30% of every purchase in 2026 is donated to The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity.

Baachu Talk FM Podcast

A Podcast For Facilities & Workplace Service Professionals

Episode 6: Roy Murphy

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 Rory Murphy

Rory is the Commercial Director for VINCI Facilities, the £425m Facilities business of VINCI Construction UK, who deliver Facilities Management and Building Solutions work to a range of Public and Private sector clients throughout the UK.

Rory has responsibility for the commercial and financial performance of VINCI Facilities along with leading the supply chain strategy for the business.

A strong advocate for Sustainability and the importance of ESG Rory is always keen to promote the strategic importance and relevance of Facilities Management within the built environment and has been key in the development of VINCI Facilities responsible business activities and community support.

Having started his career in 1987 as a trainee Quantity Surveyor with Taylor Woodrow Construction, Rory progressed his career over the next 20 years across various roles and projects to ultimately become the Commercial Director responsible for all complex residential work within the UK.

In 2008, following the acquisition of Taylor Woodrow Construction by VINCI Construction UK, Rory was appointed as the Commercial Director for the newly formed VINCI Facilities brand, a role he has held ever since.

A Fellow of the RICS, Rory is a keen supporter of the Institution and has helped develop a number of guidance notes and case studies within the RICS. Rory has chaired various FM events throughout the years including the 2020 Virtual RICS FM conference and World Workplace in Barcelona in conjunction with IFMA in 2018.

Rory was a former member of the RICS World Regional Board for the UK & Ireland and is also the chair of the FM Professional Group. Rory recently chaired the development of RICS guidance on responsible business practice within the real estate sector and is also assisting in the continued development of competencies and routes to chartership for FM professionals.

Rory is now chair of the Member Engagement, Experience and Value working group within the RICS and is helping assist the institution recover from the damage caused from the well-publicised governance issues from 2021.

In this episode, we will discuss Rory’s

Traditional working-class upbringing, Irish heritage and his loving and supporting childhood.
First job as a Trainee for a small Decoration company and the beginning of career in construction and FM.
Masters in Construction Management and became a member of RICS – helped shaped his career.
Most memorable and challenging projects in his career and the process of understanding the role of Construction Management.
Thoughts on parallels in Construction Industry and the importance of team effort.
Tracks on the evolution of the Construction industry and its transformation from the 1980s to the present time.
Life during the pandemic along with the messages and snippets of life during the period they created.
Experience since he joined RICS, FM in RICS and his contributions
Experience with IFMA and the collaborations.
Races and Triathlons, Football, adventures and Family.
Influences in his professional and private life.
Thoughts on the myths in the FM World that he wants to debunk.
Hopes and expectations of the future.

Few random questions

What’s the most courageous thing you have ever done so far?
What would be the hardest thing for you to give up?
What was your favourite game to play as a child?
Which super hero do you want to be and why?
If you could go back in history, which period would you choose?
If you could be an Olympic athlete, what sports would you try other than running and triathlon?
Do you have any favourite movies or pop group you love?
If Hollywood make your life history as a movie, who do you think should play the lead role?

Key Nuggets

Late 80s and early 90s were a very different time for the construction industry. Work hard and play hard was the popular belief then.
Every time I think of a project, I think of the people.
When you work in construction industry, you can’t help but always walk past a building you had some small part in.
I’m fascinated by people that are principled and will really stand up for what they believe in.
The more you are away from working on a project in terms of manging and supporting teams, then your success is based on how good your teams are. How you support, develop, nurture and manage the difficult times for them, that made me successful.
You make your own luck in anything.
You treat people the way you want to be treated. One of the advantages of me growing up from the ground upwards, I’m genuine and authentic with people. I’ve always operated with all sorts of people.
Listening to feedback, proper conversations to people, one-to-ones and nurturing people is really important.
FM is all about developing user experience, the value of real estate. It’s about how you increase the value of a building through the services you provide.
Government policies were changing on a daily basis and everybody was reacting to those changes during the pandemic.

Contact Rory Murphy

Responses

Recent Episodes

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!