Introduction
From Digital Transformation to Responsible AI Leadership
Facility management is entering a new phase of digital transformation. Over recent years, IFMA’s research and executive conversations have explored digital transformation, digital risk, technology navigation, circular economy, AI, data-enabled FM and the changing skills profile of the profession.
This progression matters. AI is not arriving in FM as an isolated technology trend. It builds on earlier conversations about connected buildings, data, cybersecurity, sustainability, digital systems, workforce capability and organizational value. The question is no longer whether AI will influence FM. The question is how FM leaders can shape that influence responsibly.
The European Executive Roundtable was designed to explore this challenge with senior FM leaders from across Europe. The briefing framed the session around the need to lead the AI transformation responsibly, strategically and inclusively, and to generate insights that could inform IFMA’s research, education and advocacy agenda.
Knowledge Café discussions were structured around five core questions:
1. AI as a Strategic Gamechanger
How can C-suite leaders ensure AI adoption in FM is guided by clear business objectives, such as efficiency, experience and sustainability, rather than hype?
2. Governance, Risk & Trust
What role should the executive team play in ensuring strong AI governance, cybersecurity and ethical safeguards while balancing innovation and risk?
3. Workforce & Skills of the Future
How can organizations future-proof FM talent to work effectively with AI through upskilling, reskilling and recruitment?
4. AI, ESG & Sustainability
In what ways can AI accelerate ESG performance, and how should leaders address AI’s own environmental footprint?
5. The AI Native FM Organization
What might an AI native FM organization look like by 2035, and how can leaders prepare today?
Together, these questions positioned AI as a leadership challenge spanning strategy, governance, workforce capability, sustainability and organizational design. The European data adds a further layer to this discussion by emphasizing culture, trust, psychological safety, human relationships, responsible momentum and the need to redesign work before scaling AI.
Methodology: Knowledge Café and Thematic Analysis
The European Executive Roundtable used a Knowledge Café format to generate collaborative insight from senior FM leaders. This approach enabled participants to build on one another’s ideas across multiple rounds of discussion.
Participants rotated through five interactive tables, each addressing a core dimension of FM’s AI-enabled future. Each table generated annotated notes, and each question also produced a summary that was presented to the wider group. For this analysis, the annotated notes and summary sheet for each question were treated as one integrated data set.
Analysis followed a structured thematic approach informed by Braun and Clarke’s1 six-phase process:
Familiarization with the data
Annotated notes and summary sheets were reviewed together to understand the full discussion context for each Knowledge Café question.
Generating initial codes
Meaningful extracts were identified from the notes and summaries. Where legible, participant wording was retained verbatim to preserve the language used in the room.
Searching for candidate themes
Related codes were grouped into broader patterns of meaning, such as business transformation, work redesign, responsible governance, human capability, augmented collaboration, ESG value and measurable outcomes.
Reviewing the themes
Candidate themes were tested against the coded extracts and wider data set. Themes were refined to ensure they were coherent, distinct and sufficiently supported by the evidence.
Defining & naming the themes
The final themes were named and defined in a way that could support an executive-facing report, while still retaining a clear connection to the original participant data.
Producing the report narrative
The final stage involved translating the thematic analysis into a narrative report, supported by subthemes, example comments, visual frameworks and strategic implications for FM leaders.
Where handwritten extracts were unclear, they were excluded rather than reworded. This ensured that the analysis remained grounded in the clearest available evidence and avoided overinterpreting ambiguous notes.
Overview of Findings
The analysis produced six themes. Together, they suggest that AI-enabled FM in Europe is not simply about tool adoption or technical readiness. It is about responsible transformation.
The findings point to a practical leadership agenda. FM leaders need to treat AI as a strategic transformation issue, redesign work before scaling tools, create governance that enables responsible experimentation, invest in human capability, prepare for new forms of human and AI collaboration, and measure value across business, sustainability and people outcomes.
International Facility Management Association (IFMA) supports over 26,000 members in 140 countries. Since 1980, IFMA has worked to advance the FM profession through education, events, credentialing, research, networking and knowledge-sharing.
