through Deloitte & Touche. More recently she has completed a certificate in Sustainable finance through Cambridge University and is passionate about sustainability. She also previously served on the board of the Green Building Council of SA. She has had previous board experience through various property subsidiaries of both Nedbank Limited and Sanlam Life Insurance Limited.The team
JAMES DAY
Chief Executive Officer
Qualifications
CA (SA)
1 October 2023 (CEO with effect from 1 July 2025)
Greg Booyens
Chief Financial Officer
Qualifications
BCom, BCom (Hons), CA(SA)
1 January 2016
Ulana Van Biljon
Chief Operating Officer
Qualifications
BCom
10 February 2012
JAMES TEMPLETON
Non-Executive Director & Chairman
Qualifications
BCom (Hons), Chartered Financial Analyst
Charterholder
1 July 2020
VUSI MAHLANGU
Lead Independent Non-Executive Director
Qualifications
BSc Eng (Chem) (UCT), MBA (Harvard Business School)
24 June 2010
JASANDRA NYKER
Independent Non-Executive Director
Qualifications
BBusSc (Finance), MBA (London Business School)
22 May 2019
DEREK THOMAS
Independent Non-Executive Director
Qualifications
BCom (Hons) (Wits), MCom Economics (Wits), MSc Development Economics (SOAS, London)
15 August 2017
MICHELE BEKKENS
Non-executive Director
Qualifications
BCom, BCompt (Hons), CA (SA), HDipTax
1 October 2024
DIRECTORS
James Day
Chief Executive Officer
GREG BOOYENS
Chief Financial Officer
Ulana Van Biljon
Chief Operating Officer
Geoff Jennett
Chief Executive Officer
ASSET MANAGERS
ADRIAAN GRONUM
PTA
NATASHA DUKES
JHB Retail & Office
JOHAN REDELINGHUYS
JHB Office & Industrial
SANDRA KRUGER
KZN, Bloem Retail, CPT Office & Retail, JHB Retail
BROKER CONSULTANTS
LOURENS PRETORIUS
Pretoria
MICHELLE NEEDHAM
Johannesburg
National Development Manager
and Sustainability Lead LUSINDISO DABULA
National
ACQUISITIONS & DISPOSALS MANAGER
KHALIL JIWAN
