2009-2010 Board of Directors Biographies

Ex-Officio
Tony Keane, CAE
President and Chief Executive Officer
International Facility Management Association

Tony Keane, CAE, is president and CEO of the Houston-based International Facility Management Association. A certified association executive with significant experience in the nonprofit sector, Keane served for over four years as executive director of NACE International, the professional association for corrosion engineers, also headquartered in Houston. At NACE, Keane led strategic initiatives to grow the organization from US$10.9 million to US$22 million in revenue, expanded membership from 15,000 to 21,500 and greatly increased the association’s international presence.

Prior to NACE, Keane served as chief operating officer of the Optical Society of America in Washington, D.C. Before that, Keane served as interim executive director and deputy executive director of the Construction Specifications Institute, also located in Alexandria, Va.

Keane’s past positions have provided him with a broad range of experience, from accounting to business management. In addition to NACE, OSA and CSI, he has served at the Institute of Industrial Engineers, The Software Factory, Trade Management, Keane Financial Services, NCR Corporation and Arthur Andersen & Co. He graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Cincinnati with a business degree in accounting and management.

He is a member of the American Society of Association Executives and on the board of directors for the Council of Engineering and Scientific Society Executives.

Chair
Thomas L. Mitchell Jr., CFM, CFMJ
Booz | Allen | Hamilton 
Director of Facilities Management Consulting

Thomas L. Mitchell Jr., CFM, CFMJ, directs facilities management consultation services from Booz | Allen | Hamilton’s San Antonio office. Prior to becoming chair of IFMA’s executive committee of the board of directors, he served the association as the committee’s first and second vice chair.

Mitchell is responsible for working with clients, managers and staff across the firm to develop vision, strategy and solutions that shape, improve and optimize built environment performance. He previously served 20 years as a U.S. Air Force civil engineering officer responsible for leading and managing programs directing the development, acquisition and sustainment of facilities at military installations throughout the U.S., Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Mitchell was honored with Florida A&M University’s 2007 Distinguished Alumni Award in recognition of his notable military and community service.

Mitchell has been a member of IFMA since 1998. He earned his Certified Facility Manager^® designation in 2000 and is serving his fourth term on the board of directors. He has been active at the IFMA chapter, council and committee levels, particularly in those activities that foster scholarship and professional development. Mitchell also serves as a director on the Society of American Military Engineers’ 2008-2010 national board of direction and will continue to enhance IFMA’s ties with the military and the public sector.

Mitchell holds a Bachelor of Science in architectural studies; a master’s-level certificate in facility management; a Master of Arts in management; a Master of Military Operational Arts and Science; and post-graduate course work toward a doctorate of management. Mitchell has served as a graduate-level facility management instructor, conducted IFMA webinar courses and is a frequently requested presenter on leadership, emergency management and facility management topics at industry events at the local, national and international levels.

First Vice Chair
Francis J. Kuhn, CFM, CFMJ
Vice President of Facilities and Administration
Western Corporate Federal Credit Union

Francis J. Kuhn, CFM, CFMJ, has been a practicing facility manager for more than 30 years in a variety of industries, managing more than 2,200,000 square feet of commercial and residential property. He is currently responsible for managing WesCorp’s facilities and administration department at WesCorp’s corporate headquarters in San Dimas, Calif. 

Kuhn earned his Certified Facility Manager^® designation from IFMA in 1996. He is a past president of the Los Angeles Chapter of IFMA and has served as vice president, secretary, and chapter historian. In 2002 and 2006, he was named the Los Angeles Chapter’s professional member of the year. Kuhn has also been a member of the board of trustees of the IFMA Foundation, including serving as secretary, treasurer, first vice chair and chair. He has been an active member of various chapter and association committees, including education programming, emerging leaders, board governance, audit and finance.

Prior to joining WesCorp, Kuhn served as director of facilities for Angeles Corporation and director of facilities and administration for New World Entertainment.  He is a 10-year past president of the San Dimas Corporate Park Property Owners Association.

