Vukile Property Fund has appointed Laurence Cohen, a chartered accountant and former financial director of listed retail property fund Hyprop for almost 15 years, its chief financial officer and a member of Vukile’s board effective from July 1 this year.
Laurence Rapp, the chief executive of Vukile, said yesterday Cohen would join the Vukile team from next month as chief financial officer designate and succeed Vukile’s current financial director, Mike Potts, who is retiring, from July 1.
Rapp said Vukile was thrilled to attract someone of the calibre of Cohen, with his keen knowledge and experience in the real estate investment trust (Reit) sector and specifically retail property and international investment.
Cohen has led the SA Reit Association’s Accounting and JSE Committee and was instrumental in formulating the best- practice recommendations for the sector.
Rapp added that Potts, as a founding director of Vukile, had played a pivotal role in the business and its evolution into a retail Reit.