Our department and divisional heads are made up of a vast array
of personalities, skills and expertise. Together they make a
formidable team who boast many years of success in a variety of
industries:
Rael Levitt (CEO)
Rael displayed early entrepreneurial ambitions during his school
and student years. He sold his first property while still in matric
and was selling property to varsity staff while completing his law
degree at the University of Cape Town.
Rael has today become an innovator, entrepreneur and household
name in the asset sales and services industry. He founded his
first auction company at the age of 20 and was the founder of
Auction Alliance, Valuation Alliance, Asset Alliance and the
Alliance Group.
With his infectious personality, astute leadership and bold
strategic moves, Rael has developed the Alliance Group into
Southern Africa's leading asset sales and services company.
A veteran and pioneer of the auctioneering business at age 37,
Rael's knowledge and industry acumen are unequalled in the local
market. He has personally sold billions of Rands of almost every
asset type and his background in sales and marketing combined with
extensive operational and general management experience make him a
highly respected and popular leader of the ever-growing Alliance
Group brand.
Contact: 082 777 0999 or rlevitt@auction.co.za
Bruce Sneddon (Finance)
Bruce Sneddon joined our team in his capacity as Chief Financial
Officer in December 2009.
Bruce, a qualified Chartered Accountant, completed both his
under- and post-graduate studies at UCT, followed by his articles
at Deloitte.
Joining the Alliance team as of December 2009, Bruce brings a
wealth of key financial and administration experience from his
roles as CFO at Integer, Financial & Projects Executive at
Truworths Limited, CEO and former Group Financial Director at
Appleton, as well as his position as group accountant for Norwich
Holdings SA Limited.
A cornerstone to his continued success is his healthy balance
between his professional career and family. Bruce further
attributes his focus to a keen interest in sports as he plays water
polo, competes as an active masters swimmer, and is also a keen
golfer and runner.
The strategic expertise that Bruce brings to the table is sure
to see Alliance Group make the most of the opportunities 2010 has
to offer.
Contact: 084 468 6885 or bsneddon@auction.co.za
Ariella Kuper (New Business Development)
Ariella currently heads up New Business Development for Auction
Alliance, providing a national face for new clients, complex
projects and new initiatives undertaken by the company.
Ariella has excelled in the academic and professional arena,
achieving a BA Joint Honours in Economics from Wits in 1995,
followed by an MBA in 2002 at the Cape Town Graduate School of
Business (GSB), from where she received an exchange Scholarship to
Columbia Business School, NY (USA).
She was an international steel trader with Macsteel
International, a private equity executive, and thereafter entered
the auction arena, bringing with her an aptitude to quickly
understand a variety of assets, including mining, maritime,
aviation and property. The experience gained from trading included
multiple languages, shipping, logistics, finance and international
trade. The auction environment has offered Ariella a canvas to
leverage off all these strengths on various levels to benefit an
extensive client base.
As one of the only female auctioneers in SA, Ariella has raised
in excess of R3million for various charities, including high
profile events like FIFA 2010, Zanele Mbeki's IWFSA Leadership Cup,
Anneline Kriel's Homestead, Wilma VD Bijl's Red Cross Children's
Hospital, and Home of Hope, amongst others.
Contact: 079 899 9998 or akuper@auction.co.za
David Bernstein (Human Resources)
David is the group head of human resources for Auction Alliance
and graduated from the University of Cape Town in 2003 with a
degree in Industrial Psychology and Labour Relations, specialising
in Human Resource Management.
He has since become a sought-after lecturer and was an internal
marketer at Varsity College. During this period he also consulted
in the fields of ergonomics, labour relations and conflict
management.
In 2005, he joined a leading South African recruitment company,
where he received further training and experience in the employment
sector, specialising in financial sector placements.
David joined Auction Alliance in March 2006, where his passion for
people and performance made an invaluable contribution to the
company's Human Resource Department. Under his leadership, Auction
Alliance was awarded the CRF Best Employers in South Africa award
in 2007.
