Stephen is a commercially astute senior executive with experience leading high-growth businesses throughout Africa, the Middle East and Asia Pacific. He has been an expatriate since he was 23 years old. Born in Ireland, he has lived and worked in England, Dubai, Zimbabwe, Oman, China, Philippines, Malaysia, Romania, Ghana, Qatar and currently in South Africa. He joined Turner & Townsend in 2015 and prior to that he worked for Costain and then Taylor Woodrow Construction, before moving to privately owned project management firm SIP Group in China, where he served as Managing Director for twelve years. Stephen’s track record includes: growing the Africa business and developing the businesses vision for the next 5 years to include a presence in 19 countries in Africa; growing Turner & Townsend’s Qatar team by 50%; achieving more than 1,500% increase in SIP Group revenues between 2003 and 2012 and an increase in headcount from 26 to more than 240.

Greg, as the Managing Director of Intellect IO, assists companies to deploy Machine Learning (ML) into their business operations. Greg has worked with companies across multiple industries including PropTech, Manufacturing, Financial Services and Logistics. Greg specialises in the development of platform business models to support the intersection between new business models and the practical integration of AI technologies.

Mark Fairweather is MD of MRI Software for Africa. Mark joined MRI Software through the acquisition of MDA Property Systems and leads the African presence for MRI Software. Mark ran an offshore software development company focused on custom development for the global real estate market. Mark has worked in a number of different roles through his career, with a keen focus on customer experience. Mark’s focus is to continue to grow MRI’s presence on the African continent, ensuring the highest levels of client satisfaction. Mark holds a Bachelor of Business Science degree, with honours, from UCT.

Michelle Dickens is the co-founder and CEO of TPN Credit Bureau. Michelle has committed two decades to building specialised databases, the intricate systems that maintain them and doing the research required to improve rental collections and prevent delinquent tenants from abusing the legal system. TPN’s unique data is widely used by organisations such as the South African Reserve Bank, Commercial Banks and industry bodies. The only credit bureau globally to specialise in tenant behaviour, TPN created the world’s first rental payment profile. Over the last 20 years, the TPN database has grown to become the most comprehensive and up-to-date authority on tenant behaviour in South Africa, covering both the residential and commercial sectors and transforming the way tenants pay their rent.

Michael completed articles as a Chartered Accountant at Mazars in Cape Town working on various industry sectors. A five-month secondment to New York City stimulated Michael’s entrepreneurial spirit and he resigned as an audit manager in 2008. Thereafter, Michael was co-owner and owner of an agricultural retail business and commercial cleaning services company, respectively, before moving into the property sector. In 2014, he joined Atterbury as Asset Manager responsible for the Attacq owned retail assets. In July 2015 Michael, joined Attacq assuming as Head of Asset and Property Management for Retail. During his tenure, he managed a regional and super-regional retail assets portfolio and ensured the group’s assets
offered sustainable community spaces for all its stakeholders. Michael was appointed into his new executive role on 01 June 2021.

Peter has broader real estate responsibilities including management of public equity real estate strategies. Peter was instrumental in the launch of the Africa Real Estate Platform as well as the Global Real Estate Securities Fund having been involved in both since inception. He joined Investec in 2008 initially in the property division, and later moved to the asset management division in 2010. He has a broad range of property experience having been the portfolio manager for listed property funds, as well as being involved in property development and property finance. Peter graduated from the University of Cape Town with a Bachelor of Science (Hons) degree in Property Studies along with majors in Accounting and Finance. Peter is a CFA Charterholder.

Franc is a member of the BetterLife Group Executive Team and is responsible for overseeing all aspects of BetterLife’s strategy, innovation programs and investments. Franc has over 14 years of experience leading innovation teams and new business ventures across various service industries, including private equity, banking, insurance, technology, and ICT, with assignments in several geographies across SADC, the UK, Europe, and the US. Franc graduated from WITS in Johannesburg and has read management at Harvard Business School in the US and Data and Analytics at Cambridge University in the UK.

Dr Alireza Moghayedi is a senior research officer, founder and co-director of Sustainability oriented, Cyber Unit for Built Environment (S⨁CUBE) at the University of Cape Town. His research focuses on developing inclusive, sustainable, and smart solutions for engineering and built environment projects. He holds a PhD in Construction Economics and Management,
MS in Civil Engineering, MS in Construction Management and BS in Civil Engineering. Dr Moghayedi has held various positions in a government agency, engineering consultancy, and
developing firms across the globe. He is lecturing Property and Technology, Information System and Project Management at Department of Construction Economics and Management, UCT.

