Inospace appoints full-time Chief People Officer

South Africa’s largest owner of serviced logistics parks, Inospace, announced the appointment of David Bernstein as the company's new Chief People Officer, effective immediately. Bernstein has consulted for Inospace since its founding in 2017, and has taken up a full-time role due to the company’s significant growth over the last year.

Bernstein will now be responsible for the company's worldwide human resources. His areas of responsibility will include new appointments, company culture, training, performance management, strategic reporting, and internal succession planning.

"David’s leadership has materially contributed to the company’s success over the past five years. This includes the integration of numerous transactions, as well as building an industry-leading culture and a team that positions us for continued success. David is a great partner and a key leader who I appreciate and rely on for his level-headed and strategic approach to our people and company culture," said Inospace CEO and founder Rael Levitt.

A well-respected leader in the human resources industry, Bernstein has significantly impacted Inospace and the industry overall. He began his career in recruitment, helping build up the HR department for Levitt’s former company Auction Alliance, where he became HR director. He later formed Pulse HR Consulting, selling it in 2018 only to buy it back with the same team and clients in 2020. Under the rebranded name Resolute HR Consulting, Bernstein has built the company around a focus on providing affordable professional HR and Labour services to SMEs. Bernstein will remain director of Resolute taking care of the labour component, while his team continues to directly look after client’s needs.  

Bernstein’s Inospace appointment represents the culmination of a three-year strategic exercise that forms part of an ongoing leadership succession planning process. In his new role, Bernstein will sit on Inospace’s Executive committee that runs the organisation, while continuing to oversee the labour division to ensure the continued growth and development of Inospace.

“It may seem unusual for a property company to appoint a senior HR executive. But Inospace is not your typical property company. We see ourselves as a pure service business that stems from our people. In my role, I’m going to be driving training and recruitment with the goal of making Inospace a top employer of choice,” said Bernstein.

Since his tenure began, Bernstein has seen Inospace expanding to a R2,5 Billion company, growing its total square meterage from less than10,000 square metres to 500,000. "I'm so proud to see how this company has prospered and excited knowing that Inospace’s best years are still ahead with incredible organic and inorganic growth opportunities, which I look forward to seizing together with this highly capable team,” said Bernstein.

To this, Levitt added: "Looking to the future, I believe David’s expertise and extensive business experience make him the ideal full-time Chief People Officer. We continue our focus on delivering long-term value to our shareholders. He knows the industry and our business well and has played an important role in building our strategy for many years."