Urbanew Advisory

Theteam

Urbanew Advisory is deliberately principal-led. The people who design the analysis are the people who present the conclusions and manage the client relationship.

Leadership

02 profiles
Chakyl Camal
Founder and CEOLinkedIn

Chakyl Camal

Founder and CEO

18+ years$10B+ portfolio
OmanSaudi ArabiaChinaAustralia

Chakyl Camal is an entrepreneur and visionary urban development leader with over 18 years of experience spanning property development, master planning, capital raising, and asset management. As the Founder and CEO of Urbanew, headquartered in Dubai, he has overseen high-profile projects totalling more than US$8 billion across the Asia-Pacific, Middle East, USA, and Africa.

Prior to founding Urbanew, Chakyl built a development pipeline of US$1.5 billion through Panthera Group in Australia across retail, mixed-use, and lifestyle precincts, a practitioner-led heritage that defines Urbanew's advisory approach. Urbanew's active global project pipeline now exceeds US$10 billion across five continents.

Beyond real estate, Chakyl is a two-time Olympic swimmer representing Mozambique at Beijing 2008 and London 2012. He is a member of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce, a YPO member, keynote speaker at FuturePlace and Malls of the Future, and a committed philanthropist.

Selected advisory work

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Managing Director

Martina Vitulli

Managing Director

Martina Vitulli is a hospitality executive with over two decades of experience and an advisory portfolio exceeding USD 4 billion in development value. As Managing Director at Urbanew Advisory, she counsels governments, sovereign wealth funds, and private developers across the GCC and Africa. Her background includes directing sales for Starwood's top-performing Asia-Pacific portfolio in Fiji, alongside extensive global expertise in transactional structuring and destination masterplanning.

Selected advisory work

  • 01

    Urban Masterplans

    Introduced the inaugural hotel and branded residences concept to Sultan Haitham City and formulated the Salalah hospitality framework.

  • 02

    Operator Procurement

    Negotiated agreements and secured high-value brand alignments with international networks, including Marriott, Accor, IHG, and Hyatt.

  • 03

    Wellness Integration

    Uses her professional fitness and nutrition credentials to structure integrated residential and resort developments focused on health.

Principals

06 profiles
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Rodney Timm

Real Estate Principal — Strategic Portfolio & Asset Advisory Expert

45+ years of experience across construction, real estate advisory, development, valuation, portfolio strategy and asset management. Co-founded Baker Street Associates, led real estate advisory practices at Arthur Andersen and Ernst & Young, and co-founded Property Beyond Pty Ltd. Deep expertise in property lifecycle strategy, business cases, capital planning, facilities management, sustainability and community-focused development.

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Michel Checoury

Chief Investment Officer

30+ years of senior financial leadership across hospitality, real estate and mixed-use development. Worked with leading global brands including Kerzner International, Mövenpick, Aman, Mandarin Oriental, Jumeirah, InterContinental, Starwood, Euro Disney and Deloitte. Specialises in financial strategy, corporate governance, asset management, investment planning and long-term value creation.

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Kim Cruz

Group Director of Operations

10 years of experience across the private and public sectors, including work with international cooperation agencies IFC and JICA. Expert in market research, data analysis, and strategic implementation. Strong understanding of financial products and regulatory compliance.

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Mark Willis

Expert Hospitality Partner

30+ years of global hospitality leadership across luxury hotels, resorts and mixed-use destinations. Former Global CEO of Fairmont Hotels & Resorts and CEO of Accor Middle East, Africa, India and Turkey. Deep expertise in hotel operations, brand repositioning, guest experience, asset performance and strategic development across international markets.

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Christian Sanchez

Development General Manager, Hotels and Resorts

15+ years of hospitality leadership across 14 countries, managing ultra-luxury private island resorts, boutique properties and large-scale all-inclusive operations. Expertise in operational turnarounds, brand transitions, asset expansion, commercial optimisation and multicultural team leadership, with proven success in reducing F&B costs by up to 50% and improving LQA scores and guest ratings.

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Godfrey Ndlovu

Development Director / Advisor (QS, Civil Eng.)

14+ years of experience across large-scale residential, mixed-use, retail and commercial projects in Australia and South Africa. Specialises in development feasibility, design management, procurement, cost control, contract administration and project delivery. Proven experience managing complex developments from concept through construction, handover and stakeholder coordination.

Additional team

14 profiles
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Kiran Pfeiffer

Chief Technology Officer

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Christian Vitulli

Senior Director, Masterplan Architect

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Yashraj Duggal

Marketing Manager

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Jéssica Abreu

Field Architect

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Franziska Pfeiffer

Chief of Staff

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Rute Bila

Office Manager

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Edna Nhantumbo

Communications Manager

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Ivo Mogne

Content Director

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Gonçalves Monteiro

Social Media Manager

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Emir Ismael

Architect & Urban Planner

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Eliseu Songa

Videographer

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Neila Menezes

Graphic Designer

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Flávio Vuma

Videographer

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Romanos José

Graphic Designer

Work with the principal team

Every Urbanew Advisory mandate receives the full attention of the principal advisory team. If you are at the stage where independent strategic analysis would determine the programme, we would like to hear from you.

Get in touch