Contact: 083 781 5909 or dbernstein@auction.co.za
Lise Schwartz (Marketing)
Lise Schwartz is currently Auction Aliance's group marketing
operations manager. She completed her BTech: Public Relations
Management degree at the Cape Peninsula University of
Technology.
Over the last nine years, Lise has worked in numerous marketing
departments at corporate, local government and retail companies,
and has experience in the full spectrum of the marketing mix; both
above and below the line marketing. She joined TBWA Hunt Lascaris
in 2004, and was appointed as the account manager for Spar Western
Cape and Media24 Magazines.
Lise joined Auction Alliance in December of 2006, and employed her
marketing and advertising experience to start-up the media
department, where after she was promoted in July 2009 to her
current role.
Contact: 083 611 9136 or lshwartz@auction.co.za
Willie van Rensburg (Agriculture Cape)
Willie is Auction Alliance's branch manager in Paarl, and is
actively involved in residential, commercial and agriculture
property sales in the Boland region. He is also the company's
regional auctioneer in the Boland, Swartland, Northern Cape, West
Coast and Overberg areas.
After completing a university degree and post-graduate studies
at the University of Stellenbosch, Willie began his teaching career
in 1975. He taught at a well-known high school in George, staying
in the profession for seven years before his twin passions of
farming and auctions took hold.
He joined Boland Bank in 1992 and operated out of Riversdale,
servicing regions such as Albertinia, Heidelberg and Stilbaai. A
brief stint at Seeff Auctions followed before he joined Auction
Alliance.
Willie's experience in farm and livestock sales is unrivalled in
the industry. This experience has led to concluded sales of some of
the most expensive farms in the Cape region.
Contact: 083 261 7641 or wvanrensburg@auction.co.za
Pieter Geldenhuys (Agriculture North)
Pieter is a qualified teacher and became a respected auctioneer
after completing his post graduate degree at the University of
Potchefstroom. His first auction position was in 1995, when he
became the regional manager of Seeff Auctions, Pretoria. In 2001 he
moved on and decided to further his career by becoming a
shareholder and director of Auction Alliance.
Pieter has since conducted some of the country's most high
value auctions and has a wide asset knowledge, conducting
sales as far as Namibia, Botswana and Swaziland. His largest
auction was the sale of almost 1 000 lots in Kleinzee, Northern
Cape, which he began at 10am in the morning and ended at 7pm in the
evening.
His career highlights include selling the assets of
a massive mine in Oranjemund, Namibia, and tearfully being
thanked by a widow for helping their family get value out of a
deceased estate sale in Volksrust.
Pieter's philosophy with all his auctions is to communicate with
transparency to both the buyer and seller. At the end of every one
of his auctions, he likes his clients to get the best possible
deal, thereby making a difference to their personal and
professional lives.
Contact: 082 808 1801 or pgendenhuys@auction.co.za
Andrew Miller (Agriculture KZN)
Andrew was educated at Kearsney College in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN),
and it is here in the province's big school rivalries that he honed
his competitive edge and ability to perform under pressure.
Andrew began his career as an auctioneer in 1982 and has since
conducted thousands of sales throughout South Africa and most
neighboring countries.
In 1986, he gained valuable experience working in America and
travelling alongside some of America's leading purebred livestock
auctioneers. During his 26 years as an auctioneer, Andrew has
conducted just about every national breed stud sale in the
livestock and small stock industry. During this time, he has also
sold millions of rands worth of extremely high profile and high
value commercial and industrial properties.
Andrew is recognisable more recently for his regular television
appearances on the DSTV Super Sport channel as a member of
Bloodstock South Africa's international panel of auctioneers, where
he sells millions of rands worth of high value thoroughbred
yearling race horses. At the 2005 National Yearling Sale, he sold
the all time record priced yearling for R3,3million.
His wielding gavel has also been in action for many charities
around the country, including The Captains Table and the Sunflower
Fund. As Auction Alliance's KZN-based auctioneer, Andrew conducts
all the auctions for the group in that region.
