Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa October 2018

ANDREW GOLDING GETTING TO KNOW ANDREW GOLDING Age: 55 Current position: Chief Executive, the Pam Gold- ing Property group (since 1996) Education: Bsc Hons, MbChb Family: Wife Tanya and 3 children Hobbies/interests: Cycling, Iron Man Triathlons, golf, music Books reading /Favourite book: Sporting biog- raphies Personal motto: Press on…regardless Favourite quote: “You miss 100 percent of the shots you never take” - Wayne Gretzky D r. Andrew Golding is the chief executive of the Pam Golding Property group. He was originally in private practice as a General Practitioner on the Atlantic Sea- board from 1991 to 1996, following which he joined the fam- ily business as MD in 1996, followed by his present position. Internationally known for his global networking and ambassa- dorial role in promoting South Africa, Dr Golding is a board member of mortgage originator, Ooba and a former president of REBOSA (Real Estate Businesses of South Africa), as well as a member of the Institute of Directors and the SA Medical Health Profession. First involvement in property Property was always a topic of conversation in the Golding household, as he grew up hearing his late mother Pam negotiate deals on the phone and discussing the business at length with his late father Cecil. Andrew had a successful medical practice in Sea Point, and originally had no intentions of entering the family business. However, ultimately it seemed a natural progression and while being a medical doctor may at first seem far removed from property, his experience in dealing with people has stood him in good stead in the property industry. Andrew’s first business was co-owner of a restaurant/ nightclub which was synonymous for its live jazz music in Cape Town. It was initially very successful but then through a combination of bad luck and poor decision-making got into financial trouble. It taught him to not take initial success as a predictor of future or sustainable ongoing success. The impact the family has made on him has been huge and Pam (his mom) was his mentor and an invaluable sounding board over all the years. He considers it a great privilege to be able to be in a family business where commonality of values, vision and trust is unquestioned. Furthermore, to be tasked with perpetuating and growing an existing legacy is an exciting and inspiring challenge. Andrew says that the biggest challenge is to separate the family business life and concerns from the true non-business family issues as the two can easily become blurred. In today’s world there is still value in large scale family businesses. There are many very successful businesses that range from 100% family owned businesses, to hybrids where families are in control of the business but with outside shareholders, to family businesses where the family is in a minority. Andrew says, “I don’t think there is a hard and fast rule and it all depends on the type of business and the nature of the relationship between the various parties.” Andrew is obviously biased towards real estate as an investment category as that is the business he operates in. His most significant returns have come always come from property acquisitions. Most importantly locations where he has bought well have served him well especially if you view them as long- term investments. The company values have stood them in good stead during times of a downturn in the economy as well as during buoyant trading conditions, and he finds that they benefit during challenging times, not only by attracting agents of high calibre to the organisation, but also being able to maintain the same high levels of service and integrity as before while adapting quickly to rapidly changing market conditions. With the changing dynamics of today’s ever-evolving residential property market, real estate agents have to employ a whole new set of skills in order to service the requirements of the marketplace successfully. As a result, their agents have to be more skilled, experienced and professional and this requires full-time focus, commitment and dedication from staff and agents, and those who are able to identify with our premier brand succeed. Strong and inspirational leadership is essential and although Pam Golding Properties has over the years grown and achieved record sales, they have a culture of genuine empathy which is based on meaningful relationships with staff, agents and clients alike. Andrew would like to build on the work of many others before him in promoting the industry as one that adds real value to peoples lives and is seen as competent and professional. From a company standpoint, they have always been leaders in innovating change in the industry and he would like to see this trend continuing. Andrew says that getting to understand that property markets move in cycles and never just keep going up or down, a residential real estate transaction - while seemingly simple is often complex and nuanced, so real estate agents need to be better at defining the value proposition they offer clients. The value proposition is an excellent one, however, it is generally poorly or inadequately understood or explained. Opportunities going forward Andrew says some of the best opportunities going forward is demographics – for example, the young age profile of residents of SA and much of Africa presents a huge opportunity. Also, the fact that the bulk of future population growth is going to be in Asia and Africa. So there is definitely long term SA Real Estate Investor Magazine OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2018 7

Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa October 2018 | Page 9