IFMA is a familiar term for those in facility management, but for others it may be something of a mystery. What does the organisation do, and why is it important to our sector?
IFMA is the largest international professional association for facility management. It was founded in 1980 and today has over 26,000 members in more than 140 countries. Essentially, it does three things: it trains and certifies professionals, collects data and sets industry standards, and connects people across markets. The Czech branch was established in 2000 and was the first in Central and Eastern Europe. Today it has over a hundred members, including facility service providers and clients who manage their own buildings. I have been a member since 2001, so I’ve been with it practically from the start.

As of April 2026, you are the Chairman of the Supervisory Board of IFMA CZ. What does this role entail?
The Supervisory Board has three members and oversees the activities of the Executive Board, ensuring that the association operates in accordance with its articles of association and manages its finances prudently. We also have a say in deciding the direction IFMA will take in the future. It is therefore not merely a representative role. Above all, it is a responsibility towards the members who elected us.

Where can people from OKIN Facility get involved with IFMA? Is there a way to take part in its activities?
There are more opportunities than one might expect. IFMA CZ has specialist sections that meet regularly to discuss specific topics. An overview can be found at ifma.cz, and our representatives are welcome to attend these meetings. I usually attend the service providers’ section meetings, but topics such as ESG and new technologies are also interesting. And then there’s the FM Summit, a multi-day conference organised by IFMA every year. It offers workshops on the latest developments in the sector, and several colleagues from both the commercial and operations teams at OKIN regularly attend on behalf of the company. You get to find out where standards are heading and what clients and companies elsewhere are tackling, before it becomes standard practice. It is precisely this sharing of knowledge that is most valuable to us. Anyone interested in the sector should get in touch; we’ll always find a way.

From the perspective of someone who’s been in the industry for over twenty years, is there anything you’d like to drive forward during your two-year term as chair?
Our sector has a problem that, in my view, isn’t discussed enough. Few people enter it, and hardly anyone knows about it until they end up in it rather by chance. Yet it’s a job that yields immediately visible results. I’d like to see more work done over the next two years on building links with schools and on how we present the sector to people outside our own professional bubble. The Providers’ Section has this topic right on its agenda, so there’s a good foundation to build on.

And finally, on a slightly personal note. Did you end up in the building sector more by chance, or have you always been interested in it?
I studied economics, so definitely not from the start. I got into buildings through technology. I worked at Janka Radotín and at ABB, which deal with ventilation and electrical systems – things that are somewhat hidden away in every building. From there, it was just a small step from individual technologies to understanding how the whole building functions as a single operation. Languages have also helped me. Facility management is very much about