Chestertons MENA, a leading real estate consultancy, has launched a new Building Consultancy and Project Management division, extending the range of services available to clients across the MENA region.
Kevin Duffield, supported by directors Frank Gleeson and Jake Wright, heads up the team which boasts extensive experience working across all areas of project and program management for a broad range of clients. From local developers to multinationals, the sectors covered include leisure and entertainment, hospitality, commercial and private real estate, and oil and gas.
Kevin’s impressive career spans 30 years, having held senior positions at Jones Laing LaSalle (JLL) and Turner & Townsend. He has been instrumental in delivering major capital investment projects across the Middle East since 2005 and joins Chestertons MENA from the Public Investment Fund (PIF), where he was Director of Development in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and led key and complex real estate programs from concept to delivery.
Frank Gleeson is a highly skilled strategic business leader who has 30 years of industry expertise and excels at working within challenging and fast-paced environments. He has run his own consultancies, led the fit-out team at JLL, and his most recent and significant MENA role was as Client Representative for the delivery of the Saudi Arabian British Bank (SABB) Headquarters in Riyadh.
Operating out of Chestertons MENA’s dual locations in Dubai and the newly established KSA office
Jake Wright brings 16 years of experience to the team and joins from the Public Investment Fund (PIF), where he was the Director of Development working as part of Kevin’s team. His responsibility was strategy and growth, and he helped to deliver 35 assets across Riyadh and Jeddah. Jake also held a senior role at JLL, which included a roll-out strategy for over 50 Cinemas.
Chestertons MENA has launched the division to satisfy an increasing appetite in the MENA marketplace for accredited services that maximize an asset’s potential whilst aligning with a client’s business goals.
Commenting on the new division, which is operating out of Chestertons MENA’s dual locations in Dubai and the newly established KSA office, Nick Witty, CEO of Chestertons MENA, said: “It is a pleasure to welcome Kevin, Frank, and Jake to Chestertons and given the incredible depth and breadth of their skills and their wide-ranging knowledge, we are excited about seeing this new division go from strength to strength.
“Ours is a comprehensive and bespoke service delivery model, and the introduction of this new team, which combines strategic expertise with technical capability, is another service our clients are set to benefit from.”
Jake Wright brings 16 years of experience to the team and joins from the Public Investment Fund
Kevin Duffield commented: “I feel privileged to be part of such a well-reputed firm with such a long-standing heritage in real estate. I know that we will not only add value through our in-house skills but through our extensive network of strategic partners.
“We all know what success looks like from the outset of a project but what sets Chestertons apart is the flexibility our clients have to select the service they need, no matter the scale and scope of a project.
“When it comes to building consultancy, our process is simple; we review a concept and carry out due diligence and technical feasibility studies, after which we support clients through project management or project planning. It’s all about giving the advice and direction they need to mitigate risk, helping to ensure that overall project goals and milestones aren’t compromised, and ultimately steering a project to a successful outcome.”
Additional Building Consultancy and Project Management services include client representation and contractor management, services that bring peace of mind to a client. These include procuring the right contractor and managing them once operational whilst acting as a single point of contact to provide a project ‘Health Check’ through objective reporting on program, budget, and risk.