Kuhn earned his bachelor’s degree in 1977 from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Second Vice Chair
Kathy O. Roper, CFM, CFMJ, LEED AP, IFMA Fellow
Associate Professor, Building Construction Program
Georgia Institute of Technology

Kathy O. Roper, CFM, CFMJ, LEED AP, IFMA Fellow is an associate professor in the Building Construction Program at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

With more than 20 years in practice, Roper has a broad range of experience in the multi-faceted specialties of facility management and corporate real estate. She has worked for Sprint Communications, Financial Service Corporation, the U.S. General Services Administration and the American Cancer Society — providing her with experiences in corporate, government and non-profit business environments. Roper incorporates her experience and knowledge into her teaching and research at the Georgia Institute of Technology’s integrated facility and property management graduate program.

Roper is a prolific author and contributor to various industry publications and journals, including more than a dozen scholarly publications. Her interest in sustainability led to her LEED Accredited Professional designation and nomination to the U.S. Green Building Council’s formal education committee.

Roper is also a Certified Facility Manager^®, an active member of IFMA and an IFMA Fellow. She was awarded the 2005 IFMA Distinguished Educator Award of Excellence and the IFMA Distinguished Author Award of Excellence in 2007.

Board of Directors

William T. Conley, CFM, CFMJ, LEED AP, IFMA Fellow
Facility Management/Sustainability Consultant
CFM2

William T. Conley has more than 35 years of experience in the facility management profession and has been a proponent of sustainable operations for more than 17 years. He received his Certified Facility Manager^® designation from IFMA in 1992 and achieved LEED^® professional accreditation through the U.S. Green Building Council in 2002.

In addition to his induction as an IFMA Fellow, Conley is a recipient of IFMA’s distinguished member of the year award and has twice received the association’s distinguished author award. He is a past president of the Orange County Chapter of IFMA and is also past president of the association’s FM Consultants Council. Additionally, Conley helped develop the Orange County Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council.

José García Cuartero, MIM
Managing Director
Grupo Cador

José García Cuartero, MIM, has nearly 20 years of experience at Grupo Cador, a Spanish facility management consultancy and services group. He was also co-founder and first chairman of the Sociedad Española de Facilities Management from 1998 to 2003. Cuartero has held board positions at EuroFM from 2003-2007, and was chairman of the association in 2006-2007. In addition, he has taught facility management curriculum at a number of educational institutions in Spain.

Cuartero holds a Bachelor of Arts in economics from Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa, and a Master’s in International Management from the Thunderbird School of Global Management in Glendale, Ariz.

Howard K. Fisher, CFM, CFMJ
Senior Manager of Facilities Services
SAS

Howard K. “Buck” Fisher is the senior manager of facilities services for the corporate headquarters of SAS — the largest privately held software development company in the world. In this capacity, Fisher is responsible for managing the operations and maintenance activities required to support 5,000 employees in nearly 2 million square feet of facility space located on a 300-acre campus in Cary, N.C.

Fisher has nearly 30 years of experience in the facilities arena, having previously held positions as construction project manager, director of physical plant and operations, and director of construction management in the public and private sectors. Fisher also served more than 20 years in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

A strong supporter of IFMA, Fisher has been a member since 1996 and earned the Certified Facility Manager^® designation in 1999. He is an active member of the Greater Triangle Chapter and has served in numerous leadership positions, including chapter president. He was recognized as the professional member of the year in 2002. Fisher has been a member of the Corporate Facilities Council since 1998 and is currently president of the council. He has also served as a regional liaison for the IFMA Foundation and as a member of the Foundation Scholarship Selection Committee. Additionally, Fisher was selected as a judge for the IFMA Awards of Excellence and has served as a member of the World Workplace Education Committee.
  
Fisher earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Pennsylvania State University and a master’s from the University of Alabama.

Marc S. Liciardello, CFM, MBA, CM
Vice President of Corporate Services
ARAMARK

Marc S. Liciardello, CFM, MBA, CM, has more than 25 years of experience in the facility management profession and has had responsibility for internal and outsourced facility management services in both the public and private sectors. He also has extensive experience in public and private sector profit and loss management, technology development and management, operational process reengineering and business process improvement.

Liciardello earned his Certified Facility Manager^® certification in 2002 and is a published author. He has given numerous presentations on integrated and intelligent building systems at institutions such as Bell Laboratories. Liciardello has been an active member of the Philadelphia Chapter of IFMA since 1997 and is currently serving as their immediate past president. He is also serving on the IFMA Foundation committee on academic affairs and represented IFMA as a speaker on credentialing at the 2007 Society of American Military Engineers’ annual conference.