Contact: 082 301 4708 or amiller@auction.co.za
Sean Parsons (Commercial North)
Sean Parsons is the head of Commercial for the Northern Region
and has more than 16 years experience in all aspects of the
property industry. He has also managed large national commercial,
retail and industrial property portfolios for a number of listed
property funds. Sean has been with Auction Alliance for four years,
and has been integral in the success of the company.
Contact: 082 464 7292 or sparsons@auction.co.za
Norman Raad (Commercial North)
In 1993, Norman Raad completed his Bachelor of Commerce degree,
majoring in law, at the University of the Witwatersrand. After
graduating, Norman established the successful Fratelli restaurant
chain, with branches in Gauteng and the Western Cape.
A veteran entrepreneur, Norman founded and had interests in many
well-known brands, including Swatch SA, Pen & Art, Caprice in
Cape Town, and Pimento's in Johannesburg. Norman timed his foray
into property sales perfectly, joining McCreedy Friedlander in
2000, before joining Auction Alliance in 2003.
An outstanding sportsman, Norman gained his national colours for
soccer and captained the SA golf team for three years. When he's
not securing a deal on his cell phone or closing deals on the
auction floor, you'll find him shooting sub-par rounds on the golf
course.
Contact: 082 554 9597 or nraad@auction.co.za
Mike Bosch (Commercial Eastern Cape)
Mike Bosch
Contact: 041 373 8444 or mbosch@auction.co.za
Rainer Stenzhorn (Commercial KZN)
German-born Rainer Stenzhorn, the son of a hotelier,
completed his chef and hotel management diploma. Soon after,
international hotel groups beckoned, and by age 28, he was the
president of the local hotel and hospitality association in the
Frankfurt region. This position afforded him his first insight into
hospitality developments and sales transactions as he completed
feasibility studies on behalf of financial institutions and
investors alike.
Over 17 years ago, Rainer was asked to oversee the development
of two hospitality projects in South Africa for overseas investors.
During this time, hedecided that South Africa was the place he
wanted to call home. His work commenced in the South African hotel
industry as a consultant involved in a number of local hospitality
property transactions.
Rainer realised that the commercial property market was a
challenging industry and his in-depth industry knowledge could be a
big advantage. As a result, he joined the KZN Auction Alliance team
in March 2004 as business development manager, and since 2006, has
been in charge of the commercial sales department. Rainer has
initiated commercial property auctions to the value of over
R600million.
Contact: 082 321 1135 or rstenzhorn@auction.co.za
Craig Berman (Residential)
Craig Mark Berman originally hails from Cape Town, where he
lived most of his early life. After leaving school in the early
'80s, he headed for Johannesburg and formed the retail-based
training and development company, Retail Communication Solutions.
Berman spent the best part of 20 years dedicated to the development
of specialised sales formats and approaches - defining selling
platforms for companies such as Makro, Dions, Hyperama, Hi Fi
Corporation and ABSA Private Bank.
After the successful sale of his business, Berman joined the Pam
Golding brand in 2007, where he had enjoyed a long and fruitful
association with Pam Golding Properties and was tasked with
regaining market share in Sandhurst and Hyde Park. Berman excelled
through the process and achieved staggering sales and began to
re-engineer approaches and strategies, utilising his unique
communication ability.
Berman's new objective and passion is to define a premier
Platinum brand within Auction Alliance, focusing on showcasing
high-end valued properties to auction in a multiple presentation
format. His vision is to create this platform by establishing a
distinctive service proposition, which will ultimately set the bar
for sellers and buyers to identify Auction Alliance Platinum as a
preferred selling and purchasing method.
Contact: 082 444 4144 or cberman@auction.co.za
Hein Hattingh (Legal KZN)
Hein Hattingh was a practising attorney for 17 years,
specialising in property and commercial law in the Free State,
before joining Auction Alliance in 2000.
