Global leader in facilities management (FM) Kath Fontana FRICS has been elected to the role of Senior Vice President of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). She will be the first chartered surveyor from the area of workplace and facilities strategy to lead the profession and will become RICS President in 2020. Kath is the third woman in the past ten years to be elected to the RICS Presidential Team.
Standing at the forefront of technological progress in
property, Kath is a strong proponent of the “Internet of Things” and the
opportunities a networked built environment can bring to businesses and people.
She has worked at a senior level across multiple sectors including banking,
retail, professional services, defence, science, local and central government
as well as the private finance initiative sector.
Kath is Managing Director for ISS Technical Services, based
in the United Kingdom (UK). She joined ISS from BAM FM where she was Managing
Director for the company’s FM business. She leads a team of over 1000 employees
to deliver mobile engineering, energy management and compliance services across
the UK.
Commenting on her election, Kath says:
“I am
thrilled to have been elected as RICS Senior Vice President. This industry is
on the cusp of a technological and social revolution which will fundamentally
change our profession and usher in radical new business models. RICS professionals
must be ready to embrace this change — ready to enable a sustainable built
environment through values driven technology and a people focussed approach.
Not only will this ensure a better built environment but also a better life for
those that live and work in it.”
Kath has over 25 years’ experience within the industry. At
ISS, she is responsible for the UK technical services business and also leads
service excellence for asset management engineering and capital projects in the
UK and Ireland. Prior to this she held a number of senior positions in Estates
and Contract Management spanning over 20 years, managing complex programmes and
service delivery. She has been involved in a number of integrations and
acquisitions in her career, leading and developing teams through transformation
to success.
“I
will also be a championing the continuing drive for greater diversity within
our profession and the wider built environment. It is vital all genders, races
and backgrounds are properly represented, supported and proactively elevated
within our member firms. This isn’t just the decent thing to do, it’s good
business”, she says.
RICS Governing Council elected Kath after a global search
for candidates and a rigorous process. Shortlisted candidates demonstrated strong
skills as trustees and as ambassadors for the profession. Kath will take up her
post as RICS Senior Vice President in November 2018, elevating to RICS
President Elect in 2019, and finally RICS President in 2020.
About RICS
Confidence
through professional standards
RICS
promotes and enforces the highest professional qualifications and standards in
the development and management of land, real estate, construction and
infrastructure. Our name promises the consistent delivery of standards —
bringing confidence to the markets we serve.
We accredit 125,000 professionals and any individual or firm registered
with RICS is subject to our quality assurance. Their expertise covers property,
asset valuation, real estate management; the development of infrastructure; and
the management of natural resources, such as mining, farms and woodland. From
environmental assessments and building controls to negotiating land rights in
an emerging economy; if our members are involved the same professional
standards and ethics apply.
We believe that standards underpin effective markets. With up to seventy
per cent of the world’s wealth bound up in land and real estate, our sector is
vital to economic development, helping to support stable, sustainable
investment and growth around the globe.
With offices covering the major political and financial centres of the
world, our market presence means we are ideally placed to influence policy and
embed professional standards. We work at a cross-governmental level, delivering
international standards that will support a safe and vibrant marketplace in
land, real estate, construction and infrastructure, for the benefit of all.
We are proud of our reputation and work hard to protect it, so clients
who work with an RICS professional can have confidence in the quality and
ethics of the services they receive.
For media enquiries, please contact:
RICS East Asia Public Relations Representatives
Ms Penn
Leung / Ms Peggy Mak
T: +852 3159 2986 / +852 3159 2982
E: [email protected] / [email protected]