Helena Ohlsson, CFM, MScA DIPL FM
Global Facility Manager
IKEA Services AB

Helena Ohlsson, CFM, MScA DIPL FM, is the global facility manager at IKEA in Sweden. She is responsible for the strategic development, alignment and implementation of the best facility management practices globally for IKEA.

Ohlsson is a trained architect with more than 12 years of experience in architecture and facility management. She has been involved with some of the most prestigious accounts in the portfolio of Skanska and Johnson Controls Inc., working with companies such as BP, Cisco, BBC and Ericsson. Using her background in architecture and facility management, Ohlsson worked on the creation of a European strategy for the Johnson Controls Inc. consulting team.

Ohlsson is a Certified Facility Manager^® and a member of IFMA, EuroFM and NordicFM. She has served as a board member of the Swedish Chapter of IFMA since 1999 and was president from 2002-2005. Ohlsson is also a board member for EuroFM as chair of the Practice Network Group representing 35 national associations and corporate associates in 17 countries.

Paul A. Ratkovic, CFM, FMP
Consultant
Agile OAK, LLC

Paul A. Ratkovic, CFM, FMP, is a consultant for Agile OAK, LLC in Philadelphia, Pa.

With more than six years of experience in the facility management industry, Ratkovic is responsible for supporting client engagements at Agile OAK, LLC in several key areas including operational assessments and benchmarking, market research, contract management and strategic sourcing.

Ratkovic was the youngest professional to receive the certification of Certified Facility Manager^® in 2005, and he was the first recipient of the Facility Management Professional designation. Ratkovic has been an IFMA member for six years in the Oregon and Southwest Washington Chapter of IFMA and has served on three of IFMA’s international committees.

William A. Rodgers Jr.
President and CEO
GoodCents

William A. Rodgers Jr. is president and CEO of GoodCents, a company that provides demand response and energy efficiency programs for investor-owned municipal and cooperative utilities across North America.

Rodgers is known to many as the former president and CEO of EMCOR Facilities Services, where he championed a variety of efforts promoting IFMA’s educational programs and the World Workplace Conference & Expo, the largest educational, networking and buying event for the facility management profession.

With nearly 30 years of experience, Rodgers possesses a strong and significant senior executive management background and broad experience in acquisition and start-up activities.

Rodney M. Stevens, CFM, AIA, LEED AP, IFMA Fellow
Architect/Facility Information Manager
Pioneer Hi-Bred, a DuPont Business

Rodney M. Stevens is an architect/facility information manager for Pioneer Hi-Bred, a DuPont Business. Pioneer is the world's leading developer and supplier of advanced plant genetics to farmers worldwide. Headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa, Pioneer occupies more than 12 million square feet of facilities in 49 countries around the world. Prior to his current position, Stevens spent more than 20 years designing and managing a variety of project types, both domestically and internationally. He was involved in the selection and implementation of Pioneer’s CAFM system in 1995 and continues to provide design, code compliance, accessibility, project management and sustainability consulting for the company. 

Stevens joined IFMA in 1987 and helped organize the Central Iowa Chapter in 1988, serving two terms as its first president and filling a variety of local chapter leadership roles. He was appointed north central regional vice president in 1990 and served one term in that capacity and as a member of IFMA’s board of directors. Stevens has actively participated in a variety of IFMA committees and task forces, becoming a Certified Facility Manager^® in 1996 and an IFMA Fellow in 2002.

Stevens has also been an active member of the American Institute of Architects since 1974. He has served locally in a variety of positions, including two terms on the board of directors.

A graduate of Iowa State University, Stevens is a registered architect, and has been a LEED^® Accredited Professional since 2006.  

Past Chair

John McGee, MBA
Chief Operating Officer
Ice Energy

An accomplished senior executive with broad general management and operational experience in the commercial, energy and industrial sectors, John McGee joined Ice Energy in 2009 and is currently the company’s COO.

McGee oversees Ice Energy’s commercial operations and the deployment of its energy storage and smart grid technologies. He is responsible for the marketing, manufacturing, delivery and deployment of Ice Energy's solution to utilities, as well as developing and overseeing its strategic partnerships with OEMs, suppliers and mechanical contractors.

McGee previously served as COO at Union Switch & Signal in Pittsburgh, Pa., where he was responsible for managing enterprise-wide operations and business processes, including product marketing, research and development, application engineering and project delivery. He has also served as the chair, first vice chair and second vice chair of the executive committee of IFMA’s board of directors.