We recently had the privilege to interview Konstantinos Dendrinos, CEO of Nesaj Real Estate Residential Compound Co. His priority lies in creating a challenge and rewarding by developing top-notch guest experiences, delivering returns to all stakeholders, making the right investment choices, and all these while keeping abreast of industry trends. Besides being with Nesaj Real Estate, he had been in prominent positions in several other companies earlier. Let’s learn more about Konstantinos Dendrinos and his journey through this interview below.
Early Life And Educational Background
We started the interview by asking, “Tell us something about you, your early life, and your education.”
Konstantinos Dendrinos shared, “I was born in Corfu, one of the most beautiful Greek islands located in the Northwest coasts, between Greece and Italy. As the island’s economy is highly dependent on tourism it was a one-way direction for my career decision. I studied Hotel Management at the Swiss Hotel Management School “Les Roches”, and obtained a Diploma in Hotel Management and an MBA in Hospitality Finance.
Having completed a fruitful career in Hotel Management in Greece working as a GM for over 20 years in reputable 5-star resorts, the time came to pursue my professional and personal development on an international level. In 2016, I accepted the offer received by Al Fozan Holding, one of the most successful and respectable business development family groups in KSA, in the position of CEO at Nesaj Real Estate Residential Compound Co.”
Presence In The Industry
To learn more about the presence of Konstantinos Dendrinos’ business in the dynamic market, we asked, “Tell us about the business and its presence in the GCC.”
Konstantinos Dendrinos shared, “In 2016 we created the idea of Retal Residence, an ambitious and unique Western lifestyle compound. A concept that was designed to change the way that residential gated communities were built, set, and operated in KSA, aligned with Vision 2030 in enhancing the quality of services offered on sustainability terms.
Retal Residence is designed to provide a lifestyle of convenient, secure community living offering state-of-the-art facilities, advanced technology features, and high-quality operations under an effective management team focusing on total quality management. The development comprises 416 modern and well-appointed residences, including villas, townhouses, and apartments nestled amongst landscaped gardens, walking paths, health & wellness, entertainment, and lifestyle amenities. Retal Residence is an energy-efficient project. Each building in the development has double-glazed windows, optimized air conditioning units, and energy-saving, sensor-controlled, LED lights.
The entire project recycles its water and uses it for irrigation, whilst the latest desalination systems implement reverse osmosis to produce fresh tap water and pure, on-tap drinking water. Today, we are proud to present 5 years of successful operation having established a brand that is ranking among the best residential gated community products in the Kingdom.”
Visions For The Business
Every business owner has certain visions regarding the expansion of their business. We asked, “What are some of the growth and expansion plans you have in your pipeline?”
Konstantinos Dendrinos replied, “As Saudi Arabia is experiencing a tremendous transformation phase, we have identified that the Saudi property management market is at an ascent stage in terms of development, but the majority of large quality residential compounds are managed in-house, e.g., 67% of the residential compounds that have more than 100 units are either self-managed or are managed by a sister company/holding company, lacking, however, qualified resources and expertise.
Having established our brand’s reputation we are now working towards a plan on creating a new brand that will provide property asset management & facility management services of the highest level of quality and performance, to other residential projects in the Kingdom.
One may argue that the property management market in KSA is highly fragmented as the majority of the private developers are opting for manpower solutions for day-to-day O&M rather than an integrated solution. However, we strongly believe that a fragmented market lowers the barrier to market entry of a new property management company, we see an opportunity, and standing up for it would be our future challenge.”
Current Year For The Business
After Covid, businesses have been passing through a tough phase. So we asked, “How has the year been for your company?”
Konstantinos Dendrinos shared, “Having survived the hard COVID-19 era we are now experiencing a vast adjustment towards normality and “business as usual” status. The expat’s demand for residential units is rising, occupancies are increasing, and the dynamic is strongly pointing at very positive results by the 4th quarter.”
Available Services
We were intrigued to learn about the current services offered by Konstantinos Dendrinos’ business. We asked, “What does your business offer in the current competitive market?”
Konstantinos Dendrinos shared, “I would say that there are 2 pillars that our business stands out and makes the difference in the market. The first pillar is the outstanding performance of our team. From management to labor, we all share the same vision and values, and we clearly understand the level of quality we need to reach to satisfy the high expectations of our residents. The second pillar is the advanced technology we have implemented to create a convenient living through smart communities. Our customized free mobile app is available to all residents, can be downloaded through Google Play or Apple store, and enables our residents to have all the services provided at their fingertips.”
Effective Teamwork
For sustainable business growth, building strong bonds with employees is paramount. We asked, “What measures do you think employees and organizations can take to build effective teamwork and unity?”
Konstantinos Dendrinos shared, “Teamwork happens when people work together towards a common goal. However, defining teamwork can be simple but understanding how to work well in a team can be complicated. In our company we value trust, and we believe it is essential to build teams and create unity. We are focusing on the three core drivers of trust: authenticity, logic, and empathy. People tend to trust you when they think they are interacting with the real you, when they have faith in your judgment and competence, and when they believe that you care about them. My job as a leader is to create the conditions for our people to fully realize their capacity and power so they will outperform the expectations from them.”
Research and Innovative Steps
“Tell us about the company’s focus and investment in research and innovation.”
Konstantinos Dendrinos shared, “Technological evolution is rapid and has a huge influence on the property development and management sector. From property management software to smart home devices, and a wide range of tools enabled by the “Internet of things”, what all these technologies have in common is that they are designed to make sourcing deals, process transactions, manage properties, and deliver customer services exponentially easier and more effectively. This is the area that we are currently focusing and investing in.”
Advice For Beginners
Beginners starting in a similar field will find it inspiring to hear from an expert like Konstantinos Dendrinos. So we asked, “Any tips for startups looking to get onto a similar pathway?”
Konstantinos Dendrinos shared, “Before you decide to dive into property management, you need to make sure you have the right skills and knowledge. Being in property management may seem simple to those with little experience looking in from the outside, but it is very complex. Some of the most important traits of an effective property management team are the ability to be well organized, to connect and empathize with people, and to be responsive to many types of urgent situations. You’ll have to interact with residents and prospects regularly, so you must have strong customer service skills, be able to analyze the market and its trends, and be comfortable with change. So, in conclusion, I would say that focusing on your clients and adopting changes are important tips to successful property management.”
