Watching Paint Dry

Malou Carreon is a Facilities Consultant, helping clients relocate and connect with vendors and other facility managers year-round. She has worked closely with clients worldwide for over 20 years to make office expansion, relocation, and events a breeze.

Malou prides herself on building strong relationships with clients as they grow and providing them with a safe and holistic environment to ease their concerns on new COVID requirements and regulations. When she isn't jumping from one facility to the next, you can find her enjoying the great outdoors and sharing photos with her family in the Philippines.

Facility management is full of surprises: from relocation and expansion to updating machinery and maintenance, each day brings new challenges and rewards. Due to COVID regulations, facility managers and consultants are working harder than ever to keep buildings up-to-date, meet requirements for staff returning to the office, and maintain relationships with building owners and vendors.

It's not an easy job, but Malou Carreon, a jill of all trades, has learned the art of balance and innovation in helping clients meet their office needs. Her belief that facility management starts with building relationships and ends with a satisfied customer has become a key building block for her business—and for all the successful facilities she's run.

In this week's episode of Watching Paint Dry, host Greg Owens sits down with Facility Consultant, Malou Carreon. They discuss family, the role of a facility consultant, and the future of touchless technology in facility management. Plus, she recalls her transition from international relations to focus on facility management. Stay tuned for more on how Malou Carreon balances clients, hiking, and building meaningful relationships.

Mark Hendricks is the Maintenance Manager of CountryHouse Residence, a residential home for individuals facing memory loss and dementia. CountryHouse Residence is part of the Agemark family of senior living communities, which operates several unique brands of communities spanning six states. Each brand has its own personality and offers a distinctive combination of senior living services.

Before joining CountryHouse, Mark worked for Kitchell, where he was Site Manager at the Google Mountain View Campus. Mark has combined over 40 years of construction, facility management, and teaching experiences to perfectly fit his new role.

What is the facility manager's bread and butter? Simply put: it's the ability to evaluate your experience and apply it whenever necessary. And though the position's title may have changed over the years, a facility manager is still one of the most underrepresented roles in the current market.

Mark Hendricks, the Maintenance Manager at CountryHouse Residence and Former Google Site Manager, hopes to highlight his experience as a site manager and demonstrate how his combined background in construction, teaching, and facility management redefines what it means to be a Director of Facilities.

In this week's episode of Watching Paint Dry, Greg Owens sits down with Mark Hendricks, Maintenance Manager at CountryHouse Residence and Former Google Campus Site Manager. They discuss working on the Google Campus, how COVID has changed the way businesses operate in the San Francisco area, and the importance of creating procedures in building management. Mark shares his joy of being a facility manager and emphasizes the wide range of duties and advancement available in the facility management industry.

Jonathan Johnson is the Director of Facilities and Security at Pandora's Oakland Headquarters and the Founder of Hyperspace, a company dedicated to saving millions of dollars in real estate or workplace management. He has worked in facility management for the past 13 years and provides seamless service for his occupants and clients. Jonathan has also worked with his team at Pandora and countless others to help them shift their mindsets to assisting customers in this new normal.

How do you create an occupant-friendly building? Sure, you can use bright colors, beanbags, or communal gathering areas—or you can start with those who manage the building.

With a growing need for a blend of tech, building knowledge, and emotional intelligence, the facility management industry continues to grow within the US. Jonathan Johnson, Director of Facilities and Security at Pandora, can attest to the growing demand in his field. From his knowledge of how an HVAC system works to maintenance schedules, he describes his role as a generalist—and a skilled one, at that.

In this week's episode of Watching Paint Dry, Greg Owens is joined by Jonathan Johnson, Director of Facilities and Security at Pandora. They discuss the difference between facility management in the US vs. different parts of the world. Jonathan highlights how his military training has helped him to be successful in his career. He also shares his idea for improving the process of finding and vetting contractors for facility management tasks.

