Europeans join IFMA Board

19 June 2008

The former chair of EuroFM, Jose Garcia Cuartero, and the IFMA Borad member, Helena Ohlsson have been invited to join the board of IFMA, the world's largest FM member organisation.

Among the new 2008-2009 board of directors and executive committee announced by The International Facility Management Association (IFMA), and to provide a European perspective, are José García Cuartero, MIM, MD of Grupo Cador and former chairman of IFMA, and Helena Ohlsson, CFM, general manager of Service Works International, president of the Swedish IFMA chapter from 2002-2005, chair of EuroFM’s practice network group in 2007-2008, and currently the board member of EuroFM responsible for Corporate Members.

IFMA has also announced that John McGee, former chief operating officer for Union Switch & Signal in Pittsburgh, Pa., is to be its new chair, succeeding Gary Broersma, CFM. Thomas Mitchell Jr., CFM, CFMJ, senior facilities management consulting associate at Booz Allen Hamilton; and Francis Kuhn, CFM, CFMJ, vice president of facilities and administration for Western Corporate Federal Credit Union. Mitchell and Kuhn will now serve as first and second vice chairs respectively.

The new IFMA board members begin their terms July 1 and comprise: McGee, MBA; Mitchell; Kuhn; José García Cuartero, MIM, MD of Grupo Cador; Marc S. Liciardello, CFM, MBA, CM, vice president of corporate services at ARAMARK; Helena Ohlsson, CFM, general manager of Service Works International; William A. Rodgers Jr., president and CEO of GoodCents; and Kathy Roper, CFM, CFMJ, IFMA Fellow, assistant professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology’s Building Construction Program.

They join existing board members Mark R. Sekula, CFM, Facility Engineering Associates; Peter M. Winters, CFM, CFMJ, AIA, senior vice president of HOK Advance Strategies; Eileen McMorrow, editor and publisher of the McMorrow Report, Paul A. Ratkovic, CFM, FMP, manager of operations, planning and development at EMCOR Facilities Services Inc.; and Christopher P. Hodges, P.E., CFM, IFMA Fellow, principal of Facility Engineering Associates.

Commenting on her appointment, Ohlsson said “I am very excited to learn more about IFMA and hope to bring a fresh pair of eyes and some new topics to the table. It is also a great opportunity to become familiar with new cultures and more of the amazing individuals that are engaged in the development of the facility management profession. Over the past years, IFMA has developed toward becoming a truly global association. This is a great opportunity for me to contribute to this progress and share my knowledge and experience from the European FM and the European IFMA chapters.”

Ohlsson is a trained architect with more than 12 years of experience in architecture and facility management. She has been involved with some of the most prestigious accounts in the Johnson Controls Inc. portfolio, working with companies such as BP, Cisco and Ericsson. Using her background in architecture and real estate management, Ohlsson worked on the creation of a European strategy for the Johnson Controls Inc. consulting team.

Her responsibilities at Service Works Global include managing large multinational facility management clients and developing the business throughout Europe.

Ohlsson is a Certified Facility Manager and a member of IFMA, EuroFM and NordicFM. She has served as a board member of the Swedish Chapter of IFMA since 1999 and was president from 2002-2005. Ohlsson also served as a board member for EuroFM’s chair practice network group in 2007-2008.

IFMA is the world’s largest and most widely recognized international association for professional facility managers, supporting more than 19,000 members in 60 countries. The association’s members, represented in 125 chapters and 15 councils worldwide, manage more than 37 billion square feet of property and annually purchase more than US$100 billion in products and services. Formed in 1980, IFMA certifies facility managers, conducts research, provides educational programs, recognizes facility management certificate programs and produces World Workplace, the world’s largest facility management conference and exposition. For more information, visit the IFMA press room or www.ifma.org.