Reflecting on my year as chair of our global board, I am amazed, proud and appreciative of what we accomplished together. From members and partners to volunteer leaders and staff, our intense commitment to seeing our association and profession thrive helped us, once again, show resilience in the face of change, and not just endure uncertainty but create even more value and reach.

This transitional year saw the departure of President & CEO Don Gilpin — under whose exceptional leadership, IFMA regained strength financially, strategically and culturally — and the arrival of President & CEO Michael Geary, whose energy and vision have invigorated the association. Throughout this changeover, we:

• successfully maintained financial stability and organizational continuity;
• proceeded strategically, growing our network, expanding our global presence, and enhancing training opportunities and access to research and content; and
• demonstrated our dedication to growth, adding and optimizing resources instead of scaling back.

IFMA has remained committed to meeting members where they are — professionally, regionally, digitally, even emotionally. As a community of colleagues and friends sustained by the respectful and open sharing of knowledge and experiences, IFMA is a trusted source of information and encouragement. Everyone is seen; everyone is heard. Each of us works to uplift and empower our colleagues to continually improve, add value to their organizations and positively impact the world.

We’re now more than 25,000 strong in 140 countries, reaching almost 140,000 followers across our social media platforms. We added 10 new countries to IFMA’s map and introduced new events in Africa, the Middle East and Latin America. In addition to reaching over 20,000 FMP credential-holders globally, IFMA credentials are currently held in 120 countries. If those achievements aren’t enough reason to celebrate, it’s also been a year of anniversaries: the 15th year for IFMA’s Facility Fusion, the 30th year for World Workplace, and the 45th year for IFMA itself.

The initiative most dear to me was expanding support and growing membership in Latin America. We hosted our inaugural IFMA Global LATAM conference mid-June, creating a milestone moment for our profession and the region.

This coincides with IFMA placing a greater emphasis on our LATAM reach by increasing our multilingual initiatives, providing courses (such as our Sustainability Core Course and Essentials of FM) and communications (like our Spanish-language versions of the WIRE newsletter and online Engage Member Forum) in more languages.

I am excited to remain a part of our association’s growth and fortifying IFMA’s position as the global authority on facility management. Thank you for a wonderful year! Let’s keep the momentum going. I look forward to our continued collaboration taking IFMA and FM into the future.