Francois Coetzer is the co-founder and a director of PolygonProp™. He has a B. Com Honours Degree from the University of Stellenbosch and has worked in the retail leasing and development of many prominent retail centres for the past 25 years, including 7 years with Canal Walk. Francois has facilitated the successful conclusion of hundreds of retail leases, giving crucial insight into the industry for the development of a Retail Leasing Platform. Francois has an in-depth understanding of retail science, is passionate about tenant mix, trading densities and finding the perfect balance between lessor and lessee with the correct turnover clause being a core driver. Francois understands that a combination of perfect position, customer profile and tenant mix is pivotal in retail success, which is what drove Francois to form the team which developed PolygonProp™.

An African entrepreneur dedicated to forming sustainable companies that improve the lives.

Chukwuemeka is the CEO and Co-founder of Cofundie, a property crowdfunding platform based in Ghana working to solve the housing crisis in Africa. He is passionate about applying tech toward solving common developmental problems across the continent and has spent his life doing just that. Right now with Cofundie, he is focused on helping to increase the supply of affordable housing units in Ghana and increasing access for low-middle income earners to afford those units.

Gerhard Kotzé has been in the real estate industry for more than 28 years. He has travelled widely and consulted with real estate experts in Europe, Asia and the US, and this exposure to best practice internationally has given him a good understanding of how important it is to identify new technologies and he prides himself on being an early adopter.

With over 20 years of global experience in Africa, Australia, Europe and the Middle East, Giles joined Attacq as the Head of Developments on the 13th March 2018. He was later appointed to the role of Chief Development Officer in June 2018. His most recent role was in Dubai as the Development Director for Omniyat, a premier Dubai developer in the Dubai International Financial Centre’s (DIFC) 2 Tower mixed-use complex that includes a 60 storey Rosewood Hotel, serviced apartments and residential tower and a 40 story office tower. Prior to that, he was Vice President of Property Development and Head of Master Planning for the Dubai International Financial Centre Authority (DIFCA), a $25 billion, leading international financial hub for the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia (MEASA) region. From 2011 to 2013 Giles was the Managing Director of Development at Liberty Properties and prior to this has been based in Poland, Australia, and the UAE.

I was the former Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Accenture South Africa, I have 28 years management consulting experience. During my tenure at Accenture (formally Arthur Anderson and Anderson Consulting), I played numerous leadership roles, including Managing Director of Accenture’s Technology business as well as Managing Director of Accenture’s Resources business. Since being promoted to partner in 1997, I led sales for various divisions including SAP, Resources and Accenture’s Technology business, cultivating an entrepreneurial mindset which helped grow Accenture into one of the top emerging markets globally. I am currently the CEO of Kalon Venture Partners, a disruptive digital technology Venture Capital Fund (VCC) located in Johannesburg. I sit on various boards of the VCC’s underlying companies including chairman of many of the companies. Kalon has made 8 investments across various disciplines including; payments; property tech, loyalty, security, artificial intelligence; marketing tech and others. Besides my board role of the 8 investee companies, I am actively involved in fund raising, sales and other business building activities. I am also actively involved in the entrepreneur ecosystem in South Africa as well as looking for new tech companies to invest in. During my Accenture career, I attended various sales training courses across the globe and leveraged these experiences to train thousands of Accenture personnel into High Performance Selling. I also conduct various sales training courses for many blue chip clients across South Africa. I currently run sales training for numerous entrepreneurial organizations including ORTJET, EO, YPO, Barclays Rise and many others. I also leverages my sales experience and give talks on high performance selling to a number of organizations across South Africa. I support numerous organizations/companies with their Entrepreneurial Development initiatives, including, Da Vinci Institute, Endeavor (assisting high growth SA entrepreneurs), GIBS, Microsoft, SAB Miller Foundation; etc. I joined Arthur Anderson in 1985 (now Accenture) after graduating from the University of the Witwatersrand with a B.Sc degree in Computer Science and Applied Mathematics.

From the USA Daniel has spent the last seven years building Blockchain solutions. Daniel studied at the University of Michigan where he worked at Bitbox, one of the first cryptocurrency exchanges in the USA. Daniel subsequently cofounded the College Cryptocurrency Network (now Blockchain Education Network) a nonprofit that provided Blockchain educational initiatives at Universities in over 10 countries. In 2014 Daniel received a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to develop a Blockchain solution in Ghana which ultimately led to the concept of Seso. This experience has provided valuable expertise in the land administration and financial inclusion implementation.

