Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa September 2014 | Page 13

UPFRONT

M

alcolm Horne is the CEO of the Broll Property
Group, one of South Africa’s leading commercial
property management companies. Despite his
impressive achievements, he is surprisingly
approachable and practical in his approach to life
and business, and his advice from a career that
spans 30 years is truly insightful.
As a “born Benonian”, Malcolm matriculated in 1982 and went straight
to work as a clerk of the lower courts in Benoni, while studying law parttime though UNISA. After qualifying in 1986, he made his way up to
become a public prosecutor, where he learnt to organise and manage huge
workloads and court roles, while keeping as sense of humor at the same
time. “However,” says Malcolm, “In my heart I always knew that the legal
profession was not for me and I wanted to go into the business world preferably property related.”
Malcolm’s passion for property was ignited by his parents. “My parents
bought and sold houses while I was growing up, giving me exposure to
the residential property sector. I enjoyed the excitement of looking for
a property, adding value to it and, ultimately, exiting with no emotion
and some nice profit. Property has always excited me and when an
opportunity arose to enter the property industry I did not hesitate to grab
the opportunity. I am most thankful for tackling all of the opportunities
that have presented themselves to me and also that I was not scared to
take these leaps of faith even though the real possibility of failure always
existed.”
Leaps of faith and new challenges
Malcolm took such a leap of faith, leaving the Department of Justice to
join the Witwatersrand Agricultural Society, the organisers of the Rand
Show, as Legal Advisor. Within a short period of time, he became restless,
as he was not fully occupied, and started looking for the next challenge.
Such a challenge presented itself when Baker Street Associates started a
property management division. “Here I learnt many life lessons that I hold
dear to this day. It is where I learnt the tools and tricks of the trade. As it
was a start-up business in property management and I had no experience,
I was in the deep end! I learnt all aspects of property management from
clerical, admin and finance to operational and property management.”
Another milestone in Malcolm’s career was a five-and-a-half year stint
as senior property manager at City Property in Pretoria. “This was the best
training ground for becoming a multi-skilled all-rounder. I will always be
thankful for these formative years that have moulded me to be the person
and professional that I have become today.”
With a young family, travelling from Benoni to Pretoria became a
challenge and Malcolm started to look for work opportunities closer to
home. “A consortium of Municipal Pension Funds was headquartered in
Benoni and I sent them my CV in case a position became available. Six
months later, I was appointed General Manager: Properties in charge of
the property division of the Joint Municipal Pension Fund, Municipal
Employees Pension Fund and Municipal Gratuity Fund, stationed in
Benoni! I spent five years in this position and look back at those years with
fond memories.”
www.reimag.co.za

PERSONAL STATISTICS
Age: 49
Marital status/children: Married to a
lawyer who is passionate about fighting
the rights of abused children and
inspires me to be a better person and
give of myself. We have an 18-year-old
son studying medicine at Wits – we are
so proud of him! Our family centres
around a beloved blind min pincher
called Mischief, whose blindness was
a true life lesson in adapting with
ease and making the best of a difficult
situation.
Hobbies: BROLL! We are passionate and
focussed on our careers and treasure the
limited time we have as a family. Our
favourite holiday spots: bed, book and
the beach at Ramsgate.

CLOSE-UP
Mentors: I am always looking forward
to meeting the next person who will
inspire me or remind me who I wish to
be. There are awesome people doing
wonderful things - I am privileged to be
inspired and motivated by them to make
a difference.
What are you reading?
Good Morning Mr Mandela by Zelda
Le Grange and Understanding Arabs,
an interesting insight into the Arabic
people. Understanding different people
and different cultures builds respect for
others.
What would you still like to achieve?
On the professional side, I would like
to see Broll truly internationalise its
services and brand within the next few
years. On a personal note, I would like
to achieve the desired balance in life to
spend more time with those I love and
to feed my soul with the things that true
balance brings.
Motto: Do not build your self- esteem
around someone else’s achievements.
Give credit where credit is due. True
achievement is reflected in collective
success, not the singular success of an
individual.
September 2014 SA Real Estate Investor

13