People Moves: Turner & Townsend appoints new Real Estate leaders in Gulf region

Media Article - Turner & Townsend, an independent professional services company, has confirmed the appointment of David Griffiths as the firm's new Head of Real Estate in the UAE, and Dean Furey as Head of Real Estate for its Saudi Arabian operations.

David Griffiths will lead Turner & Townsend's UAE real estate segment, supporting business growth, deepening industry presence and driving transformational performance through service excellence and digitally-enabled solutions.

David is the director and head of cost management for Turner & Townsend's UAE business. He brings over 15 years of Quantity Surveying experience, both main contracting and consultancy, across a range of sectors, including residential, hospitality, commercial, education, public sector, and retail.

He has over eight years of experience across the Middle East and has extensive familiarity with the cradle-to-grave commercial management of projects wide-ranging in scale and scope and covering new build, fit-out, and refurbishment projects.

In his new role, David's key objective is to drive the sustainable growth of Turner & Townsend's UAE real estate segment across our core service lines with a particular focus on promoting the firm's best-in-class digital transformation tools, and its unrivalled data-driven data, global end-to-end capability, and its enhanced, sector-focused advisory services

Commenting on his appointment, David said: 

"I am honoured to be given the opportunity to lead Turner & Townsend's Real Estate business here in the UAE. The UAE, driven by the covid bounce and the successes of events such as Expo 2020, continues to recover and we're seeing a significant increase in the number of new projects coming to market as a result. While the emergence of Saudi Arabia and numerous giga-projects will continue to have a profound impact on regional and global markets in the years to come, the UAE has been and will continue to be, pivotal to Turner & Townsend's growth ambitions in the region.

"With the rapid rate of market recovery, new challenges to tackle client objectives such as speed to market, something we have not seen for several years, and how to build greener or more sustainable mean consultants have to innovate and adapt their service delivery to effectively meet those demands. Working alongside Hudson Fountain in his capacity of Regional Head of Real Estate, I look forward to helping drive the business forward and realise its ambitions in the Real Estate sector."

David will report to the head of real estate, Middle East, Hudson Fountain, working alongside other real estate segment leads to support the business in achieving its Vision 2025 targets.

Commenting on his appointment, Hudson said: 

"Our clients continue to rely on us for best practice, analytics, and associated digital solutions that add value and help shape how we deliver real estate projects in the region. David has been involved in some of the most complex key real estate projects in the UAE and has built a strong rapport with key stakeholders in the real estate value chain. With his solid industry experience and capability, he is well placed to help achieve the growth levers around our regional real estate strategy and position ourselves as the partner of choice for clients who are shaping the built environment of the modern Middle East."

On the other hand, Turner & Townsend appoints Dean Furey as head of real estate in Saudi Arabia. A Chartered Quantity Surveyor by profession, Dean's career has focused on commercial and contract management with nearly two decades experience in the Middle East and United Kingdom. Dean has delivered some of the most significant and complex mixed-use developments in the Middle East, positioning the business as the partner of choice.

Dean will play a pivotal role in implementing the firm's real estate strategy in KSA, driving its medium and long-term strategic direction in Saudi, and advising on key business developments in the Kingdom. In light of his promotion, Furey said: "The scale of Vision 2030's ambition is unprecedented and real estate construction is integral to the Kingdom's diversification strategy. Turner & Townsend are excited about the opportunities in Kingdom and playing our part in the Vision 2030 journey. We look forward to supporting our existing and future clients on unique, fast-tracked, and complex real estate projects in what is a transformative period for the Kingdom."

Commenting on Furey's promotion and overall business growth in KSA, Hudson Fountain, Turner & Townsend's head of real estate in the Middle East, said: 

"I am delighted to welcome Dean into his new role and look forward to supporting him with the incredible opportunities that lie ahead as we enter our next phase of growth in KSA. Dean's appointment reflects our commitment to strengthening our real estate capability in order to support the goals of Saudi Vision 2030. We have a responsibility to support the change, help drive it and be part of it. Dean's exceptional experience within the KSA market will be extremely valuable in helping our clients make informed decisions in shaping the modern Middle East and help transform performance for a green, inclusive and productive world."

Source: Construction Week