Nitya Devisetti is a high school student with a passion for serving her community. When COVID-19 first hit the states, Nitya saw the need for masks in her community and a non-profit called Ma(s)king a Difference was born. Since then, Ma(s)king a Difference has provided over 10,000 masks to volunteers, medical personnel, and other essential community workers. With her team of fellow students, including Executive Board members Nikhil Pasumarthi and Sohum Phadke, Nitya has now connected more than ten chapters worldwide with a passion for making a difference.

Making a difference in your community can start with a single idea. For Nitya Devisetti, it started with something that we've been hearing a lot about lately: masks.

After seeing a need for masks in her community, she founded the non-profit, volunteer-based organization called Ma(s)king a Difference. With the help of volunteers across the globe, she has helped students and community members provide masks for those in need.

In this episode of Watching Paint Dry, host Greg Owens sits down with the Founder of Ma(s)king a Difference, Nitya Devisetti, and her team. They discuss what motivated them to start and join Ma(s)king a Difference and the learning curves they had to overcome. Nikhil shares his biggest challenge as a coordinator and Sohum describes finding his passion. As they discuss their strengths and weaknesses, their ability to pivot and lead by example is a team attribute to awe anyone of any age.

Elias Nacif is the Executive Vice President of Service by Medallion, an award-winning, family-owned company specializing in facility services for Fortune 500 companies, start-ups, and more. Service by Medallion won the 2019 BSCAI Award for Best in Class.

Elias has worked with Service by Medallion for the past 13 years, specializing in B2B service delivery, logistics, and organizational change when it comes to sustainable business operations. Together as a company, they have helped more than a thousand organizations keep their offices and workspace in premium shape.

Keeping our spaces clean has never been more essential than it is now, amid the current pandemic. As a result, many companies have decided to allow their employees to work from home and limit their in-office interaction. Others still have opted for a hybrid model.

Regardless of how your workspace has decided to maneuver the challenges presented by COVID-19, how you choose to keep your workers safe has become an ever-changing topic for discussion.

Elias Nacif is the Executive Vice President of Service by Medallion, a family-owned facility service company with over 700 employees and operations in the Bay Area. Elias understands the importance of maintaining office spaces and corporate campuses as companies make tough decisions around how to work safely.

In this episode of Watching Paint Dry, host Greg Owens sits down with Elias Nacif, Executive Vice President of Service by Medallion. They discuss how to follow health protocols, the future of facility management, and maintaining company culture at a distance. Elias recalls new challenges facility managers will face in the fourth quarter and his favorite role in his current position.

Sheetal Ohri is the Director of Facilities and Remodel for Yadav Enterprises, Inc., America's largest franchisee company for Jack in the Box, Denny's, Sizzlers, Corner Bakery Cafe, and El Pollo Loco. Sheetal has her own radio show called Making a Difference with Sheetal Ohri. She has also started Silicon Valley Awards, which honor and recognize people and organizations in the following categories: Entrepreneurship, Science and Technology, Non-Profit Organizations, Media and Films (Short Films) & Entertainment, and Writers/Book Authors.

The difference between becoming a facility manager and considering becoming a facility manager is accepting the challenge and passion for new knowledge. Facility management offers a wide variety of opportunities to quench your thirst for knowledge and innovation. Each day brings new prospects of change in the workplace and moments to improve employee and customer satisfaction.

Sheetal Ohri, Director of Facilities and Remodel at Yadav Enterprises, Inc., has spent the last seven years exploring the workspace of a facility manager. She is challenged daily, whether she's talking with building owners, managing remodeling efforts, or ensuring that her staff complies with new COVID-19 policies.

Sheetal Ohri, Director of Facilities and Remodel at Yadav Enterprises, Inc., shares these details and more in today's episode of Watching Paint Dry with Greg Owens. They discuss how COVID concerns have affected the restaurant industry, new technologies that are helping their teams stay connected and up to date, and the refreshing challenge of facility management. Sheetal also recalls her journey from working as a real estate agent to a career in facility and building management—and how you can do it, too.

Stormy Friday is the President of The Friday Group, an internationally recognized women-owned facilities management consulting firm. Stormy is also a consultant, trainer, and speaker in organization development, marketing, and customer service. She has lectured at local and international facilities management conferences in over 30 countries.

