Interview Assessment Guide : Chief Development Officer

AN INTERVIEW GUIDE
FOR ASSESSING A
WHITE PAPER BY NIGEL D’SOUZA
MANAGEMENT CONSULTANT AT
THE PHILLIPS GROUP
CHIEF
DEVELOPMENT
OFFICER
REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT

With global growth reaching circa 3.1 percent
in 2015 and projects of 3.4 for 2016 and 3.6 in
2017; most analysts, pundits, academics and
industry experts alike sing in chorus when they
predict anemic growth for the next 24 months.
The movers and shakers of the Middle East
market have built the foundation of their
success on two main pillars, Real Estate and
Oil & Gas. As the region matures its leaders
are working feverishly to shift their focus away
from Oil & Gas and into other areas. For as
we know the stone age did not end for a lack
of stones, and so too will be true for the Oil
& Gas industry. During this transition period
Real Estate will be an integral plot line to the
region’s economic narrative.
Emaar Properties, developer of the world’s
tallest tower Burj Khalifa, has handed over
40,000 homes in the last 18 years since its
inception in 1997, averaging the delivery of 6
homes per day, according to the developer’s
financial statement released recently. This
only shows the aggressive trends in the
market for property development. With the
growing trend in the Real Estate Development
Sector there is an immediate need to cater to
the development of land and property that
sees an increased need for competent Chief
Development Officers to orchestrate the mega
mixed-use development projects to cater to
the needs of the growing economy.
Having been based in the Middle East for over
a decade, I have personally witnessed the rise
of the Middle East from mere stand-alone villas
and townships to mega-smart cities. When it
comes to Property Development the Middle
East has been creating waves across the global
stage right from the tallest structure to the
world’s best man-made islands. The region has
become a mecca for cutting edge architectural
feats and is now delivering a gravitational pull
on the world’s greatest real estate talent.
Real Estate in the Middle East
I N T E R V I E W G U I D E
“Our region deserves the chance to organise this great world
exhibition. Our country is ready to host it. We will keep our
promise in connecting great minds to build a better future
and we will organise the best event in the history of the World
Expo.” - Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice
President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai
“Real estate is at the core of almost every business, and it’s
certainly at the core of most people’s wealth. In order to
build your wealth and improve your business smarts, you
need to know about real estate.” -DONALD TRUMP
“Ninety percent of all millionaires become so
through owning real estate.” -Andrew Carnegie“

Hiring the best CDO
In the 1970s the top five tallest buildings were
in the West with United States of America
holding the lion’s share of the accolades. By
2020 the top five tallest buildings will be
in the East, namely China and the Middle
East. The rate of development is reaching
unprecedented rates and this is putting
enormous stress on the Real Estate market
in the Middle East. From developing single
asset projects to delivering entire cities with
mixed use developments that can be viewed
from outer space. With great projects comes
the need for great talent. Today there is more
demand for talented Chief Development
Officers in the GCC region than ever before.
In response to this need we are creating this
assessment guide for The Chief Development
Officer (CDO). As selecting the right talent
can not only save you literally millions upon
millions of dollars, it is instrumental to
achieving your vision. This guide is based
on having placement numerous CDOs in the
Middle East and on a deep understanding
of the nuances and challenges the region
presents to its executives.
This assessment guide covers all areas of
assessing the most competent CDO will
ensure you are able to realize your vision, no
matter how big it is. This interview guide is
based on a behavioural interviewing approach,
which subscribes to the belief that the best
predictor of future behaviour is previous
performance. Thus interviewers should be
weary of candidates who do not provide
specific examples from their work history and
prefer to answer with theory and broad brush
statements flush with industry buzz words. A
push for specific examples must be made by
the interviewer under pinned by a relentless
investigations of the details.
Top candidates will enjoy having a deep dive
into their history as after all this is their life’s
work and passion. Weak candidates will
become defensive and agitated as you probe
their depth only to find a shallow pool created
by an individual whose modus operandi is
to do the bare minimum required of their
job. Additionally leading candidates will be
able to explain the most complex topics with
simple English while B players will cling to the
complex rigidity unable to demonstrate agility
in their perspective or communication style.
The interviewer should also take notice of the
subject’s reaction to the interview as if they are
easily agitated in the interview, imagine how
they will react under the real stress of a billion
dollar mixed use development. While there
are several other critical areas required for
the role, the initial interview assessment will
look at these seven areas. Other critical areas
such as decision making, results orientation,
attribution style, operating style, etc, can be
informally assessed during the interview or
touched on in second or third stage interviews.

