PDF: Introduction to Executive FM

If Facilities Management is constantly firefighting, the problem is probably not effort. It is structure.

Executive FM helps colleges, polytechnics, and universities identify what is driving service instability and constant firefighting, whether it is unclear decision-making, conflicting priorities, broken workflows, or misaligned roles, and define the right first move to restore control.

For Vice Presidents, Associate Vice Presidents, and Directors under pressure to stabilize operations, reduce escalation, and make better decisions before cost and risk compound.

Book a Diagnostic Call

What We Do

Executive FM helps post-secondary institutions understand why Facilities Management is struggling, what must change structurally, and how to move forward with control. The work is designed for leaders who need a clear diagnosis, practical design decisions, and a credible path to implementation.

Objective Assessment

I assess the institutional and departmental conditions shaping FM performance, including governance, priorities, decision-making, structural constraints, and the sources of reactive load.

Structural Diagnosis

I identify the role confusion, broken handoffs, mandate gaps, weak decision rights, and unmanaged white space preventing the function from stabilizing and improving.

Operational Redesign

I develop practical recommendations for governance, role clarity, service delivery design, accountability, and management discipline so the institution can move from instability to control.

Transition Roadmap

I translate the diagnosis into a sequenced roadmap that leadership can act on, with clear priorities, practical steps, and a credible path forward.

What To Expect

Engagements are delivered on a fixed-cost basis with clear scope and defined outcomes, giving clients certainty over time, cost, and risk while allowing the work to be tailored to their priorities.

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Step 1: Initial Review

We begin with a series of short discussions to understand the institutional context, the visible pressures, and whether a structured diagnostic is warranted.

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Step 2: Evidence Review

I review interviews, organizational structure, budgets, planning processes, service issues, governance arrangements, and other signals of instability, struggle, and constraint.

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Step 3: Structural Diagnosis

I identify the patterns driving rework, weak control, reactive load, and stalled improvement. Where needed, surveys and focus groups can deepen the analysis.

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Step 4: Future-State Design

I define the governance conditions, role clarity, decision rights, service model, and management disciplines required to restore control.

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Step 5: Roadmap

The work concludes with a sequenced action plan that leadership can use to stabilize, redesign, and move forward with clarity.

Leadership and Consulting Experience in Complex Institutions

Executive FM Consulting draws on senior leadership and consulting experience across universities, colleges, polytechnics, healthcare, and municipal government. That experience provides a practical understanding of how governance, decision-making, and operating conditions shape Facilities Management performance inside complex institutions.

Alberta University of the Arts
Bethany Care Care Society
City of Calgary
Lakeland College
Mount Royal University
Northwestern Polytechnic
Saskatoon Health Region
University of the Fraser Valley
Vancouver Island University

Experience includes senior leadership, advisory, and transformation work in institutions where Facilities Management performance is shaped by competing priorities, constrained resources, and complex governance.

Our Founder

Grant Sommerfeld

Founder & CEO

Grant Sommerfeld brings 17 years of Chief Facilities Officer experience, including 9 years as a university Associate Vice-President, along with consulting experience focused on Facilities Management in higher education.

  • MBA
  • Certified Educational Facilities Professional (CEFP)
  • Certified Facilities Manager (CFM)
  • Chartered Facilities Management Surveyor (FRICS)
  • Certified Management Consultant (CMC)

Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. President of the IFMA Facilities Management Consultants Council.

Start the Conversation

Institutions typically begin by discussing the context they are facing and exploring whether a structured diagnostic would be useful. 

These conversations are informal and focused on understanding the institution’s situation, the pressures affecting Facilities Management, and whether the conditions described on this page are present. 

If the discussion suggests that a deeper examination would be helpful, Executive FM Consulting can outline how a structured diagnostic would proceed and what the institution could expect from that process.

 

What Happens Next

If you reach out:

 

  • We schedule a short introductory conversation.
  • We discuss the institutional context and current challenges.
  • If appropriate, we explore whether a structured diagnostic would be useful.

There is no obligation to proceed beyond that conversation.

Contact Grant Sommerfeld

Email: contact@executivefm.ca

Mobile: 1-587-226-1205

RICS
IFMA
CAMC
APPA