Press Release
Date: 16 February 2012
ThinkFM session to uncover ‘Opportunities in hard
times’
Oliver Jones, Chief Executive of Chayora, will be inspiring budding entrepreneurs
amongst the facilities management community at ThinkFM on 18 June, as he
explores ‘Opportunities in Hard Times’. A session aptly taking place in the
‘Competitive Advantage: Driving Performance and Value’ hub.
There is no doubt that the UK economy is challenging, however some of the most
successful enterprises have been born in equally hard economic times. Jones will
examine which sectors and services are likely to thrive over the next few years, and
identify opportunities and highlight common mistakes.
“Tough times create valuable opportunities, as the political barriers raised in more
affluent times get swept aside. By focusing on business fundamentals: cash, value
and a deep understanding of your customers’ needs, new niches can be found and
significant ventures created.” observes Oliver Jones.
Jones is well equipped to deliver the session. He originally qualified as a chartered
surveyor but after completing his MBA at London Business School he specialised in
corporate finance, property and business services outsourcing. Oliver then founded
Symonds FM and Citex Group in the 1990s, The Asset Factor in 2005 and now
Chayora in 2011. As an active investor and entrepreneur, immediately prior to
Chayora, he was a partner and group board director of EC Harris up to its sale to
Arcadis in October 2011. His previous business ventures in the sector were each
grown rapidly and also sold to acquisitive competitors: Symonds sold to Vivendi in
1993; Citex sold to Carillion in 2002 at the same time as Citex Asia was acquired by
EC Harris; and NB Entrust within The Asset Factor group sold to NB Real Estate and
then Capita in 2009.
ThinkFM will take place on 18 June 2012 at The Royal College of Physicians in
London, with the theme ‘Ideas for Change: How great facilities management makes
the difference’. Alongside the ‘Competitive Advantage’ hub, there are hubs with
sessions focussing on ‘Workplace: Making Spaces Work’ and ‘People: Inspiring the
Team’, as well as a ‘ThinkFM Lab’.
Early-bird bookings, offering significant savings on the delegate fee, are available to
those booking on or before 23 March 2012. The conference is open to all FM
professional and members of BIFM, and Workplace Law receive further discounts.
Anyone wishing to find out more, or to book for ThinkFM, should go to
www.thinkfm.com, email conference@thinkfm.com or call 08701 632 804.
About ThinkFM
ThinkFM 2012 is brought to you by BIFM in association with Workplace Law, offering
the popular hub format allowing delegates to build their conference agenda based on
their professional development needs or interests.
With the theme ‘Ideas for Change: How great facilities management makes the
difference’, ThinkFM will take place on 18 June 2012 at The Royal College of
Physicians in London. Delegates will hear from industry leaders and thinkers and
discover working solutions from fellow FM professionals on topics as varied as
sustainability, Building Information Modelling (BIM), agile working, procurement,
employment law and social media.
ThinkFM will include a day of learning, debate, interaction and of course networking.
Delegates will take away new ideas to implement in their organisations to make a
difference.
For more information visit www.thinkfm.com, email conference@thinkfm.com or call
the conference enquiry line on 08701 632 804. Anyone wishing to register their
interst in the conference can do so at tps://www.surveymonkey.com/s/HNBFHB7
About Chayora
Chayora is an international infrastructure investor and developer with a primary focus
on Data Centre platforms in China.
Press contact
For more information or to discuss feature ideas or to arrange interviews, contact
Karen Weeks on 0845 058 1356 or email karen.weeks@bifm.org.uk.