1 – Project Management & Development
Project management is the discipline of initiating, planning, executing, controlling, and closing
the work of a team to achieve specific goals and meet specific success criteria. A project is a
temporary / ongoing endeavour designed to produce a unique product in this case property
development with a defined beginning and end undertaken to meet unique goals and objectives,
typically to bring about beneficial change or added value. The candidate should exhibit strong
project management and development skills .
• What is the largest and most complicated
project you have managed? How did you
organize it? Was it successful?
• What is the toughest thing about managing a
large mixed use development?
• Describe a time you realized a project you
were working on was going to be over
budget and / or over time? How did you
course correct it?
• When you are on the construction site what
do you look for to find out if a project is
going in the right direction or not?
• How often do you visit the construction site
during a project?
• Describe a time you realized there was an
issue with the engineering of a project?
• What are the three biggest mistakes Property
Development Officers make when managing
a large mixed use development?
• In which stage of your career did you really
hone your construction skill set?
• What is the key to successful development?
• What is the worst construction development
project you ever worked on?
• Describe a time you had to redo the
schedules for a project? How did you know
that needed to be done?
• Describe a time you had an innovative idea
that was profitable?
• Have you ever been working on an
unprofitable project and then developed a
new idea and /or concept that successfully
turned it around and delivered profits?
• If you been given surplus funding to sell a
dead development project that others failed
to sell, what would be the 5 most critical
steps you would take to turn around a loss
making project into a profitable one.
• Describe a time you had an innovative idea
as it relates to Real Estate Development?

2 - P&L Management
Nothing can kill a project faster than a lack of cash flow. Managing a P&L effectively can be the
saving grace of a development company. A CDO must be prepared to survive the devasting
swings of the Real Estate market which can at times vacillate from vertical rocket fueled growth
to complete market free fall. This industry is not for the faint of heart and only those with a
commanding knowledge of P&L Management can last in the long run.
The candidate must demonstrate strong P&L management and the interviewer must assess how
the CDO will manage his cost allocation, cash flow, project funding, and asset development.
Creating the right mix of assets at the right time is instrumental to ensuring cash flow does not
get strained.
Accounting duties, responsibility for profit and loss statements, budgeting , forecasting,
maintaining monthly journal entries and developing the company’s annual budget are among the
CDO’s finance responsibilities. For CDOs whose jobs entail human resources duties, preparing
the company’s budget also includes determining appropriate salaries and benefits for staff.
CDO’s for start-up organizations pitch business plans and seek capital funds for growth. The
CDO can also be involved in exit strategies.
• What kind of P&L responsibilities did you
have? How did you manage your resources?
• Describe a time you had to create SPVs within
a project? What was your role in that and
how did you go about it?
• Describe a time you made changes to the
balance sheet to create value? What was the
result?
• Describe a time you were effectively able to
change a projects cost position? What was
the situation, what did you do and what was
the result?
• What type of controls do you like to implement
on a project?
• Describe a time you have developed a budget
from scratch? How effective were you at
sticking to that budget?
• Describe a time you had to take over a
project that had a cost position that was out
of control, how did you fix the situation?
• Describe a time you had a contractor that was
over cost and under delivering, how did you
deal with the situation?
• How do you safe guard your balance sheet?
What measures can you take to “bullet proof”
your balance sheet?
• Describe a time you went through an audit?
What was required by the auditors?
• How do you calculate your cost of funds?
• Describe a time you changed the capital
structure of a project to create value?
• Describe a time you discovered information
in the P&L was incorrect? How do you ensure
the financial data for your project is accurate.
• As debt financing remains challenging to
secure, private financing remains an attractive
option. Walk me through your thoughts on
private financing ?
• How are Private Real Estate Fund formed?

