Jack, who has been with the company since 2010 when he joined as Gauteng Director being tasked with securing a foothold in the Gauteng market, replaces Tony Galetti and Francois Staples, who remain on the Knight Frank South Africa board as Non-Executive Directors.

The appointment echoes the company’s significant growth in Gauteng to align with Knight Frank’s large African footprint, with more than 700 employees in offices across South Africa, Zambia, Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Nigeria.

Comments outgoing CEO Tony Galetti: “With more than 12 years’ experience in the commercial property sector, John was the natural choice of succession plan for the business. Having gained extensive experience in the industrial and institutional markets, he was instrumental in securing one of the largest brokered commercial sales in South Africa at R1,744bn, as well as growing the Gauteng office tenfold over the past 5 years.”

Jack has worked closely with a number of developers to bring tenant-driven builds to completion. “John’s development experience is often called upon in the company. His property knowledge is extensive, having consulted to clients including The Sandvik Mining, Otis, Nampak and the African Development Bank on development proposals and existing office and industrial leases and sales. We welcome him on board as our new CEO, and look forward to an exciting new chapter at Knight Frank South Africa.”

Knight Frank is the leading independent, global real estate consultancy providing an integrated prime commercial and residential offering, operating in key hubs across the globe.