Held in Cape Town from 11-13 May 2011 and sponsored by Nedbank Corporate Property Finance, the convention remains the pre-eminent gathering place for the who’s who of the commercial and industrial property sector in SA.

This year’s theme is Innovation, Recovery, Opportunities.

As SAPOA CEO Neil Gopal points out, the highly successful 2010 World Cup positioned SA positively in the eyes of the world – and now it’s time to capitalize on both the global recovery and SA’s own higher-than-ever international standing.

“We’ve planned an action-packed program to make sure we, as an industry, understand and carve out SA’s growing role in the global economic and property arenas,” he says.

The question of Innovation and Recovery will be tackled, among others, by a hard-hitting panel of experts in a discussion entitled Is this the Great Recession, or is this Recession going to make us great? Ray Mackey and Henry Chamberlain, respectively the chairman and president of the US-based Building Owners’ and Managers’ Association (BOMA), will team up with local property heavyweights Sisa Ngebulana, chief executive of the Billion Group, and Norbert Sasse, CEO of Growthpoint Properties.

“The past few years have been tough for the property industry,” says Frank Berkeley, managing executive of Nedbank Corporate Property Finance.
“But we believe the industry is well-positioned to take advantage of new opportunities as our economic recovery gathers momentum.”

To assess those opportunities, noted futurist David Houle will present his insights into untapped potential going forward, while Guruduth Banavar, IBM vice-president and chief technology officer, will talk specifically about how IBM’s Smarter Cities initiative captures strategic opportunities across the globe.
Retail trends will also be a topic discussed by Robert L Grossman from Deliotte Consulting LLP.

As always, in addition to opportunities for learning, the stage is set for targeted networking too, from the convention Golf Day that kicks off the event, to the Welcome Cocktails on the first night, and the convention party on the second night.

The much-anticipated SAPOA Property Journalism Awards 2011, which recognizes excellence in property journalism, and the SAPOA Innovative Excellence Awards, which spotlights exceptional property developments across various sectors, will also be announced at the convention.
The 43rd Annual SAPOA International Convention and Property Exhibition will take place at the Cape Town International Convention Centre from 11-13 May.