Introduction
From Digital Transformation to AI Leadership
Since its inception in 2022, IFMA’s Executive Summit has provided a forum for senior FM leaders to explore the forces shaping the future of the profession. Over five years, the Summit has traced a clear professional journey: from digital transformation to digital risk, to navigating the technology landscape, to circular FM, and now to AI leadership.
This progression matters. AI is not arriving in FM as an isolated technology trend. It builds on earlier conversations about digital systems, connected buildings, data, risk, sustainability and cross-functional collaboration. The 2026 Summit asked what it will take for FM leaders to build on these foundations and lead the AI transformation responsibly, strategically and inclusively.
Knowledge Café discussions were structured around five core questions:
1. AI as a Strategic Gamechanger
How can executives ensure that AI adoption in FM is guided by clear business objectives and outcomes, rather than driven by hype?
2. Governance, Risk & Trust
What role should the C-suite play in ensuring strong AI governance, cybersecurity and ethical safeguards while enabling innovation?
3. Workforce & Skills of the Future
How can FM teams future- proof talent to work effectively with AI through upskilling, reskilling and new recruitment strategies?
4. AI, ESG & Sustainability
How can AI accelerate progress on ESG and circular economy goals, while minimizing its own environmental footprint?
5. The AI Native FM Organization
What might an “AI native” FM organization look like by 2035, and how can today’s leaders begin preparing for that transformation?
Together, these questions positioned AI as a leadership challenge spanning strategy, governance, workforce capability, sustainability and organizational design.
Methodology: Knowledge Café and Thematic Analysis
The 2026 Executive Summit retained the established Knowledge Café format used in previous Summits. This approach is designed to generate collaborative insight by enabling 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 produced a summary that was presented back to the wider group. For this analysis, the annotated notes and summary sheet for each question were treated as one integrated data set.
The analysis followed a structured thematic approach informed by a six-phase process:[1]
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 strategic purpose, data readiness, governance, workforce capability, ESG value and operating model change.
Reviewing the themes
Candidate themes were tested against the coded extracts and the wider data set. Themes were refined to ensure they were coherent, distinct and sufficiently supported by the evidence.
Defining & naming the themes
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 sub themes, example comments, visual frameworks and strategic implications for FM leaders.
[1] Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
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.
