Work culture Appointment date Geoff, a qualified chartered accountant, had over 21 years’ deal-making experience in the financial markets, particularly in the structured capital markets and the corporate equity derivatives spaces, prior to joining Emira. He has worked at FNB Corporate, Coronation Capital, Nedbank Capital and Absa Capital, and was the financial and operations director of Honey Fashion Accessories. Geoff joined Emira on 1 November 2014, becoming Chief Financial Officer with effect from 1 January 2015. He was then appointed as Emira’s CEO effective from 1 September 2015. Appointment date Greg is a qualified chartered accountant with 20 years of experience in finance and operations management, 12 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 asset, retail and property 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 Vusi is a former investment banker with over 26 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 is the Chief Executive Officer of Nala Renewables, a global renewable energy investment and development platform. She was previously a Managing Director within the Power and Renewables team at Denham Capital and prior to that was the CEO of BioTherm Energy. With over 25 years’ experience in investing and building companies in the energy and technology sectors, she has previously worked in private equity, investment banking and strategy consulting in international markets. She also worked for PCG Asset Management in California, Lehman Brothers in London, as well as Brait Private Equity in South Africa. She is a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader and has been listed in the Power Elites in 2017 and was winner of the Africa Utility Week, 2019 Outstanding Contribution to Power Award. Appointment date Derek is the co-founder of Letsema, an independent diversified holding company with long-term interests in management consulting and proprietary investments. Over the past 21 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 James was employed at Barnard Jacobs Mellet, a prominent South African stockbroker from 1996 to 2003 where he covered various sectors including real estate. James was the CEO 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 appointed as Chairman of the Board with effect from 15 September 2023. Appointment date James is the financial director of Castleview Property Fund Limited. James has international experience in the listed property sector, including as the CFO of RDC Properties Limited between 2020 and 2022. 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. 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
Geoff Jennett
Chief Executive Officer
Qualifications
BCom, BCom (Hons), HDipAcc, past CA(SA)
1 September 2015
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
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
JAMES TEMPLETON
Non-Executive Director & Chairman
Qualifications
BCom (Hons), Chartered Financial Analyst
Charterholder
1 July 2020
JAMES DAY
Non-executive Director
Qualifications
CA (SA)
1 October 2023
MICHELE BEKKENS
Non-executive Director
Qualifications
BCom, BCompt (Hons), CA (SA), HDipTax
1 October 2024
DIRECTORS
Geoff Jennett
Chief Executive Officer
GREG BOOYENS
Chief Financial Officer
Ulana Van Biljon
Chief Operating Officer
ASSET MANAGERS
ADRIAAN GRONUM
PTA
NATASHA DUKES
JHB Retail & Office
JOHAN REDELINGHUYS
JHB Office & Industrial
SANDRA KRUGER
KZN, Rural & Bloem Retail
BROKER CONSULTANTS
LOURENS PRETORIUS
Pretoria
MICHELLE NEEDHAM
Johannesburg
DEVELOPMENT MANAGER
LUSINDISO DABULA
National
ACQUISITIONS & DISPOSALS MANAGER
KHALIL JIWAN