Adrian Maguire, CEO of FATTi, has 25 years of experience in telecommunications. FATTI, which started out by providing the next generation Wi-Fi networks to shopping centers, has now expanded worldwide and its solutions are deployed on luxury ocean liners, theaters, soccer stadiums and schools in addition to malls. Maguire started out doing telecom solutions in dealer-rooms and call centers. He them moved into the open access networks where he deployed some of the first open access fiber and PLC networks in the country.

Craig Hean is the Manging Director of Advisory & Transaction Services, Sub-Saharan Africa at CBRE Excellerate. Craig has over 20 years of experiences and has worked throughout the African continent and has established an excellent track record in key markets including South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana. Prior to joining CBRE Excellerate, he was the Director of Empact CRES and responsible for the business line in South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa. Prior to that Craig was the CEO of Jones Lang LaSalle in sub-Saharan Africa, and was a director and shareholder of Bradford McCormack and Associates, a specialists commercial brokerage based in Johannesburg. Craig is and experienced managing director and real estate advisory services SME, having led profitable growth of full-service real estate companies across sub-Saharan Africa. Over the course of his career he has been involved all phases of real estate buying and leasing on behalf of both investor and occupier clients, across the whole African continent. He has also started a design and build business and has driven best practices throughout construction and consulting operations.  He has rendered services to clients such as Sanlam, World Bank, Investec Asset Management, Premier Foods, Deutsche Bank, South African Government, Proctor & Gamble, Transunion, AB InBev, Ecobank, Microsoft to name a few.

He is a seasoned property professional with experience across property development, asset management especially in listed real estate environment. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce from University of the Witwatersrand,  and attended the Real Estate Management Program at Harvard Business School. He has served as Chairman of Investment Committee on the Boards of two listed real estate companies in South Africa and consulted in Zimbabwe and Botswana.

Emmanuel Stefanakis has more than 40 years global experience in applying sustainable development principles to numerous housing and urban development projects. Prior to joining EchoStone, Mr. Stefanakis has served as Senior Management Consultant at Arthur D. Little International, as a senior executive at Harvard University, and has advised many Fortune 500 companies and international organizations such as the World Bank and the United Nations. Mr. Stefanakis received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Massachusetts, Master’s degrees in Sustainable Development from the University of Pennsylvania and Public Administration from Harvard University, and is certified as an International Finance Corporation EDGE Expert in sustainable building.

I graduated from college in 2010 with a degree in BSc Mathematics. I later joined MEST a year later to study software entrepreneurship in 2011. I graduated in 2013 with seed funding of $90K to build meqasa.com with two other co-founders. We went on to raise over $1M series A investment from Frontier Digital ventures, a VC firm head quartered in KL, Malaysia. We acquired our closest competition, Jumia House Ghana in 2017. We’re currently Ghana’s No.1 property website with over 50K property listings and more than 200K monthly website visits. Meqasa.com is Ghana’s number one real estate marketing website that helps property seekers find residential and commercial property to rent or buy in Ghana.

Noah Ibrahim is a young, innovative entrepreneur and Real Estate professional with vast experience in Real Estate development, sales, and advisory as well as quality service delivery and valued customer satisfaction. He started his entrepreneurial endeavours by founding Sellerrand Realty Limited a property sales and facility management company before founding Novarick Homes & Properties Ltd, a fast-growing Real Estate development company championing the emergence for the development of greener communities. A graduate of Mechanical Engineering from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, Nigeria, he’s also noted for his philanthropic acts and has partnered with several charities, NGOs, and Orphanages.

I am Godwin Obali, a Registered Valuation Surveyor of Uganda with a MSc. Real Estate from the University of Reading (UK) and I hold a Bachelor of Science degree in Land Economics (Makerere University) First Class (Hons). Currently, a Lecturer in Valuation Surveying; Makerere University in the College of Engineering, Design, Art and Technology, Department of Construction Economics and Management and a Senior Valuer/ Director; VALS CONSULTS LIMITED. Member Board of Valuers with the Departed Asian Property Custodian Board.
I enjoy using my experience and skills to contribute/ impact young lives in the educational sector and various entities that I serve in the various capacities every day. My hobbies are Reading, football, traveling, Scrabble and chess.

