3 May 2018 | Herpreet Kaur Grewal
Chartered surveyor Kath Fontana FRICS has been elected senior vice-president of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).
She will be the first chartered surveyor from the area of workplace and facilities strategy to lead the profession and will become RICS president in November 2020.
Fontana is the third woman in the past 10 years to be elected to the RICS presidential team.
Fontana is "a strong proponent of the Internet of Things and the opportunities a networked built environment can bring to businesses and people".
She has worked at a senior level across multiple sectors including banking, retail, professional services, defence, science, local and central government and PFI.
Fontana is managing director for ISS's Technical Services business, based in the UK. She joined ISS from BAM FM, where she was managing director of the company's FM business.
At ISS she is responsible for the UK technical services business and also leads service excellence for asset management engineering and capital projects in the UK and Ireland. She leads a team of more than 1,000 employees to deliver mobile engineering, energy management and compliance services across the UK.
Fontana said the industry is "on the cusp of a technological and social revolution which will fundamentally change our profession and usher in radical new business models" and that the changes would "ensure a better built environment but also a better life for those that live and work in it".
Fontana has more that 25 years' experience within the industry, having held a number of senior positions in estates and contract management spanning 20 years, managing complex programmes and service delivery. She has been involved in a number of integrations and acquisitions during her career, leading and developing teams through transformation to success.
Fontana takes up her new post in November, elevating to RICS president-elect in 2019, and finally RICS president in 2020.