This year’s competition was as usual a very close run event. Certainly at the finalist stage the decision was agonised over before the judges made their verdicts.
The adjudication panel comprised Richard Sykes (FMA Chair), Chris Hoar (FMA Director General, John Ellis (FMA President), Jason Cousins (Olswang and Young Managers’ Committee) and Mary Taffler (FMA Secretary) over a two day period. The award process was organised and administered by Maurice Tidy (FMA Advisor) over the period May to November.
Since the launch of the Young Manager of the Year category to PFM Awards in 1997 more that one hundred entries have been received and the industry has been the beneficiary of the talent which has been exposed to the market. Many of the entrants have been appointed to the boards of companies and are recognised as today’s major players reflecting the reason for the FMA’s persistence in this process.
In 2003 the Young Manager’s Forum was launched and has additionally exposed the importance of facilities management to the UK’s economy.
The FMA wishes to thank all those who took part in this year’s PFM Awards. Their time and effort is quite demanding as everyone has busy work schedules and as usual the seamless excellence of the Awards ceremony is due to the professionalism of PFM staff.
Here is the list of those competing in this year’s awards.
Winner - Peter Burnell-Jones – Account Manager, Taylor Woodrow FM
Peter commenced his career in 2004 after gaining a Construction Engineering degree and on completion of his placement with Taylor Woodrow he chose facilities management as his career option.
He presently is responsible for Taylor Woodrow’s Highways Agency contract – it is a TFM contract for a 24/7 Help Desk, 7 Regional Control Centres and 33 Traffic Officer Stations. He manages seven assistant fm’s, a commercial manager and 36 Building Co-ordinators.
Peter has initiated cost and efficiency savings of £140k for year on year savings together with £50k on cleaning services an annual 18% on energy consumption and 9% on waste water consumption.
Other client organisations which have benefited for his fm skills are Marks and Spencer, MOD – Regents Park and St Johns Wood Barracks and the Animal Defence Centre.
Peter’s vision for his future is to further pursue and develop his leadership and communications and learning skills together with technical competence. Furthermore his client said Peter brings systems, procedures and organisational skills of which he was unaware.
Richard Sykes presents Peter Burnell Jones with the winner’s certificate and is accompanied by Annette Best from the Young Manager’s Committee.
Finalist - Amanda Kirkham – National Account Manager, MITIE
Amanda’s career commenced in 2002 following the attainment of a BA in Sociology and Social Policy and a Masters in Management. Her career embraces many of the key skills which comprise the wide management and service delivery spectrum including business improvement, leadership, project management and auditor training. Her Health and Safety traing is exemplary and for this she is the focal point for eight of the MITIE’s contracts.
Amanda has firm objectives for her future which include continuous improvement to training, networking and self improvement.
Clients who have benefited from her efforts include Littlewoods Shop Direct, HSBC, Centrica, Manchester Airport, Cable and Wireless and Landflex.
Of particular interest are her successes with the management of eight call centres employing over 100 personnel, energy management in a data centre and a recycling campaign which produced a 22% saving on a major contract. Additionally, Amanda has implemented an environmental campaign where by managing landfill directly she has obviated the use of third party contractors.
Finalist - Susan Pell – Account Manager, Synergy/ISS Coflex
Susan’s facilities management career started in 2002 after choosing this industry sector for her future after studying International Business at university, she has a BA Honours degree. Her first role with an IT based client confirmed her interest in financial management.
She participates in a regular survey – “Walking in the Customer’s Shoes” in which Susan is a key player and her “audit ready” philosophy ensures that she and her team are using the most current systems and processes including Health, Safety and Environmental issues.
She has relocated 1,000 personnel in the Defence Sector and set up a help desk with staff training. She is commitment to communication and morale building in this role where she manages a multi-discipline team of 47 responsible for hard and soft services involves.
Susan’s present financial responsibility is £1.5m fixed contract with additional £1m revenue and CAPEX budgets. Her continuous professional development includes the ISS Facilities Management Diploma.
Richard Sykes with Susan Pell, Peter Burnell Jones and Amanda Kirkham. L to R.
Other contestants were;
Alex Reynolds of Savills, Jacob Klich of Jones Lang LaSalle, Stuart Cameron of GSH, Rebecca Van Niekerk of Mitie FM, Rodrigo Klering 0f SODEXO and Ashley Baichoo of Vinci FM.