3 – Execution and Results
The candidate must demonstrate the ability to deliver results against all odds. They must have a
clear desire for impact. That is the intrinsic need to stand out from one’s peers. The incumbent
must be proactive when facing an impasse situation. That is the ability to deliver innovative
solutions to situations in which their cohorts would have thrown in the towel and would have
given up. The results oriented mind is structured in its ability to drive results and as such
should demonstrate the ability to create infrastructure around their goals such as milestones,
monitoring systems, and other tangible items to increase the likelihood of achievement.
• Describe a time you took over a project that
was over budget and past its timelines and
you were able to turn it around and get it
back on track?
• Describe a time you delivered in almost
impossible conditions?
• Describe a project you felt like quitting but
were able to muster the resolve to push
through the dark spot to deliver profitable
results?
• Describe a time you created an innovative
solution to a problem?
• What are the critical areas to look at when
assessing the performance of a business unit?
• If you were to start tomorrow and were
given a business unit to improve, what
KPIs, success metrics, data, would you look
at to get an idea of where the company is
performance wise? What type of dashboard
would you create? What would your process
of corporate development look like?
• Have you ever had to turn around a non-
performing business unit? If so what was the
situation, what did you do and what was the
result?
• What kind of reports and reviews do you use
when spearheading a project development
initiative?
• Describe a time you had to figure out if a
team is operating at capacity? What was the
situation, what did you do and what was the
result?
• Describe a time that you were dealing with a
team which was underperforming. How do
you tell if it is a management issue, market
related issue, cost issue or other? How do
you know what the real issue at hand is?
Describe a time you had to perform this
type of analysis in real life; how did you go
about it?

4 - Management & Communication
A great CDO understands how to unify a diverse group of people towards a common goal
under intense time pressures and budgets. From internal direct reports, to contracts to external
public sector agencies; the CDO must be a master of aligning professionals towards their project
objectives. This requires leadership and a deep understanding of the management tool kit
used to drive key behaviors in large complex teams which transcend organizational boundaries.
Candidates who score high on this criteria will have a clear idea of what kind of infrastructure
must be created to drive a construction project from good to great.
The CDO who scores high on this criterion will also understand the need for creating mutual
accountability between departments, business units, and contractors and how to unify this
diverse group under the same set of success metrics. This criterion’s score is out of 10 with
5 points on Management and 5 points on Communication. Included in the communication
section is negotiation which will also be key to this role.
• In your career what has been the most trying
management experience you have had?
• Describe a time you created a management
dashboard to monitor and drive your
contractors to peak performance?
• Describe a time you were able to effectively
manage a large group of contractors?
• Describe a time you failed to manage a
contractor effectively which resulted in
losses to your company? What was the major
learning that you had?
• Describe a time you were able to align your
contractors, internal team and other business
units towards a common goal?
• How do you create mutual accountability
between different groups on a construction
project?
• What are the key elements of team building?
(Describe 3 of the most important aspects
of teambuilding?), (Leveraging Strengths/
Weaknesses, Common Goal, Common
approach, Common measure, being mutually
accountable).
• How do you embed your team building
philosophy into the organization? How
do you embed this into your recruitment
process, your training & development, you
career planning, promotions, innovations,
compensation & benefits?
• Describe a team building process and
infrastructure you have created?
• What are the top three values an organization
should excel at? How do you embed these in
the organization?
MANAGEMENT

