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Cape Town - Jason Rohde, CEO of Geffen International Realty Franchises, who was arrested after the death of his wife, was never the "public face" of the company, Fin24 was told on Tuesday.
That role has been fulfilled by chairperson Lew Geffen, whose name very much "remains above the door", according to Samantha Bartlett, spokesperson of Sotheby’s International Realty SA.
News24 reported earlier that Rohde was arrested after the body of his wife was found in a bathroom of the hotel at the Spier Wine Estate near Stellenbosch.
Bartlett explained why it is still very much business as usual at the company, despite Rohde's arrest.
Geffen International Realty Franchises (GIRF) is the company with which franchisees in SA sign their franchise agreements in order to legally use the global name Sotheby's International Realty. Lew Geffen owns the main franchise license in SA and GIRF was created within the company to manage the individual SA franchises.
Sotheby’s International Realty SA is the second largest Sotheby’s International Realty franchise licence-holder globally outside of the US. Each franchise operation in SA is independently owned and operated. The primary duties of Rohde involved the maintenance of existing agreements with Sotheby’s International Realty SA franchisees, as well as promote franchise expansion.
He is now on leave from the property company and a team of senior management at its SA head office in Johannesburg is fulfilling all the necessary functions, Bartlett told Fin24.
According to the Sotheby's website, Rohde was appointed as CEO after "fruitful exploits as a property consultant, office manager, principal and successful business owner in his own right". He is described as a real estate specialist with over 14 years' experience in all aspects of property related transactions.
In the early 1990s Rohde emigrated to Australia where he was involved in multi-national property developments, according to his profile on the Lew Geffen/Sotheby’s website. He returned to SA in 1997 and went into residential sales in Johannesburg.
According to Bartlett, Sotheby’s International Realty SA has noted the latest development in the investigation against Rohde, but has no further comment at this time.
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