About us

Neville completed his CIS in Natal in 1990. He worked in the export industry for 10 years, followed by a successful spell in a management position at Sally Williams Fine Foods.

In 2004 Neville was appointed as the Regional Manager of Auction Alliance's Gauteng Region and in 2005 took management control of the auction company's Northern Region including all provinces from the Free State to the Northern Border Provinces.

A keen entrepreneur, Neville has overseen the growth of the auction business in the Northern region. His range of skills and entrepreneurial thinking has proved valuable in developing the business in this region.

Under Neville's management the region grew rapidly; as a stalwart of our Group he was a major contributor to our rapid organic growth. Neville is a high quality, hard working leader who has been the backbone of our organisation and a critical cornerstone of our growth strategy for many years.

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. Craig 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, Craig 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. Craig excelled through the process and achieved staggering sales and began to re-engineer approaches and strategies, utilising his unique communication ability.

Craig'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

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

Mike graduated at the University of Port Elizabeth on 1982, obtaining a BA Phys Ed Honours degree. He was then employed by the UPE Sports Bureau where he held the title of Sports Marketing Agent and head middle distance coach of the highly successful University team. He had the distinction of being named the SA Breweries Eastern Province Sports Coach of the year, a year in which he coached no less than 5 Springbok athledes.

Mike himself has SA colours in athletics, duathlon and triathlon and in the mid 80's held 8 EP records on the track and road from 3000 metres to 21 km's, an achievement which has never been equaled.

Mike also spent 3 years teaching senior geography and phys ed at Theodor Herzel High School in PE. In 1990 Mike was recruited by Bowman Estates as a commercial and industrial property broker in the Eastern Cape. He later headed and became a part franchise owner of Seeff Commercial and Industrial Properties before going on his own as Mike Bosch Properties.

Mike joined Alliance Group in 2007 and heads the EC division which has become a major force in the EC with the PE team having concluded the majority of commercial and industrial sales in and around PE.

Contact: 041 373 8444 or mbosch@auction.co.za

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

Chris Halbert joined our team as Regional Operations Manger in the Cape region in December 2009.

Chris is a qualified Chartered Management Accountant having completed his under graduate studies at the University of Stellenbosch followed up by post graduate studies in the United Kingdom.

Chris brings with him a solid career of financial, administrative and systems experience gained in his previous roles as Financial Manager at Integer Home Loans and prior to that at Hays Specialist Recruitment in the UK.

Contact: 076 376 2175 or chalbert@auction.co.za

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.

ontact: 083 639 0558 or hhattingh@auction.co.za

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

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

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: 082 493 2362 or amiller@auction.co.za

Rowena is one of the Pioneers of the KZN Branch and is currently with the Group for 9 years. She has grown with the Branch which initially began with 3 team members and over the past 9 years has grown to a staggering 35 team members.
Rowena graduated with a diploma in Business Management in the year 2000 and commenced employment as an administrator in the KZN Office and due to her passion, dedication and hard work, she has worked her way up the corporate ladder and is now the Head of Operations in the KZN Region.

Her eye for detail and meticulous management method has been a vital part of the growth and success of the branch. Rowena is a key player in ensuring that all administrative processes and procedures are implemented and executed effectively and is also responsible for the management of the team compliment in the KZN Branch.

Contact: 083 565 7797 or rmoodley@auction.co.za

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

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

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

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

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 7731 or bstephens@auction.co.za

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

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

After completing his 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 soon afterwards became a partner of Kim Warren, Rambau & Associates where he specialised in commercial and corporate law and litigation.

Having advised in various listing transactions and many high profile Insolvency and Bank Recovery matters, Shaie also gained extensive experience in cross border recoveries specifically in the UAE and Asia.

Shaie serves as a valued member of Auction Alliance's Executive Committee and more recently has proven to be a dynamic and well respected Auctioneer taking to the podium as often as he can.

Contact: 082 416 9336 or szindel@auction.co.za