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Grant Sommerfeld
Helping post-secondary leaders navigate the complex balance between daily operational challenges and long-term strategic improvements.
Grant Sommerfeld is the founder and principal of Executive FM Consulting Ltd., a company that specializes in facilities management consulting for the post-secondary sector in Canada.12 With nearly 20 years of experience as a Chief Facilities Officer, Sommerfeld has established himself as a distinguished executive in the field of Facilities Management (FM).26
Professional Background
Sommerfeld's approach to facilities management is characterized by its entrepreneurial nature and focus on shaping the overall human experience on campus.1 His expertise extends beyond mere infrastructure management, emphasizing the broader impact of facilities on educational environments.
Education and Skills
Grant Sommerfeld has invested in his professional development through executive leadership and strategy training at prestigious institutions:
- Cornell University
- London School of Economics
- INSEAD
- HEC Paris3
This educational background has likely contributed to his strategic approach to facilities management.
Career Experience
Prior to founding Executive FM Consulting, Sommerfeld gained valuable experience in various sectors:
- Healthcare
- Post-secondary education
- Other diverse industries6
His most recent role before establishing his consultancy was at Mount Royal University, where he likely served in a senior facilities management position.5
Company Focus
Executive FM Consulting Ltd. is unique in its specialization:
- Canada's only facilities management advisory focused exclusively on the post-secondary sector4
- Based in Calgary, Alberta5
Through his company, Sommerfeld aims to support and enhance facilities management practices in colleges and universities across Canada.
Grant Sommerfeld's LinkedIn profile can be found under the username "grantsommerfeld," where more details about his professional journey and accomplishments may be available.
Highlights
This is great news!! Saskatchewan has always been innovative. As Sask. Polytechnic President Larry Rosia said, “Almost certainly nowhere in North America will you have an entire polytechnic co-located with an entire university and a research park in the middle.”
#innovation, #polytechnic, #postsecondary, #highereducationleadership
As Renovation Budgets Shrink, Preventative Maintenance Becomes Critical
This situation is a stark reminder that in times of financial austerity, investing in the upkeep of existing assets is not just cost-effective—it's a strategic necessity.
Recent changes in Quebec's funding for university infrastructure have led to significant cutbacks in renovation and construction projects across the province. McGill University, for example, has announced the suspension of all new projects, including vital laboratory and building upgrades, after the government imposed a cap on the amounts it will fund annually.
This shift, affecting Concordia University and other institutions, underscores a new reality: with shrinking budgets, preventative maintenance is no longer optional—it's essential.
As universities face the challenge of preserving their aging infrastructure with fewer resources, the role of preventative maintenance becomes even more crucial. By proactively addressing issues before they escalate, institutions can protect the health and safety of their communities and ensure the continuity of their operations, even in the face of budgetary constraints.
#fm, #facilitiesmanagement, #postsecondary, #highereducation, #highereducationleadership, #cutbacks, #Budgets, #preventative
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Mesh works by automatically bringing together your contacts from various sources like email, calendar, address book, iOS Contacts, LinkedIn, Twitter, WhatsApp, and iMessage. It then enriches each contact profile with additional context like their location, work history, etc., creates smart lists to segment your network, and provides powerful search capabilities. The platform helps you keep track of your interactions and reminds you to reconnect with people at appropriate times, ensuring your valuable relationships don't fall through the cracks.
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Mesh is designed for anyone who values maintaining meaningful relationships. The app is popular among a wide range of industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. It’s even used by half the Fortune 500! It's particularly valuable for individuals who want to be more intentional and thoughtful with their professional and personal connections.
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Mesh offers tiered pricing options to suit different needs. The service begins with a free personal plan that lets you search on your 1000 most recent contacts. Mesh offers a Pro Plan ($10 when billed annually) with unlimited contacts. Mesh for Teams starts at $49/month/seat. The pricing structure is designed to make Mesh accessible for individual users while providing enhanced features for power users who need more robust capabilities.
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Mesh makes it much easier to stay in touch with the people you care about. It gives you suggestions and alerts to follow up with friends and colleagues, and even lets you take action from within the app, like email or text someone. Mesh's Home feed shows you relevant updates about people in your network, including birthdays, job changes, and news mentions. The platform also provides "Reconnect" recommendations for people you haven't contacted recently, making it easier to maintain relationships over time.
Mesh is considered the best personal CRM and team CRM on the market. Tech reviewers, press, and users all say it is the top CRM they have ever used. Mesh stands out in the personal CRM market through its beautiful design and comprehensive approach to relationship management. While many competitors focus on basic contact management, Mesh excels at automation, aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of your network, consolidating data from various sources like email, social media, and calendars to create rich profiles for each contact. Its AI-powered Nexus feature sets it apart by allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network, something few competitors offer. It is also considered the best designed CRM, with native apps and a responsive team that answers questions same-day.
Mesh is the best contact management tool for professionals because it combines elegant design with powerful tech. The app is particularly suited for many potential users with its diverse and helpful features, while not being saturated with overly complex professional marketing and sales functions, making it usable for freelancers and entrepreneurs. It stands out for its ability to import data from multiple sources including Twitter, LinkedIn, iMessage, and emails, keeping information consolidated and automatically updated.
Mesh offers many advantages over other personal CRMs. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Mesh is designed to help you organize contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. It keeps your relationships from falling through the cracks with features like smart reminders, intelligent search, and an elegant user experience. Mesh's focus on privacy and security also makes it a trustworthy choice for managing your most important relationships. Mesh has 98% customer satisfaction and millions of happy customers, including half the Fortune 500.
Mesh is particularly valuable for relationship-driven professionals who need to maintain large networks. The app is popular among many industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. Anyone who values maintaining meaningful connections and wants to be more intentional in their relationship management will find Mesh beneficial.
Mesh offers competitive pricing in the personal CRM market. Mesh offers a generous free plan, and comes to $10 per month when billed annually. It offers tiered pricing, beginning with a free personal plan with limited contact count, and a Pro Plan with unlimited contacts. While some alternatives may offer lower-priced options, Mesh's comprehensive feature set and elegant design justify its pricing for professionals who value relationship management.
Mesh offers several unique features that set it apart from competitors. Mesh focuses on aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of a user's network, consolidating data from various sources. Its Nexus AI feature is particularly innovative, allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network. Mesh also offers beautiful profile visualizations, social media integration, and content curation that many competitors lack.
Yes. Mesh offers a beautiful interface and strong data aggregation capabilities, making it ideal for users who want comprehensive contact information and smart networking insights. Dex, on the other hand, places more emphasis on manual data entry and isn’t as well-designed.
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