NEGOTIATION
• Describe your best negotiation in a
procurement process?
• What is your approach to negotiation?
Describe some of your preferred
negotiation strategies? Have you ever
hear of pareto efficiency?
• Describe a negotiation you lost, what did
you learn from that experience?
• What are five key things you must do
in a negotiation? and implemented it
successfully? What was the result?
CREATING INFLUENCE AND
DRIVING CONSENSUS
• Describe a time you had to consciously
adjust your operating style to
accommodate your audience?
• How do you ensure you are being
interpreted correctly?
• Describe a time your received feedback
from a peer and acted on it?
• What steps do you take to establish a
rapport with others?
• Describe a time you had trouble creating
consensus at the senior management
level?
• Describe a time you proposed an idea
to the organization which was rejected?
How did you react?
• Where you able to eventually get them to
accept your idea?
• Describe a time you had to influence
someone to do something and your initial
approach did not work, and you were
able to change your approach to get the
desired result?
• Describe a time you had a disagreement
with a co-worker but were still able to
maintain productive relations and deliver
results?
• Tell me about a time when being more
aware of what is going on would have
helped to solve a problem?
• Describe the last time you lost your
temper? What did you say and do?
COMMUNICATION

5 – Design During Execution
The design and planning phase of property development will directly impact your end result, thus
it is a very important stage. Design is the creation of a plan or convention for the construction
of a development project (as in architectural blueprints, engineering drawings or architectural
changes). In this case the CDO will need to make on the ground changes during construction
to enhance value creation as well as to correct design flaws on site. This may be items such as
moving a stairwell or elevator shaft to make room for generators, or ventilation systems or can
be as drastic as moving entire sections of the structure from more acute issues.
• Describe a time you had to change the design
of a project once you were more than 50%
completed construction? What did you do
and what was the result?
• What steps do you take to minimize design
changes during the construction phase?
• Describe a time that you changed a design
during construction to increase return on
equity? What did you do and how much
value did your change create?
• How do you ensure that you have the
right member in the project management
team that could oversee design at the
planning phase?
• How do you ensure how much equity you
could create in a development project?
• What does development control plan (DCP)
allow ?
• How do you ensure what do tenants look for
in a building ?
• How have you differentiated your
development projects in the past as to what
the market offers?
• How do you ensure that the concept plan has
been approved by the local municipality /
land development authority ?
“He who fails to plan, plans to fail”.
- Sir Winston Churchill

6 – Technical Expertise
Technical Expertise are specific competencies that drive proven high-performance, quality results
for a given position. They are often technical or operational in nature. The CDO needs to be a
highly skilled expert and must be up to date with the market trends in order to meet the right
standards and create the right solutions when faces with challenges. The Chief Development
Officer will have the gravitas to engage with not just site and project management teams but
also government related entities. They will have an innate ability to see through corners when
projects have been stalled due to technical snags
• How would you rate your basic knowledge of
the five core topics of property development:
marketanalysis,financeforrealestate,project
management, facilities and operational
management and asset management
• What has been the most complex and
challenging processes involved in the
acquisition of land for the purposes of
establishing access agreements, for the
provision of power, water, pipelines or
communications Infrastructure ?
• How have you resolved to disputes/complex
cases in all matters relating to provision of
power, water, pipelines, other third party or
communications infrastructure.
• What measures do you take to make sure all
health and safety issues and the requirements
for compliance are met according to
standards?
• How often have you been able to catch an
error that requires a necessary remedial/
preventative works based on information
gathered from inspections
• How would you rate your understanding
of the appropriate level of detail required
in typical reports, including examples of
layout, and the use of sketches/drawings and
photographs?
• What, in your opinion could be the typical
defects that could be overlooked in surveys
& inspections for mixed use developments?
• Have you ever faced any conflict with the test
equipment (damp meters)results?

