Transcript
Rob Vaughan: Hello and welcome to another episode of the First Call Facility Focus Forum. I’m your host, Rob Vaughan, here with episode number four. As always, we are discussing things going on in the facility management world and a variety of industry topics.
Thus far, we’ve discussed safety protocols, HVAC, lighting and controls, and the important concept of integration. Today, I’m so happy to have a great guest — someone I’ve known for a long time — and our timing is perfect with ConnexFM coming up.
Joining me is Bill Yanek, CEO of ConnexFM. Bill, it’s great to have you.
Bill Yanek: Awesome. Thanks for the invitation, Rob. You’ve been on our Daily Grind podcast, so I’m glad to return the favor today and be on the receiving end of the questions. It should be fun.
Rob Vaughan: Absolutely. We won’t throw any major curveballs at you, and I appreciate you taking the time.
ConnexFM is coming up here, and I know you’re super excited. It’s a key time of year. Kicking things off, ConnexFM has been around for the better part of three decades now as an industry leader in the facilities world.
When I think about what makes ConnexFM great, I always come back to the experience you create for people. Talk a little bit about what you and your team do to make that happen.
Bill Yanek: Thanks for the question. I might be a little biased, but we love what we do here at ConnexFM.
We’re a 365-day-a-year trade association supporting multisite facility management. If you look at our biggest event, which is happening in just a few short weeks, it really has it all — huge networking opportunities like the opening reception and trade show floor, Quick Connect speed networking, and of course all the informal networking throughout the Gaylord property.
Then throughout the rest of the year, we host FM Live events, experiences, and bashes across the country. At the end of the day, it all comes down to connection.
We’re here to connect suppliers with facility managers from all different verticals. If we’re doing that successfully, then we’re succeeding in our mission.
Rob Vaughan: You’ve absolutely become an industry leader with it. This will actually be CLS Facility Services’ 29th year attending. We’ve been coming since day one, back when I think there were just a handful of companies, and now there are hundreds of booths and attendees. It’s really grown tremendously.
We’re excited to bring our First Call Group team this year for the first time, and I know they’re looking forward to it.
Let’s talk a little about the development of ConnexFM itself. You’ve been around for three decades, and I vividly remember the big name change back in 2019 — complete with the toast and celebration — when you transitioned from PRSM to ConnexFM.
Tell me a little bit about what that rebrand has meant for your team and the organization overall.
Bill Yanek: Well, as you mentioned, Rob, 30 years ago we were the Professional Retail Store Maintenance Association — PRSM. It started with a few traditional brick-and-mortar retailers who believed multisite facility management needed its own trade association.
Around 2017, we began the rebranding process and brought in an outside consultant. They looked at everything PRSM was doing and boiled our mission down to one thing: connecting facility managers with suppliers.
The reason we felt the name change was necessary is because facility management itself had evolved. Twenty or thirty years ago, the facility manager was usually the best maintenance fixer who eventually became the manager. Today, FM is a true career path and encompasses far more than maintenance alone.
The PRSM name no longer accurately reflected who we were or what we wanted to represent.
At the same time, FM was expanding beyond traditional retail. Retail is still the heart and soul of our membership, but we now also serve healthcare, financial services, food and beverage, technology, and other verticals.
So rather than focusing solely on retail store maintenance, we wanted a more inclusive identity centered around multisite facility management. That’s where ConnexFM came from — “Connex” representing connection, and “FM” keeping facility managers at the heart of everything we do.
Rob Vaughan: I’ll never forget hearing you introduce the phrase “change or fail” during that transition. You recognized that change was necessary, and I think that message has become even more relevant since then.
We’ve seen change impact every side of the facilities world — facility managers, vendors, field partners — everyone. You have to adapt and evolve constantly.
One of my favorite things at ConnexFM every year is the keynote speaker. You’ve had some incredible guests over the years: Magic Johnson, Lou Holtz, Daymond John, Kevin O’Leary, and now this year we’ll have legendary Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski.
You get to meet all these incredible people behind the scenes. Do you have any favorite memories or stories from working with them?
Bill Yanek: They’re all very different, but we’ve been extremely lucky because they’ve all been fantastic.
Kevin O’Leary — “Mr. Wonderful” — has a pretty intimidating persona on Shark Tank, but behind the scenes he was incredibly easy to work with. He took time to understand our industry and really impressed us.
Magic Johnson was amazing too. We brought him in as we were coming out of COVID because we wanted someone with tremendous energy and optimism. Before his session, we were backstage talking, and he started asking me about my kids’ soccer games. Here’s Magic Johnson making me feel like I’m the most important person in the world while I’m trying not to sweat because Magic Johnson is asking about my son’s soccer team.