Jarrod is the Divisional Director: Technology as well as Account Director at Cushman & Wakefield | Broll, with experience in large multi-national portfolio management, strategy management and transaction management. He leans specially on Technology and Proptech influences to being key drivers of his strategic outlook. He identifies with innovative solution
making and cutting-edge industry thought-leadership.

Bruce is the Regional Director for our West Africa Region and the Turner & Townsend Africa Real Estate Lead for its Transition to Net Zero strategy. He has 26 years’ experience in cost and project management on landmark and mega projects. He has successfully led teams in mature and in developing markets to deliver reliable service to the highest international standards. In the last 14 years, Bruce has been the director for a number of large-scale mixed-use projects across the Middle East and North Africa region. Bruce takes a very active role in professional development and standards and is a board member of RICS’ Global Standards and Regulation Board.

Jide is the CEO of Ogun State Property Investment Company, a statutory corporation with a focus on the development of residential, commercial and industrial real estate hubs and new cities in Nigeria. He graduated from Obafemi Awolowo University with a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) and has a degree in Business Leadership from Cranfield School of Management. He is the founder / former CEO of Legacy Holdings, a Real Estate Holding company, and the current Special Adviser to the Governor of Ogun State.

John Jack is the Chief Executive Officer for Galetti Corporate Real Estate and has been with the company since 2018. He brings an in-depth knowledge of the South African property market, having achieved ZAR 3.5 billion in sales across South Africa and ZAR 12 billion in corporate real estate advisory. John gained significant experience during the global crisis in restructuring and portfolio rationalisation for our clients in the private sector. His property knowledge is extensive, having consulted to global clients on development proposals and existing office and
industrial leases and sales. He is passionate about the South African property market and committed to furthering its growth.

Josemaria Agulanna is the Co-founder and Chief Growth Officer of MyyInvest. He has been in the Proptech Startup scene for over 3 years now. Josemaria is passionate about creating
wealth for Africans through Real estate and Real Estate Technology. That’s why MyyInvest is at the forefront of providing access to an asset class in a way that no one felt possible.

A passionate green economy entrepreneur, Kevin James, is dedicated to driving opportunities that have a positive environmental and social impact. Inspired by his sustainability vision, Kevin founded Global Carbon Exchange (GCX) in 2012. GCX is an environmental sustainability and data analytics company that helps large corporations navigate their environmental and business performance. In addition to his role as CEO of GCX, Kevin is a Director at Zero Waste Technologies, an engineering and waste project development company focused on the commercialisation of waste-to-energy and other circular economy opportunities. He also serves as a Non-Executive Director of Green Building Council South Africa (GBCSA). As a sustainability specialist, Kevin is seasoned in strategic corporate sustainability, as well as in the development of green, low carbon projects. Known as the “carbon expert” in sustainability
circles, he regularly contributes his thought-leadership to both mainstream and specialist media. He hosted a feature on Radio 2000’s drivetime show with Ernest Pillay that tackled climate and sustainability current affairs from 2011 – 2018. He has also spoken on various esteemed event platforms about carbon matters and sustainability.

My primary interest is working toward sustainable, business-driven solutions to the challenges around us. I’ve worked in 20+ African countries, primarily focused on creating opportunities for entrepreneurs. Through these experiences, I’ve had the chance to advise hundreds of businesses as well as start up a few of my own.

Thomas launched Aviary Consulting in 2018 which is a real estate consulting company providing executive search and networking services. The company operates across Europe within the
investment finance space.  In 2020, he set-up Proptech Jobs, a recruitment company dedicated to the Proptech sector. He moved to the recruitment industry in 2015 where he was heading the European desk for a global recruitment firm covering the property sector.  Prior to that, Thomas worked for 5 years in RE transaction services within a Big 4. He holds a MSc in Real Estate Finance and a Bachelor in Law.

With over 20 years’ experience working internationally and in Uganda research, policy advice, strategy and training for both state and non-state actors. Lead Consultant on Climate Action through Green Building – promoting sustainability in built environment and catalysing uptake of green building to drive ambitions of UN2030 Sustainable development Goals and Paris Agreement on Climate Change, globally, nationally and locally. Fluent French and English with Luganda. Climate diplomacy experience.

Zach Aarons, co-author of PropTech 101, has been working at the intersection of real estate and venture capital for the past decade. Zach is the most active early-stage PropTech investor in the United States, having funded over 60 start-ups in the space as an individual as well as 40 start-ups (and counting) through MetaProp’s venture capital funds. In addition to early-stage investing, Zach has worked on large scale mixed-use development projects in cities like Boston and Los Angeles with Millennium Partners. He has experience with real estate development, commercial asset management, property marketing, and commercial leasing.

