The Future of the South African Office

Project Description

Despite the work from home trend, the office is still an important space for collaboration and creativity, where business performance and personal career development can be bolstered.

Join the Business Day Dialogues LIVE as our panel of experts discuss the benefits of a hybrid working solution: where an office that provides mentorship, coaching, technology, resources and a sense of community, can seamlessly integrate with working-from-home requirements during the pandemic.

Joanne Joseph

Anchor and Radio personality

Joanne Joseph

Joanne presents Talk Radio 702’s Afternoon Drive slot. She has presented the 4pm-6pm ‘Afternoon News’ slot on 24-hour news channel, eNCA and current affairs radio show, The Power Update on Power FM.

Prior to this she was the main anchor and a bulletin writer on SABC 3’s “News at 7’. She began her career at YFM radio as a news presenter radio in 1998. Following that, she worked at Classic FM, Network Radio News and Business Day as a producer/presenter. In 1998, she moved into television, taking up the position of producer/presenter at SABC Africa.

Joanne has scripted several corporate videos for clients like Afrox and produced documentaries for the United Nations Development Programme among others. She has done several high-profile live broadcasts including the live coverage of Nelson Mandela’s passing broadcast internationally, Thabo Mbeki’s presidential inauguration, the Walter Sisulu and Beyers Naudé funerals.

Joanne regularly MCs corporate functions in English and French and has presented corporate videos for Life Healthcare, SAPPI, First National Bank, Standard Bank, MTN and PG Glass among others

Professor François Viruly

Associate Professor

University of Cape Town

Professor François Viruly

François Viruly is a property economist with over twenty-five years’ experience in the analysis of the South African property market. Associate Professor Viruly lectures in Urban Economics, Property Development and Portfolio Management at the University of Cape Town in the School of Construction Economics and Management. François held the position of Chief Economist at the Chamber of Mines. He was Head of Research at JHI Professional Services (valuations, research and legal services) and Acting Head of School of the School of Construction Economics and Management at Wits University. He is the Director of Viruly Consulting Pty Ltd and a fellow of RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors). He is immediate past President and Executive Director of the African Real Estate Society. He heads the UCT-Urban Real Estate Research Unit. He is also a member of the Institute of Directors Southern Africa. Prof Viruly has undertaken extensive research into the South African property cycle, the drivers of the South African property market and the relationship between urban economics and property markets in Sub-Saharan Africa. He is a non-executive director of the Accelerate Property Fund.

Linda Trim

Director

Giant Leap

Linda Trim

Linda Trim holds a degree in psychology.

For the past 27 years she has been involved in workspace design and making sure companies get the best out of their people by creating award winning workspaces

Giant Leap believe you need to welcome people to a better place

Rob Kane

Chief Executive Officer

Boxwood Property Fund

Rob Kane

Rob retired as CEO of JSE listed Texton Property Fund Limited (formerly VPIF) in mid-2015 which he started in 2006 and then listed on the JSE on 2011. Since inception, Rob grew the fund to an asset value of R5.5bn comprising 350,000m2 of commercial, retail and industrial buildings throughout South Africa. In 2014, Rob diversified the business offshore and the fund had 25% of its asset base in the UK. In the same year, he concluded a BEE transaction placing 26% of the listed shares in black hands. Rob is non-executive chair of the Cape Town City Improvement District (CCID), a Public -Private Partnership which is responsible for public safety, urban management, social development, and PR/Communications. The CCID is accepted as the organisation primarily responsible for the turnaround of the Cape Town CBD. Rob sits on the South African Property Owners Association Board for the Western Cape Committee and is an occasional lecturer at UCT.

Dr Colinda Linde

Psychologist and SADAG Chair

Dr Colinda Linde

Dr Linde is a practising clinical psychologist, working mainly from a cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) paradigm. Much of her focus is to provide rapid solutions to her clients for anxiety, panic and sleep disorders. She also works with burnout and stress-related conditions. In addition, she is an educator, a mental health advocate and a keynote speaker. Dr Linde’s philosophy is that there is a tool for everything. One just needs to match the tool to the person, problem or situation. Fortunately, CBT is evidence-based, so there are many proven tools available. “The reason why I do what I do is that I believe everybody can learn to manage themselves to have a different, better experience of life. I express this daily through my work with my clients and through other activities such as educating, as well as advocacy, and developing self-help products.”