Facilities management is not keeping pace because the system around it is moving faster than the FM function is able to adapt.

Structural FM instability shows up in predictable patterns. Does any of this sound familiar?

These are not people problems or technical failures. They are system problems — and they require a structural diagnosis before they can be addressed effectively.

FM dysfunction is almost always a systems problem. Misaligned roles, unclear decision rights, fragmented governance, and competing priorities create instability that no amount of effort or goodwill can overcome.

Executive FM Consulting works exclusively with post-secondary institutions to identify the structural conditions driving instability — then build a sequenced, evidence-based path to restore clarity, alignment, and operational control. Every engagement follows the Relief–Reset–Legacy pathway: diagnose what is broken, redesign how work flows, and build systems that hold.

Two Ways To Engage

Entry Point 1

Crisis or transition: Leadership has changed, pressure is building, or something is clearly not working. You need to understand what is driving instability before deciding what to do about it.

Tier 0 — Signal Scan

Tier 1 — Institutional Operating Assessment

Tier 2 — Operating Model Assessment and Roadmap

Tier 3 — Implementation Advisory

Not sure which entry point fits your situation? Most clients start with a conversation. The right entry point becomes clear quickly.

Entry Point 2

Stable institutions asking: where do we actually stand?Operations are running and leadership is intact — but there is no objective baseline to confirm whether FM is performing at the level the institution needs.

FM Maturity Assessment — standalone product

Who This Is For

VP Finance or Administration

You are responsible for FM but not close to the operational detail. Something is not working and you need an independent, credible assessment you can act on — not a consultant's opinion.

Incoming FM leader

You have inherited a function under pressure. Before committing to a direction, you need an objective baseline — evidence of what is actually happening and where to start.

Post-secondary institutions

Universities, colleges, and polytechnics with 2,000 to 20,000 students where FM dysfunction is creating institutional risk, budget pressure, or leadership friction.

AVP or Director, Facilities Management

You can see the structural problems but lack the external perspective, time, or mandate to diagnose and redesign from the inside. You need a partner who understands the terrain.

Credentials and Experience

Grant Sommerfeld, President and Founder of Executive FM Consulting Ltd., has served 17 years as a Chief Facilities Officer in health care, municipal government, and post-secondary. He holds an MBA and three professional certifications in facilities management and one in management consulting.  He has certified executive training credentials in executive leadership and strategic planning from Cornell, the London School of Economics, HEC Paris. INSEAD, and the Columbia School of Business.

He is a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, President of the IFMA Facilities Management Consultants Council, and a published author.

This is not advisory from the outside looking in — it is grounded in the operational and executive reality of running large, complex FM functions.