SALUTING EIGHT OF PROPERTY'S FINEST

EXCITEMENT is mounting for the 14th Standard Bank Top Women Awards which, to be held at Emperor's Palace in Johannesburg on August 17, will see the Dormehl Phalane Property Group sponsoring the property category, for which there are eight worthy nominees.

The awards, for which the property group's Owen Dormehl is a judge, are presented in recognition and celebration of outstanding achievement by women in various fields, in both public and private sectors. Organisations that prioritise gender empowerment are also recognised.

Standard Bank acquired the naming rights to the Top Women Awards in 2014. The bank now presents the event in partnership with Topco Media, owner of the Top Women brand.

The awards will be preceded by a conference, on August 16 and 17, at Emperor's Palace, at which business and government leaders will speak. Among those on the programme are South African HIV/Aids research pioneer Dr Glenda Gray and Deputy Minister in the Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services, Stella Tembisa Ndabeni-Abrahams.

The coveted awards, decided on by a team of judges from various fields, will be presented in 26 categories that include Female Entrepreneur of the Year, Female Public Sector Leader, Top Woman in Aviation, Top Young Achiever of the Year, Top Woman in Agriculture, Top Woman in Construction, Top Businesswoman of the Year and Top Male Driving Gender Empowerment.

There are also awards in categories covering retail, public services, transport and logistics, health and pharamaceuticals, infrastructure development, skills development and rural development, among others. In addition, a special award for Lifetime Achiever will be announced at the awards ceremony.

The Dormehl Phalane Property Group is sponsoring the Top Woman in Property Award, which is reserved for a senior female executive who has demonstrated exceptional performance within the property sector and demonstrated admirable leadership, business acumen and strategic foresight.

This year's nominees, in alphabetical order, are as follows:

Buhle Mathole - Kabu Design Architects
Mathole studied at Woodmead School in Johannesburg and the University of Pretoria. She founded Kabu Design Architects in 2007 and has a deep sense of pride in African heritage. The company is registered with SACAP (South African Council For The Architectural Profession), SAIA (South African Institute of Architects) and GIFA (Gauteng Institute For Architecture).

Dina Soukop - Soukop Property
Dina and her husband, Fred, have grown the Soukop Property Group from a single office in Durban's Morningside to a group with branches countrywide The winner of the Woman of the Year 2015 award at the Italian-South African Chamber of Trade and Industries Business Excellence Awards in Johannesburg, Dina has worked in the property industry for almost four decades.

Kim Faclier - GoIndustry DoveBid SA
Cape Town-based Kim was appointed as MD of GoIndustry DoveBid's first online property auction division in 2011. She has 20 years of experience in real estate, across all sectors, as well as a substantial network within the banking and property institutions, and investors and fund managers. In 2011, she received the Women in Property Network Award recognising ethics, integrity and empowerment as well as specialist knowledge and innovative thinking.

Lauren Marshall - Profica
Lauren is a Lead Tenant Co-ordinator for Profica, a leading construction and property solutions company, and has been with the company since 2014. She is working as the Tenant Co-ordinator in Nigeria, with a mix of international retailers. Based in Johannesburg, she was previously merchandise manager for Harley Davidson in Sandton, Johannesburg.

Madeleine Truter - Setso
Madeleine has worked for some of the top property houses, both in the listed and private sectors. She holds a BLC LLB Degree, a BA Honours in political science Degree, a LLM Degree in human rights and constitutional practice, as well as an advanced certificate in construction law and building contracts from the University of Pretoria. Admitted as an attorney in 1995, and as a conveyancer in 1997, she is an advocate of the High Court of SA.

Marianka Victor - Finlay ML
Marianka is a highly skilled retail specialist with extensive experience in new retail developments and existing shopping centre management. She has a B Com in Communications and specialised in Design at Vega School of Brand Communication. Marianka started her career at Finlay and Associates in 2009 In 2015, she was appointed as MD of leasing company, Finlay. Marianka proceeded to purchase Finlay Mall Leasing.

Shazia Essa Suliman - Choprop
The owner, director and principal of Choprop Sales and Letting pity Ltd, Shazia structured the entire business from start to finish. She started the company as a garage-from-home business and together with her husband built it from nothing to managing 500 rentals per month. Her role includes mentoring agents and giving them targets and leads for buyers and sellers.

Xoliswa Daku - Daku Group of Companies
Xoliswa is the CEO of Daku Group of Companies which focuses on property development, investments and facilities management. A big project that put her on the map was the One and Only hotel in Cape Town. She has an Executive MBA from UCT graduate School of Business, LLM Degree from UWC, and Advanced and post-graduate diploma in Project Management from Cranefield University. Big projects include Khayelitsha Hospital and Mall, Engcobo CBD, Cradock Spa, Intersite Stations and the Koeberg Interchange, to name a few.