by Scott Peters — September 29, 2014—A deep perception of changes coming in the global workplace environment is leading global commercial real estate services firm JLL (Jones Lang LaSalle) to a change of emphasis in how the firm approaches its client services, as well as the special talent needed to lead the division into the future.
Doug Sharp, president of JLL Corporate Solutions in the Americas, told FMLink, “We see some major changes in the work environment over the upcoming years. Three large ones are the impact of millennials in the workforce, technology advances and business analytics. Each can impact the other, as workers will often have different interests and ways of working. The workplace must address that in a supportive way.”
Sharp continued, “This will lead to a more proactive approach to managing buildings, including the maintenance of equipment, helping it to run more efficiently, at less cost and with a longer life expectancy. New technologies and analytics will help make this happen, including the benchmarking of facilities.”
Looking for the talent needed to lead its client services division in a new direction, JLL found Maureen Ehrenberg, and named her as the executive managing director for its Integrated Facilities Management (IFM) business in the Americas and chair of its IFM Global Specialty Board. The IFM group comprises 8,000 people managing more than 760 million square feet of property in the Americas.
Sharp sees Ehrenberg as the perfect person to lead this emphasis, not only because of her global experience and understanding of global market needs, but also because she sees how the world of facilities management is overlapping more with information technology and human resources. Ehrenberg also has experience in procurement and finance. The key, Sharp says, is to enable a productive workforce. JLL also plans to study how alternative officing, concierge services, and other trends are impacting facilities differently.
Ehrenberg is an internationally recognized expert in the facilities management field. With more than 25 years of experience, Ehrenberg has deep expertise in providing real estate services to companies around the world. Most recently, she held the position of global director of facilities management at CBRE, Inc., where she also held the role of senior managing director for global corporate services and client strategies. Previously, she was a principal at Expense Management Solutions and also served as executive vice president and president of global client services at Grubb & Ellis Company.
A leader in the real estate outsourcing field, JLL’s Corporate Solutions business helps corporations improve productivity in the cost, efficiency, and performance of their real estate portfolios by creating outsourcing partnerships to manage and execute a range of corporate real estate services. For more information, see JLL’s Integrated Facility Management section.
JLL is a global professional services and investment management firm offering specialized real estate services to clients seeking increased value by owning, occupying and investing in real estate. JLL has more than 200 corporate offices, operates in 75 countries, and has a global workforce of approximately 53,000. On behalf of its clients, the firm provides management and real estate outsourcing services for a property portfolio of 3.0 billion square feet.
