Pioneer and CEO of Palm Lakes Estate, Wim Sak retires after 12 years

The birth of Palm Lakes Estate on the Dolphin Coast started with a phone call in which it was said that the ‘Monaco’ of the North Coast had been identified.

It took a man with vision, determination – and a woman to back him up – to get the estate to where it is today, and after 12 years and R640 million invested, chief executive officer Wim Sak has opted to retire, with long-time business partner and close friend Hein Smith taking over.

Health issues have forced his early retirement at the age of 66 so that he can spend more time with his wife and children, Amelie, William, Sarah and Isabel.

Belgians, Sak and wife Olivia Roels-Sak emigrated to South Africa in 2005 from Belgium where he had graduated with an engineering degree in electro-mechanics.

He worked in the dairy and brewing industry, finally taking over a sweet manufacturing business which he successfully grew.

At the age of 34, Sak had become the youngest ever CEO in Belgium and soon thereafter met Roels-Sak, who joined him in business.

Roels-Sak is the chief operations officer at Palm Lakes.

In 2004, Sak, together with Mark Froman went ahead with the concept of Palm Lakes, today home to more than 800 families, with nearly 2 000 people directly and indirectly employed.

Froman at the time owned a palm tree farm in Nelspruit, and having worked closely in the sweet making industry with Sak, informed him of the potential in developing the estate.

Froman also supplied about 7 800 palm trees to the estate. Ground was broken in 2006 after funding had been secured, despite hiccups with financial institutions, which saw the duo later form a successful partnership with Nedbank, which along with 120 investors backed them in the purchase and development of 1 200 hectares of former farmland at Tinley Manor.

Sak took over as CEO in 2009, with wife Olivia assuming the position of COO.

Today, the land boasts commercial, residential and agricultural zonings, and has grown from its initial 244 apartments to 879 completed properties.

A further 660 new units in the new Sugar Ridge development will grow the estate even further.

But getting the estate to where it is today was not easy.

“Everything was going well and then suddenly 2008 came.

Markets collapsed and the economy tanked. We lost a lot and that was a big problem,” said Sak.

Investors threatened to withdraw and accountants were painting a bleak future for the estate – with some even calling for its liquidation.

Hilariously, the duo recall being dubbed the ‘Belgian idiots’ for daring to develop miles of sugarcane into today’s successful estate.

“For many years, we were asked: ‘What are you guys doing? Developing that horrible sugarcane land far, far away. What do you know about development?’ I smiled back and said perseverance is key,” said Roels-Sak.

However, if it were not for the 244 apartments they had already built and successfully sold, things may have turned out very differently.

Come 2012, the estate boomed with those who jumped ship clawing at the chance to get back on-board as properties and plots started selling like hot cakes.

The estate has continued to grow, and will now do so under the care of Smith, a former senior manager at Nedbank.

“We welcome Smith and we have full faith that he will continue in the successful path of Wim Sak,” the board said.