Jeffrey Ibbitson

October 13, 2026 - issue 1 Building Connections Connecting people, ideas, and opportunities across our community. Marcia O'Connor President & Academic Director, CAFAE Founder & President, AMFM Consulting Inc. Inspirational Leader | Educator | Mentor From Marcia's Desk CAF2026 was a wonderful reminder of what can happen when people come together. I’m incredibly grateful to everyone who helped make it possible, and to those who joined us, shared their perspectives and made new connections. ...

Let’s be honest, not many of us grew up dreaming of becoming a facility or asset manager. You rarely hear a child say, “When I grow up, I want to manage aging infrastructure, negotiate service contracts and explain why the roof cannot wait another year.” Most of us found our way here through another route. We started in the trades, operations, property management, environmental services, engineering, administration or in my case, a chef. Someone noticed that we could solve problems,...

A building has walls, a roof, mechanical systems, electrical systems, plumbing and people who expect everything to work. On paper, facility management looks transferable. A boiler is still a boiler. A leaking roof still needs to be repaired. Preventive maintenance, capital planning, vendor management and life safety matter everywhere. After working across corporate offices, social housing, retail, hospitality and health care, I have learned that no two buildings operate the same way. The...