What work do you do?
I am the CEO and a shareholder of the master franchise for Sotheby’s International Realty South Africa and we have 44 offices operating under the brand. Our head office is responsible for assisting with operations, digital strategy, sales coaching and marketing campaigns for our network of 450 property brokers.
My role aside from being the face of the business (along with my father and company chairman, Lew Geffen) is to also identify and acquire top performing franchise principals and agencies and convert them as owners for our brand.
I am very visible within the brand and industry sector and feature regularly in press and media as well as delivering many key note talks as a professional speaker in South Africa.
I am a very hands-on CEO, often travelling to visit all our offices around the country and meet with the Broker Principals whilst also maintaining good relations with our master international brand Sotheby’s International Realty which has over 1000 offices around the world.
How long have you been in the industry?
I have been in the industry 12 years and I took over as CEO in 2017. My speaker career took off in 2020 during lockdown as I was motivated to represent the brand and myself and to ensure maximum exposure during a very challenging time for business.
Has your work always been your passion? Tell us why?
My passion is really being an agent of change as that is really a prevalent skill needed in our industry. I am also passionate about the mental health and wellness of our staff and network and about reframing an industry which can be quite formulaic and stodgy at times so that we can be as innovative and authentic as possible and deliver the best experience to our agents and clients.
Being a woman in the industry – what does it take?
Women are naturally gifted as property consultants as we have natural empathy towards our clients.
However, in our industry the gap between men and women is still too far apart in terms of leadership and management, which is quite ironic as it used to be very female led with my grandmother Aida Geffen and Pam Golding at the forefront.
The truth is I feel that we have backtracked as a sector as it is very much the gentleman’s club and there should be many more females sitting in leadership positions at the head of the table.
It does bother me that I am the only female CEO out of the top 7 national brands. But my role is also to inspire other agency boards to give women those opportunities and for women to step up and take their space in leadership positions.
It takes authentic confidence, fantastic people skills, knowledge (and a desire to keep learning) and being highly adaptable to a changing environment to be able to succeed in our industry.
What has been the most difficult challenge of your career? What advice do you have for other women in your industry? Plans for the future?
When I was appointed as CEO, there were obvious thoughts by some that it may have been nepotism as I am the Chairmans daughter. However, aside from my qualifications for the job, it must be remembered that many real estate businesses around the world are actually legacy companies.
At that time, I was also the only women and the youngest CEO and I needed to prove myself more than my male counterparts. Additionally, I took over during a recession – and as a single mom to a 4-year old. Basically, all the odds were stacked against me, but through observing, listening and creating my own authentic immersive leadership style we actually had the best financial year last year to date. I am lucky that I do not get flustered by challenges or chaos and I am naturally very solution oriented. I am also a strong proponent of not pretending to know everything and engaging with my staff and franchisee principals often to get to the right decision. Women need to put up their hands more and harness their femininity and not try and be masculine to feel on par.
We need both masculine and feminine energies in business and my advice is for women to not over compensate to fit in more by being more masculine especially in a male dominated industry.
During Covid I really recognised the need for our sales agents to develop their own personal brands and be heroes in their communities, endorsed by our master brand.
I have tried to promote this by setting an example by being a keynote speaker, a judge on many panels and award shows and engaging with different industry bodies.
The amount of referral business I have received by doing this has been outstanding and people definitely take notice if you have a strong brand presence. It is essential to get a mentor and a mastermind group of people you can get honest feedback from in order to succeed in any business.