Kim van Rooyen is a Director at Turner & Townsend, currently based in the UK. With over 25 years’ experience in both the construction and technology sectors Kim has helped clients harness innovation and deliver real benefits from the delivery of their capital programmes and operational use of the asset. He has worked in both the public and private sector, delivering projects and programmes in six continents and plays a key part in disrupting the construction sector through his role at Turner & Townsend. More recently his focus has been on helping clients with their Digital Transformation journey, linking the human side with the machine so real tangible benefits can be realised. Kim will use this session to share some of his experiences of how businesses are using Digital to address the productivity and environmental agenda.

Menno Lammers (1977) is the quartermaster of the PropTech for Good movement. The PropTech for Good Movement propels Real Estate and Technology forward to support the UN Sustainable Development Goals. By stimulating connections between the Sustainable Development Goals, real estate and technology, we experience the endless human possibilities. This empowers us to create future-proof environments for everyone. Menno is the founder of PropTechNL, one of the founding board members of the PropTech House, the European network and a much sought-after strategy sparring partner to the boards of real estate companies. As a strategic advisor Menno worked for companies like Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Heimstaden Nederland, Savills, Syntrus Achmea Real Estate & Finance, Rijksvastgoedbedrijf (part of the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations).

Dennis Papa Odenyi Quansah is Program Lead for IFC EDGE Green Building Market Transformation Program in Ghana and Nigeria. He is an Urban Development professional with experience in the built environment in Ghana. His expertise includes Sustainable Real Estate Development, Real Estate Marketing and Agency, Real Estate Management, Real Estate Valuation and Business Development. He has also undertaken socio-economic surveys for voluntary relocation and other resettlement packages. He holds an MSc in Urban Policy and Development and an Undergraduate degree in Land Economy in Ghana. He is also a member of the Ghana Institution of Surveyors.

Will Harris is the CEO of Gmaven – a business focused on digitising businesses in the commercial real estate (CRE) industry. A Chartered Accountant by training, after time at Silicon Valley Bank, and declining a promotion at Sasol, he instead accepted an offer in the world of commercial property. Since then, together with a team of extremely talented and dedicated team mates, he has bet fourteen years, and counting, of his working life on driving efficiencies and reducing massive human pain in the enormously complicated $29T CRE industry.

Sean Godoy is a property professional with 10 years’ experience in the property industry. Most of his professional experience has been in property market analysis where he has developed a strong understanding. He has a strong interest in cities and emerging economies. Sean is passionate about SA, Africa, poverty alleviation, and education. In his own capacity and through his role on the executive committee of the South Africa Chamber of Commerce in London, he actively promotes and facilitates business and charitable activity between the UK, SA, and afield.

Kelvin Wachira is the Co-Founder and C.E.O of BidiiBuild. BidiiBuild is a software company that is an all in one construction management platform suited for real estate and construction companies helping them manage their projects on time and on budget. He holds a Bsc. Civil Engineering degree from Dedan Kimathi University of Technology and is an alumnus of the prestigious MEST. He has conducted technology workshops in NCA CPD workshops, BIG 5, and also selected in IFC “Next 100 African Startups”. His areas of expertise are Cloud, IOT, Design Thinking, tech integrations and technology implementation for effective construction delivery.

Kecia Rust is the Executive Director and founder of the Centre for Affordable Housing Finance in Africa. She is a housing policy specialist and has provided strategic support to government in South Africa for the past 20 years. Over the span of her career, she has focused on affordable housing finance, residential property assets and property markets, rental and social housing, and the creation of sustainable human settlements. She holds a Masters of Management degree from the University of the Witwatersrand and a Bachelor’s Degree with Distinction and Honours in International Studies from the University of North Carolina USA.

Kevin Teeroovengadum has an MBA and M.Sc. in Finance. He worked for KPMG, Deloitte, Ernst & Young in corporate finance and business consultancy before moving to Loita Capital Partners Group. Kevin joined Actis as a Director as part of their Africa real estate team. At Actis, he led the origination of a number of new developments and assisted in fund raising for Actis’ 2 nd real estate fund. He also led the sale of 2 major assets i.e. Accra Mall in Ghana and Capital Properties in Tanzania to offshore buyers and setting the pricing benchmark for investment grade properties in Africa.