Free UK FM Market Summary Report
Gain the edge in the UK Facility Management industry with our concise report. Arm yourself with cutting-edge market insights and data-driven forecasts.
Master the UK FM Market with a single click.
Baachu Talk FM Podcast
A Podcast For Facilities & Workplace Service Professionals
Episode 1: Anne Lennox-Martin
Baachu Talk FM is a new show produced by Baachu Rain and hosted by Baskar Sundaram where top FM leaders discuss their work journeys to success. My podcast brings fascinating conversations with some of the most experienced insightful facilities services people in the world straight to listeners all over the world!
Join me, Baskar Sundaram on Baachu Talk FM as I explore the world of Facilities and Workplace services thru human stories.
You have the potential for even greater impact and a more satisfying legacy. Listen Now
Today's Guest is Anne Lennox-Martin
Anne has been part of the facilities management story since the early 1980s. In her long career, which started in the late 1960s as a live-in cleaner, she has worked both client and supply side, in both private and public sectors and has managed a diverse range of facilities including laboratories, hospitals, universities, offices, leisure sites, manufacturing plant, retail and media facilities.
In 2007, Lennox-Martin was voted one of the most influential women in FM according to FM World and in 2013 she was presented with the Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management award for Profound Impact on the FM Industry. She was one of the original seven students to obtain a Masters Degree in Facilities and Environmental Management at University College London in 1994 and the first Fellow of the BIFM to be awarded their professional qualification in 2002. She was a founder member of Women in FM in 2005 and remains active in supporting various BIFM groups.
In 2007 she was selected as one of the 20 most influential women in FM in the UK by the magazine, FM World. She was a founder member of WIFM. In 2013 she was awarded the Profound Impact on the FM Industry Award by the BIFM and in 2014 was given Fellowship status of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. She co-authored the BIFM Good Practice Guide to Customer Service in 2010.
Anne published her autobiography “Self-Made Woman” to celebrate her transition into retirement. Self-Made Woman covers her early years, including her pioneering work with the National Council for the Unmarried Mother and Her Child, now known as Gingerbread, and her move into the then fledgling FM sector. It talks about how she developed her career in FM and how the sector differs from today.
In 2007, Lennox-Martin was voted one of the most influential women in FM according to FM World and in 2013 she was presented with the Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management award for Profound Impact on the FM Industry. She was one of the original seven students to obtain a Masters Degree in Facilities and Environmental Management at University College London in 1994 and the first Fellow of the BIFM to be awarded their professional qualification in 2002. She was a founder member of Women in FM in 2005 and remains active in supporting various BIFM groups.
In 2007 she was selected as one of the 20 most influential women in FM in the UK by the magazine, FM World. She was a founder member of WIFM. In 2013 she was awarded the Profound Impact on the FM Industry Award by the BIFM and in 2014 was given Fellowship status of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. She co-authored the BIFM Good Practice Guide to Customer Service in 2010.
Anne published her autobiography “Self-Made Woman” to celebrate her transition into retirement. Self-Made Woman covers her early years, including her pioneering work with the National Council for the Unmarried Mother and Her Child, now known as Gingerbread, and her move into the then fledgling FM sector. It talks about how she developed her career in FM and how the sector differs from today.
“If you like the weak, don’t come round and see me, Cause I am not who you seek, I am a self-made woman.”
In this episode, we will discuss Anne’s,
- Life in a strict and rough household in a post-world war world.
- Hunger for a better life at fourteen.
- Moments of self-realization and teenage years.
- Separation from parents and experience the Scientology cult
- Life in London as a single mother and as a live-in cleaner.
- Involvement with politics in the 70s.
- Incredible entry into Management with the daughters by her side.
- Break down during mid-career and rise back to power.
- Experience at the beginning of Facilities Management
- Education and first job in the FM followed by many others in large and diverse companies.
- One year sabbatical with a wonderful wedding
- Consultancy and creation of a new company.
- Association with AFM, IFM, BIFM and role as a founding member of WIFM.
- Experience while taking her Masters in the then brand-new FM course.
- Perfect moments of winning the awards.
- Life during the pandemic.
- People influential in her career.
- Inspiring autobiography ‘Self-Made Woman’.
Few random questions
- If you could visit any place in the world now, where would you go and why?
- If you could be invisible for a day, what would you do?
- What do you get every time you go grocery shopping?
- Who haven’t you seen or talked to and hope that they are doing okay?
- If we make your life history as a movie, what do you think should be the name of your movie and who do you think should play the lead role?
- If you are only allowed to eat three foods for the rest of your lives, which three foods will you pick?
- Is there anything else that you got inspired by in these two years of pandemic?
- What pop group do you love?
Key Nuggets
- We made an album in 2005 with my band. It was the last musical work I did. I have also worked in television as a singer.
- In those early days, people weren’t asking for experience but wanted people who understood exam. It’s not easy now as on the early days.
- The thing that I regret the most is when I have this drive to succeed, I could be a bit harsh with people. If I had to do that again, I’d do it differently.
- Buddhism is quite close to my spirit.
- The aspect of working as a live-in cleaner was soul destroying. Because I knew I was better than that.
- “If you like the weak, don’t come round and see me/ coz I am not who you seek/ I am a self-made woman.”
- We weren’t allowed to have friends around the house. I was pretty much a lonely person and
- My boss told me that he had never met someone in his life before who could shut him up. So, he gave me the job.
- I relaxed. It was like a pendulum effect. I have been keeping all this trauma away from me. When I relaxed, it came and hit me full-on.
- In 2014, I was thrilled to be given an Eminence Fellowship of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors.
- We had no training and had no books about FM for a course. We literally made it as we went along because we were so passion about it.
- I wanted to show the people who had stood by me all my life the happy ending.
- It was a perfect and an unforgettable moment when I sat on the table with all my favourite people around me as they announced my name as the winner.
- If you don’t love yourself, you can’t love anyone else.
- Link to purchase Anne’s book – Self Made Women
Contact Anne Lennox-Martin
Rain Memberships bring together UK FM Industry leaders, Specialised FM Companies, Prop Tech startups, Facilities Buyers and successful entrepreneurs. Our memberships starting from as little as £99/month is the most disruptive and trusted data driven ecosystem in UK. Break away from the pack!
Responses