Leading Pan-African professional real-estate services provider Broll Property Group, which has announced a new five-year plan and reinvigorated group strategy to position itself in the property sector in South Africa and across the continent, has appointed Jess Cleland as COO: Africa. This includes responsibility for all operations outside of South Africa, in addition to heading up the Group’s Valuations and Property Intel divisions across all countries.
Since joining Broll in 2013, Cleland’s positions have included Group Managing Director: East Africa & Indian Ocean, and Divisional Director: Strategy & Consulting within Occupier Services. Prior to joining Broll, she held the role of Research Director at IPD (now MSCI) South Africa, and has gained a wealth of experience from working in a range of countries across the globe.

Broll has been operating in Africa for over 15 years and has offices and operations in 13 countries. These are Botswana, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Eswatini, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda and Zambia. It also has further capability and experience in 16 additional countries, highlighting the depth and breadth of its industry role across the continent.

Broll Valuation & Advisory Services offers a highly professional service for the valuation of land and buildings, including real rights, servitudes and usufruct, as well as plant and machinery assets. Valuations are also provided for sales and acquisitions, financial reporting, rental valuations, and rating appeals.
Broll Property Intel’s in-house team of experts has extensive industry experience in research-based real-estate consulting and advisory services. This high-performance team conducts unique market analyses that provide relevant insights into different market segments, allowing its clients to make informed, strategic and data-driven decisions.

Cleland holds an MBA majoring in International Business, a Master of Property and a Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) in Mechanical Engineering. She is an active industry speaker, has served on numerous boards and committees, was a 2020 API Award for Women in Africa Real Estate finalist, and in 2018 won Professional of the Year – Private Sector (Gauteng) at the South African Women in Property Awards. She is a Fellow of the Mauritius Institute of Directors and has achieved the status of Certified Business Advisor from the Institute of Business Advisors of Southern Africa.

“We are going to be creative and find sustainable solutions for our clients and our business, just as we did when we successfully navigated through the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic, to emerge where we are today: More united, focused, and with a clear understanding about the path ahead to manifest growth for all our stakeholders,” comments Broll Group CEO Malcolm Horne. To achieve this growth, Broll has reviewed its group operating structure. Clustered divisions under focused senior leadership have been created to prioritise people, communication and talent management as strategic objectives.
“As we prepare to move forward under the revised operating structure, I congratulate and welcome the newly-established group exco. Their entry brings a renewed energy, new thinking and a commitment to even deeper collaboration, which is in the greater interests of creating a leading workplace for our valued staff. I look forward to working with them as we elevate our status as the service provider of choice for our existing and potential clients,” concludes Horne.