The International Facility Management Association (IFMA) has named four FM professionals as IFMA Fellows and honored one with a Chair’s Citation. The 2018 Class of IFMA Fellows includes Stephen Ballesty, Jeffrey Budimulia, Paul Doherty and Joachim Hohmann. Maureen Ehrenberg received the sole chair’s citation.
Board chair Graham Tier, CFM, FMP, MRICS, presented the accolades at the opening session of IFMA’s World Workplace 2018 Conference and Expo in Charlotte, North Carolina.
“As we celebrate our industry, we are pleased to showcase five leading lights in FM who have not only created personal success, but through their achievements, have created opportunities for all of us to flourish,” said Tier.
Being named an IFMA Fellow is the highest honor members can earn within the association. Established in 1992, the Fellowship program recognizes lifetime contributions to the association and the facility management community. The IFMA Fellow nominating committee assesses professional experience and accomplishments, association involvement, and how candidates have enriched the profession.
2018 Class of IFMA Fellows
Stephen Ballesty, MBA, CFM, CQS, ICECA, FRICS, FAIQS, IFMA Fellow
For more than 25 years, Ballesty has advocated for facility management with private, government, education and standards organizations. In 2009, he was the first FMA Australia member to earn IFMA’s Certified Facility Manager® (CFM®) designation. In 2014, he was named IFMA’s International Distinguished Member of the Year. Ballesty has contributed to the ISO 41000 series of FM standards as a leader of IFMA’s Standards Committee. He has also served IFMA as chair of the Research Committee; and as a member of the global board of directors, a member of the IFMA Foundation’s board of trustees, and contributed to IFMA’s collaboration with the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors and launch of the FM Research and Benchmarking Institute.
Jeffrey Budimulia, CFM, MBA, IFMA Fellow
Budimulia is an ambassador for IFMA in the international arena, especially in Asia, where he helped launch IFMA’s Beijing and Singapore Chapters. In 2001, he was the first FM professional in Singapore to earn the CFM designation. He then became an IFMA qualified instructor, as well as a mentor and coach to students, CFM candidates and young colleagues. He served on IFMA’s global board of directors from 2014 through 2016.
Paul Doherty, R.A., CDT, IFMA Fellow
Doherty has championed FM around the world for more than 20 years, delivering the message to government leaders, top CEOs and built environment professionals that “FM matters.” He provided a strategic plan for IFMA’s entrance into China and co-founded, chartered and financed the association’s first Chinese chapter in Shanghai. Doherty served on IFMA’s global board of directors where he provided subject matter expertise on information technology, smart buildings and the Chinese market. He also held leadership roles in IFMA’s Information Technology Council, and was a co-founder of both the BIM Lifecycle Operations Community and IFMA’s Smart Cities Task Force.
Joachim Hohmann, CFM, M.Sc., Ph.D., IFMA Fellow
As a professor at the Technical University Kaiserslautern, Hohmann has elevated next generation of FM talent, establishing the first and only degree program for FM in Germany. Hohmann has served IFMA as an ambassador in Central Europe through positions on the global board of directors, the Education Committee and the International Task Force. He was a founding member of IFMA’s Germany Chapter, and served as vice president of the FM Consultants Council and as a Strategic Advisory Group member of the Information Technology Council. He has written numerous articles and scientific textbooks in both English and German and initiated the collaboration between authors and editors from North America and Europe to produce “The Facility Manager’s Guide to Information Technology,” a textbook used in degree program teaching.
In addition to the fellows, each year, IFMA’s chair may elect to recognize individuals for significant contributions to the association and the FM community. Chair Citations honor the behind-the-scenes leadership, hard work, selfless actions and exceptional accomplishments of those who help drive IFMA’s success.
This year, Graham Tier recognized Maureen Ehrenberg, FRICS, CRE, for her impact on the future of FM as a champion of IFMA’s landmark collaboration with RICS, saying, “Her prominence as a visionary and advocate for the advancement of new ideas in the worlds of both FM and real estate is well known. An internationally recognized expert on business transformation and strategic redesign for the future of work, Maureen has provided leadership and direction to her clients, teams and colleagues over the past 25 years.”
Ehrenberg was named by Real Estate Forum as one of its 2015 Women of Influence and received the 2017 IBcon Julie Devine Digital Impact Award. Earlier in 2018, she received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Realcomm.