BIO

Combining executive facility management experience with a systems-level approach, GRANT SOMMERFELD helps organizations rethink how FM is positioned, governed and supported. As founder of Executive FM Consulting and President of IFMA’s FM Consultants Council, he works with organizations to strengthen FM governance, operating models, decision rights, workflows and accountability. His focus is on creating the conditions facility teams need to contribute strategically, rather than simply respond to decisions after they have been made.

Grant brings 17 years of experience as a chief facilities officer across post-secondary education, health care and municipal government, including nine years as a university Associate Vice-President. Throughout his career, he has seen a recurring challenge: FM teams are often held accountable for outcomes shaped by decisions outside their control. Today, his consulting, research and writing focus on helping organizations address those underlying structural issues and better recognize FM as an organizational capability that protects performance, manages risk and supports long-term success.

Grant is the author of Just Because You’re Necessary Doesn’t Mean You’re Important and holds an MBA, along with credentials as a Certified Management Consultant, Certified Facility Manager, Certified Educational Facilities Professional and Chartered Facilities Management Surveyor. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. Across his consulting and IFMA leadership, Grant is working to elevate FM’s role within organizations and give facility leaders a stronger voice in the decisions that shape their work.