Delegates gathered during the early-evening drinks reception, after a full day of the conference programme, to hear Chris speak of his leadership in delivering a £2bn property transformation for the BBC, in support of their move to digital production. Chris joined the BBC in 2004 as Head of Corporate Real Estate, and transferred to BBC Commercial Projects in 2012.
Earlier this month, Workplace Law had the pleasure of interviewing Chris Kane, exploring the challenges he faced while maximising the value of the Television Centre disposal, the specific commercial purpose of BBC Commercial Projects. Chris revealed the difficulty of integrating those in design and construction with those that have ultimate operational responsibility for the property – the FMs, an issue highlighted more than once at ThinkFM.
When asked about the biggest challenges and the greatest opportunities that FM faces, Chris says:
“I think it’s finding what its future holds. Where next? Given there are seismic changes taking place to how people work, the fact that the economy will be relatively flat for the next five to ten years, to the impact of globalisation, and what that will mean. Certainly some of my peers have said, work is no longer a place you go to, it’s something you do, and that changes the rules completely. The biggest opportunity for the industry is to take a leadership role in the definition of the new workplace support function.”
Watch the interview here, in which Chris also reveals more about the influence FM has to the bottom line of an organisation, and the future part it has to play, as well as the perception from those outside of the industry of what FM brings to the table.
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