He had
already been actively involved in the auction industry since 1999,
and after selling his legal practice, he founded the Auction
Alliance Durban branch. Under his astute management, Auction
Alliance became a well known brand in the Kwa-Zulu Natal (KZN)
area, conducting some of the provinces most high value
transactions.
Since then, under Hein's management and operational control, the
KZN region has experienced three years of strong organic
growth.
As of the
July 2009, Hein also began overseeing full regional control of
Auction Alliance in the Free State. As a dynamic regional manager,
Hein brings a wealth of experience to the company.
Contact: 083 639 0558 or hhattingh@auction.co.za
Shaie Zindel (Legal North)
After completing his law degrees at the Rand Afrikaans
University, Shaie was admitted as an attorney of the High Court of
South Africa in 2001.
He served his articles at Silver & Warren and became a
partner of Kim Warren, Rambau & Associates, where he
specialised in commercial and corporate law and litigation.
Shaie heads up Auction Alliance's national legal team and
specialises in bank recovery transactions and monetisation
services.
Contact: 082 416 9336 or szindel@auction.co.za
Bradley Stephens (Legal Cape)
Brad completed his IMM and then his Bachelors of Business
Administration, majoring in marketing communications. He has been
with Auction Alliance for over three years, and currently heads up
the company's legal division from the Western Cape to as far as
East London and Kimberley.
Prior to joining Auction Alliance, Brad ran his own stationary
company for two years and is an accomplished tennis player,
previously being ranked amongst the top 10 in South Africa,
and earning himself a gold medal at the Maccabi Games in 1998 for
doubles.
Brad has been a key figure for Auction Alliance in various high
profile matters, such as the estate of the late PW Botha, as well
as key liquidations over the last two years. Brad is an asset to
the Auction Alliance team and his experience and expertise is
crucial in the effective management of legal issues pertaining to
some 400 to 500 clients.
Contact: 082 443 37731 or bstephens@auction.co.za
Rowena Moodley (Operations, KZN)
Rowena Moodley
Contact: 083 565 7797 or rmoodley@auction.co.za
Chris Halbert (Operations, Cape)
Chris Halbert
Contact: 076 376 2175 or chalbert@auction.co.za
Greg Want (Operations, North)
Greg graduated from the University of Johannesburg in 2000 with
a Bachelor of Commerce degree, and continued his studies to obtain
an Honours degree in exercise science in 2002.
Prior to joining the Alliance Group he was a Club General
Manager at Virgin Active, a leading health club chain. He joined
the alliance group to further his career in 2006 and fulfils the
role of Regional Operations manager in the Northern Region.
Contact: 083 400 4335 or gwant@auction.co.za
Gavin Adie (Valuations & Research)
Gavin Adie is a Professional Associated Valuer in and is the
Head Valuer for the Cape region. He obtained his BSc (Property
Studies) from the University of Cape Town, and specialises in
Commercial valuations. After graduating from university, Gavin
spent two years as a Candidate Valuer for NBW Crosher & James,
and went on to establish the KwaZulu-Natal regional office for
Davis Langdon Crosher & James. He later established the
regional office for the Alliance Group in this area, and has since
returned to Cape Town to join the Commercial Division where he
offers expert valuation advice.
Gavin has accumulated significant experience in the property
valuation and Commercial auction fields, and has provided services
to numerous public and private institutions, private companies and
listed property portfolios.
Over and above his proficiency at valuation, he is adept at
evaluating and structuring finance for property investments, and
can expertly assess feasibility and risk in those developments.
He enjoys to read, and spends every spare moment on the beach,
when possible.
Contact: 083 240 7736 or gadie@auction.co.za
Jan Oberholzer (Valuations)
Jan graduated from the University of South Africa in 2005 with a
Baccalaureus Technologiae (Real Estate - Property Valuation)
degree. Prior to joining the alliance group he was a Regional
Manager (Valuations) at ABSA Bank.
He joined the Alliance Group to further his career in 2006 and
fulfils the dual role of Regional Valuations Manager and Valuer in
the Northern Region.
Contact: 082 448 7093 or joberholzer@auction.co.za
