The International Facility Management Association (IFMA) has announced its 2016-17 board of directors and member-elected executive committee members. Effective July 1, new chair Maureen Ehrenberg (Chicago, Illinois), first vice chair William M. O’Neill (Saint Paul, Minnesota) and second vice chair Graham John Tier (Hong Kong, China) all started their one-year terms.

IFMA also announced the appointment of six new board members that possess a wide variety of experience on an international scale. They are: Peter Ankerstjerne (Søborg, Denmark), Keith A. Dias (Bangalore, India), Laurie A. Gilmer (Santa Rosa, California), Gordon Hicks (Markham, Ontario), Louise Panneton (Ottawa, Ontario) and Darrell D. Smith (Mountain View, California). These new board members will serve two-year terms with the exception of Panneton and Smith, who will both be serving abbreviated one-year terms.

Current board members Diane Coles-Levine (Long Beach, California) and Wayne Harvey (San Diego, California) are commencing their second year on the board of directors, while Lynn Baez (Plano, Texas) chose to extend her term to serve for a third year.

“The global facility management (FM) industry is at a critical juncture of its maturation. Integrated FM professionals are being recognized as key to the future of the new workplace, driving business productivity and employee experience,” said Ehrenberg, in a press release. “Our new global board represents the diverse skills and experience that will continue to drive our vision to enable our members by providing access to world-class training and education, globally recognized credentials, career opportunities and networking. Our vision for the future of a strategic FM is bold and exciting, and IFMA is establishing its role in advancing our profession on a regional and global basis for our members and partners.”

Following the announcement of its new board, IFMA also thanked outgoing board members for their dedication and service to the FM community.