The Green Building Council South Africa has announced Georgina Smit as its new CEO with effect from the 1st of May 2026.

The announcement was made at the GBCSA’s 18th Annual Green Building Convention in Cape Town, marking the beginning of an exciting new chapter for the organization and SA’s green building industry.

Georgina will succeed Lisa Reynolds who has led the organization since 2020. Under Reynolds’ leadership, the GBCSA has solidified its position as SA’s leading authority on the green built environment including building certification, sustainability training, and advocacy for climate-resilience within the industry.

Georgina is an award-winning sustainability leader who obtained her undergraduate and Master’s degree (Phil Sustainable Development Management and Planning) from Stellenbosch University. During her ten years working with global consultancy Arup, she pursued a further Master’s degree at Cambridge (UK).

She moves into the CEO role after more than five years with the GBCSA as Head of Technical and Executive Director where she has led certification, training, and research initiatives. A respected thought leader and regular speaker at industry events, Georgina champions practical, locally relevant solutions that advance green building adoption.

“Georgina is a person who recognises a need and she goes out and makes things happen – and she does it phenomenally well. Not only does she excel in her role as Head of Technical, but when we needed a champion for ESG and sustainable finance, she stepped up. As well as being a person of action, she also has a strategic view of what we are working towards and is strongly positioned to take GBCSA to the next level,” comments Lisa.

“I am grateful for the confidence the Board has shown in me and for the opportunity to continue building on Lisa’s incredible work over the past five years,” says Georgina.

“We have five years until the 2030 net zero deadline, and GBCSA’s next chapter will focus on making accessible tools available to businesses to ensure that their business strategies can integrate with climate goals. We are proud of the social impact we are having – the training that we provide is integral to the Just Energy Transition and is developing careers that will shape a climate-resilient future. On the certification side, we will work towards broadening our impact and bringing more of the unconverted on board. We want to grow our partnerships with government and private sector champions who recognise the value of what we do and how it contributes to a more resilient South Africa.”