Another favorite was Mike Rowe because he aligns so closely with our industry and the skilled trades. He was phenomenal — funny, insightful, and even performed a little opera for us.
And this year, Coach K is going to be fantastic. We actually share West Point as an alma mater, so I’m sure he’ll haze me a little backstage.
What makes these speakers special is that they don’t just bring celebrity status. They connect leadership lessons back to business. Coach K, for example, has talked about what it’s like coaching elite personalities like Kobe Bryant and LeBron James, and the challenges that come with leading world-class talent.
That perspective really resonates with our audience.
Rob Vaughan: They all have one thing in common — they’re tremendous leaders. Leaders of people, teams, and organizations.
That really ties into something we see throughout ConnexFM: strong leadership and professional growth.
You’ve spent years in the facility management world and have seen a tremendous amount of change. What are some of the biggest shifts you’ve witnessed, and what do you think lies ahead for the industry?
Bill Yanek: One of the biggest changes has been the increasing professionalism of facility management as a career.
There’s a joke that nobody grows up wanting to become a facility manager, but FM has never been more important in the built environment than it is today.
We’re also seeing convergence between FM, construction, loss prevention, and technology. Integration is becoming increasingly important, and technology is a massive part of that evolution.
At ConnexFM, we want to be a knowledge resource for both facility managers and suppliers. Take AI, for example — it’s everywhere right now. There’s a saying that AI may not take your job, but someone who knows how to use AI probably will.
We’re encouraging our members to embrace technology and the smart facility space because that’s absolutely the future of FM. If you treat technology as a tool to help you work smarter, you’ll be far ahead of the competition.
Rob Vaughan: It’s literally changing our world, and I think we’re all using it more every day. Thankfully, I haven’t had to Google “good podcast questions for FM guests” yet — but if I get stuck someday, now I know what to do.
You’ve also had such an interesting career path yourself. As CEO of a nonprofit association, you work with so many people and organizations. What are some of your favorite parts of the job?
Bill Yanek: Well, I’m actually a recovering attorney. I went to law school after the military, but I realized pretty early on that I didn’t want to spend my life chained to a desk.
I eventually got into association management, and what I love about ConnexFM is that I’m constantly out interacting with our members. I’m not just sitting in our headquarters in Irving, Texas all day.
Our members are incredibly engaged, from our board to our council and committee leaders. This isn’t some old-school, smoke-filled-room association. It’s energetic, collaborative, and people genuinely want to connect.
As long as our members continue connecting, the organization continues thriving.
This is actually my 10th year with ConnexFM. I joined in 2016 when it was still PRSM, and the FM world has changed dramatically since then — especially through COVID. But the future is incredibly bright for ConnexFM and for facility management as a whole.
Rob Vaughan: I can’t endorse that enough. CLS has been fortunate not only to network with amazing companies, but also with amazing individuals.
We’ve met clients through ConnexFM relationships that we’ve now had for 5, 10, even 15 years. That means the world to us, and it’s why we’ve attended every single show since day one.
We’re very excited for Orlando and the Gaylord this year.
Now I’m going to throw you a little curveball here. I know you’re a huge Kansas City Chiefs fan — which probably makes some people smile and others groan.
With Patrick Mahomes’ injury issues last year, it was probably tough not seeing the Chiefs in the Super Bowl. Are they bouncing back this season?
Bill Yanek: Oh, absolutely. I’m a homer. I’ve been a Chiefs fan for nearly 30 years, and trust me, there were plenty of lean years before this recent run. So I’m definitely enjoying the good times while they last.
We’ve got to get Patrick healthy, and hopefully adding Kenneth Walker helps the running game. The NFL margins are incredibly thin — you can go from Super Bowl champion to struggling very quickly — but yes, I absolutely think the Chiefs bounce back.
Who’s your team, Rob?
Rob Vaughan: I’m a Cleveland Browns fan, Bill, so I know all about lean years. We’ve had lean decades, not just lean seasons.
Bill Yanek: Well, the future’s bright there too, right?
Rob Vaughan: That might be the most optimistic thing I’ve heard all day.
Bill, I really appreciate you joining us right before the show. We’re excited to see everyone at ConnexFM in Orlando and to bring our First Call Group team this year.
Thanks again for taking time out of your busy schedule with the conference right around the corner. I’ll see you in Orlando in just a couple weeks.
Bill Yanek: Awesome. Safe travels. See you soon, Rob.
Rob Vaughan: Thanks so much, Bill.
Bill Yanek: Thanks.