7 – Overall Fit
Overall fit relates to a candidates seniority and ability to evoke change within a company. The
Every actioned is seeded in thought. Our thoughts stem from our subconscious mind which rest
on the bedrock of our values and beliefs. While you may hire on technical ability you will fire
on fit. To ensure a successful hire the values and beliefs of a candidate must be assessed. In the
chart below you can see a visual representation of how culture enables or chokes an executive’s
ability to be successful.
“Mark this well, you proud men of action: You are
nothing but the unwitting agents of the men of
thought who often, in quiet self-effacement, mark
out most exactly all your doings in advance.”
- Heinrich Heine, German poet, journalist, essayist,
and literary critic
Operating in
a Midde East
Environment
Achieving
Organizational
Peak
Performance
Growing the
Business
Leadership
Challenges and
Opportunities
PUTTING
STRATEGY
TO WORK
Cultural Fit Model

Other critical data such as family details, compensation expectations
and commitment towards the new opportunity needs to also be
formally assessed as the CDO is very crucial for the success of a
development project.
The candidate must demonstrate the ability to be a change agent within the organization. As
leaders they must be able to influence the organization while at the same time be influenced by
it. While assessing fit is a complex task that takes years to master, a few questions to get you
started are suggested below.
SENIORITY
• Who do you report to? Who do they report
to? (Get org structure).
• Who reports to you? What is the size of your
team?
• Which functions to you lead in the
organization? (if not already answered)
• Are you involved in any other companies?
Do you own or are part owner in any other
organisation?
• How many geographies do you manage or
are you involved in?
ORGANIZATIONAL FIT
• What is success? What does professional
success look like to you?
• What are you long term goals over the next
10 years? What is your life’s work going
to be? Who do you want to become? In
the next ten years how will you measure
success?
• What is the fondest moment of your career?
What was the happiest time of your career?
Describe the year, position and circumstance
of this satisfying career moment?
• Describe the management style that will
bring forth your best work and efforts, and
three to five expectations that you have of
senior leaders in an organization where you
will work successfully.
• Do you believe a Chief Development Officer
should resign on a serious point of conflict
where he/she believes that they or on a
moral high ground? Have you ever been
in such a situation and how did you handle
that?
• Describe the biggest accomplishment of your
life? How did you create your approach to
achieving the goal? What success metrics
did you use? What KPIs did you use to
measure your movement towards the goal?
• When was the last time you lost your temper?
Describe the last time you screamed at
someone?
• Who do you view as the greats of your
profession? Who do you aspire to be like?
• What are you currently reading? What is
your favorite book?
• Do you ever read autobiographies of
successful or famous people?

Nigel D’Souza is a Management
Consultant at The Phillips
Group. He comes with over
12 years of cross functional
industry experience in workforce
management and recruitment.
He has held analytical, executive
search and Talent Acquisition
positions, within both B2B and
B2C organizations.
He began his career as a
Workforce Analyst managing over
2000 employees with America
On-Line before moving to the
United Arab Emirates in 2004
to take up an HR role within a
prominent property development
holdings company. Having spent
a short stint embarking his past
learning’s in setting up best in class
recruitment tracking systems he later moved into a leading local recruitment
firm where he spent a considerable amount of time harnessing his skills across
cross-functional and industry specialization recruitment.
Prior to joining The Phillips Group, Nigel held the position of a Regional
Talent Acquisition Manager for a global FMCG company where he secured
and executed all international talent acquisition functions across the EMEA &
SEA region.
Nigel is committed to partnering with clients to deliver effective aftermaths
and with a career background in both in-house and agency recruitment, his
search work extends across functional specialization. Nigel holds a Bachelors
in Psychology and Communications from Christ University. Currently with The
Phillips Group he embarks his learnings towards serving specialized clients
within diversified business interests especially within Real Estate Development
and Financial Services.
About the Author
Nigel D’Souza
Nigel D’Souza Mobile: +971 55 669 1269 Email: nigel@tpgleadership.com
www.tpgleadership.com

Interview Assessment Guide : Chief Development Officer

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