The Directors
Giancarlo Lanfranchi – CEO Swish Property Group
Giancarlo grew up in Namibia and remembers spending holiday time on construction sites in then Northern South West Africa; he has fond memories of helping his father, water down freshly poured concrete curing over the weekends.
In 1989 (his final year at Architectural School), a family tragedy forced him, the eldest of three brothers, to steer the family construction business in a direction whereby it could fulfil its contractual and financial obligations, during a period of political and territorial turmoil.
Having stepped up to the plate and meeting the massive obligations including dodging landmines, he completed the contract on time and was later exposed to a multitude of international contracts, including building the state of the art West and East German Embassies. The harsh terrain and tough times forces him to adopt a sink or swim attitude and that only dead fish go with the flow.
He now lives by the simple philosophy of :
DO IT NOW (Decide-Organise-Invest-Train No opportunity Waits)
The experiences proved an asset that he developed into a multi disciplinary skill in the Construction and Real Estate Industry. In 2006, and after a 10 year partnership, he amicably parted ways with his partner Martin Epstein, each to take on their own new challenges.
Giancarlo immediately began strategically recruiting new team members to directly meet the challenges of their aspirations. He is responsible for Strategizing the Portfolio, Acquisitions and Property Development.
Chrystal Grauso- Group Financial Director
Chrystal was born and bred in Cape Town and has a passion for its people and places. Her grandmother taught her that with property, no matter how big or small the scale, you would go places.
When Chrystal’s grandmother moved off the family farm to be closer to her daughters she purchased her first house in Cape Town at 80 years old. By the time she passed away, on her 90th birthday, she owned 5 houses which she left to her daughters, BOND FREE.
This life lesson along with DIY home improvements as a hobby was enough to show Chrystal where her passion lied.
So where does this CA (SA) come from? Money makes the world go round and she knew that with the strong financial backing of a CA (SA) qualification behind her, she would not fall off the world while it was still turning.
Chrystal completed her studies at the University of Stellenbosch and completed articles with BDO SPENCER STEWART CAPE TOWN INC. in 2003.
After her articles she was appointed the senior audit manager to the managing partner and looked after a portfolio of clients , specialising in construction and Property Investment.
Chrystal joined the Swish Group in 2006 as financial Director looking after the following: Financial structuring and reporting, Risk management, Acquisitions and Property management.
As 32 years of age she is driven by ambition and self pride and finds herself excited about what each new day will bring.
Michel Lanfranchi- Director Swish Asset Managers
Michel Lanfranchi was born in Windhoek, Namibia, the third son of a leading development and construction family. He completed his schooling at Diocesan College Bishops in Cape Town.
in 1993 and went on to study a building science diploma at Cape Technikon.
Michel started Grid Internal Systems in 1998, which quickly grew to become one of the largest internal fit-out companies in the Western Cape. In 2006, GridCo Construction was formed, a construction company which, despite its relative infancy, has already found great success through the award of numerous major projects in the greater Cape Town area.
At Swish, Michel is involved in the construction of various new developments with a view to maximising the consistency and efficiency of the projects, as well as the delivery thereof.
Michel brings a dynamic and efficient edge to the development and management spheres of Swish’s property activities, thus adding a new dimension to an already experienced and energetic team.