The International Facility Management Association (IFMA) recently bestowed its highest annual honour on three industry professionals. This year’s 2025 IFMA Fellows are Laurie Gilmer, Benjamin Goudy and Frank Ngoh, who will serve as advisors and ambassadors for the FM industry.
The trio will be inducted at the opening session of IFMA’s World Workplace Conference and Expo, Sept. 17 in Minneapolis,
“Laurie, Ben and Frank are passionate, selfless and inspiring leaders within the built environment,” said IFMA’s Global Board of Directors Chair Christa Dodoo, “They have individually demonstrated a dedication to the FM profession that will shape the future of the industry for generations to come. These three outstanding professionals embody IFMA’s mission to advance our collective knowledge, value and growth for FM professionals to perform at the highest level.”
In addition to excelling in their professional careers, the honourees serve in several capacities to advance the FM industry and support and promote IFMA programs and initiatives.
As chair of IFMA’s 2022-2023 Global Board of Directors, Gilmer focused her energy on making and encouraging post-pandemic human connections and reigniting participation throughout the association, which resulted in record membership numbers. She has served as a member of the International Credentials Committee, chair of the Sustainability Facility Professional Credential Scheme Committee, a member of the Environmental Stewardship & Sustainability Advisory Group, chair of IFMA’s Education Committee, and chair of IFMA’s Knowledge Strategy Committee.
With almost 40 years of experience, Goudy has worked in diverse industries and cultures, with FM responsibilities for Fortune 50 technology and life sciences companies. He created a scalable ISO-based facility service program for Meta, Google, AWS data centres; co-wrote Microsoft’s initial Facilities Sustainability Program, setting the company’s 2030 carbon reduction goals; received the Intel Environmental Excellence Award for leadership of global recycling by eliminating 33,000 tons from landfill; and received the 2012 ISS CEO Award for saving US$7 million in one year for HP facilities via detailed benchmarking by space.
As a sustainability leader, Ngoh helped transform of a brownfield site into Singapore’s first eco-town. He introduced Singapore’s first vertical farm and black soldier fly farm, and set up an ecosystem of government agencies, utilities companies and educational institutes to allow easy access by residents, all of which are a model for true sustainable urban development and community engagement. As chair of the Singapore International Facility Management Association Accreditation Board, he leads a team of industry leaders to assess the competency of companies in providing FM services. As president of IFMA’s Singapore Chapter, Ngoh has reached out to neighbouring countries to lay the groundwork for future chapters.
IFMA’s Fellows Program was established in 1992. Only 0.5 percent of the IFMA membership may hold the title. As of this year, only 140 individuals have been IFMA Fellows.
Each year, the nominating committee identifies qualified individuals and assists those who nominate members for consideration. Nominations are submitted to a jury of fellows.