As most workspace facilities have been sparsely occupied since COVID-19 hit, the future seems bleak for many facilities managers. But, maybe there's light shining through. Stormy Friday says different types of opportunities are available for facilities management professionals—if they know where to look.

Learn more about Stormy Friday, President of The Friday Group, in today's Watching Paint Dry podcast. They discuss Stormy's long journey in the facilities management industries, the challenges COVID-19 has presented, and the opportunities opening up for facilities management professionals despite the pandemic.

Stan Mitchell is Founder and CEO of Key Facilities Management International, the longest established facilities management business in the UK. With a global reach, the company is now operating across Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

Stan has over 35 years of experience and is considered a pioneer in the establishment of facilities management as a profession. He chairs the British Institute of Facilities Management and the British Standards Institution Facilities Management Committee.

With businesses worldwide reopening or planning to reopen since the COVID-19 lockdown, the role of the facilities manager has become increasingly critical. In this new world, they face fresh challenges: how do they give people the confidence to come back into the workplace? How do they demonstrate professionalism and thoroughness in keeping facilities safe?

Now that the facilities manager's role is more than routine maintenance and cleaning activity, what other ways can they help keep workspaces safe?

Listen to this episode of Watching Paint Dry podcast with Greg Owens as he interviews Stan Mitchell of Key Facilities Management International. They spoke about what a facility manager's role looks like today, how it is changing, what to expect, and more.

Leigh Stringer is the Managing Principal of the EYP Washington, DC office, an architecture, engineering, and building technology firm. Leigh uses her sustainability and architecture expertise to help her clients think differently about the workplace and the environment. She has written two best-selling books, The Healthy Workplace and The Green Workplace, and has been interviewed for her work by CNN, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, and Good Morning America. Leigh is also the Founder of WomanUp, an organization that leverages women's power to create progressive steps for women running for office.

How do you sustain a healthy office culture through Zoom calls, virtual happy hours, and game nights? Our understanding of what makes companies successful happens in the workplace, but what if that was no longer an option? What would you do? Leigh Stringer is a two-time best-selling author and architect with a unique focus on what happens in the office and how to maintain a healthy and sustainable workplace.

In this week's episode of Watching Paint Dry, Greg Owens interviews Leigh Stringer, Managing Principal at EYP, DC Office, to discuss the unique blend between creating a sustainable workplace and improving office culture. Leigh recalls the burnout and subsequent sabbatical that taught her about healthy workplace culture. She also discusses her role in WomanUp and the future of technology and human interaction.

Lorri Rowlandson is the Senior Vice President of Strategy and Innovation at BGIS, a global leader in facility management, project delivery, energy and sustainability, asset management, workplace advisory, and real estate services. She is a keynote speaker and industry thought leader, with over 28,000 followers on various social media platforms.

Lorri has a passion for mentoring and personal development, especially when it comes to women in the outsourcing and expense management solutions industry. She has a free resource library, www.lorrirowlandson.com, and is also the host of the Leading Innovation at Work podcast.

Almost everyone in the world has had to pivot the way they do business as a result of the continuing COVID-19 health crisis. Business owners are now trying to see how they can make use of their space efficiently without sacrificing safety. They're also starting to ask the question: are physical offices still necessary today?

It may seem like it's the end of the line for those in the facilities management but according to Lorri Rowlandson, now is actually an exciting time for the industry. Why? Because facilities management is in the cusp of making breakthroughs with innovation and strategic solutions that will not only affect the present but will set the precedent for how offices and buildings will be designed in the future.

Join Greg Owens as he talks with Lorri Rowlandson, Senior Vice President for Strategy and Innovation at BGIS in this week's episode of the Watching Paint Dry podcast. Tune in as they discuss why Lorri is passionate about mentorship, how BGIS helps companies and organizations innovate their facilities through the use of data, the topics she tackles in her latest book, and why it's an exciting time to be in the facilities management industry.