The team

Cathy is an experienced communications expert with an in-depth knowledge of the facilities management and support services industries. She launched FM World, the award-winning magazine for the British Institute of Facilities Management, in April 2004 and edited the title for seven years, latterly also as publishing director, until founding Magenta Associates in spring 2011. After leaving university in the mid-1990s, Cathy worked for FM service provider Europa before embarking on a journalistic career editing Charity Finance as well as working on business titles such as Financial Management, Supply Management and Unions Today. She has also written for numerous magazines as a freelance journalist including Marketing Week, Soccer Analyst and the IOD’s Director magazine. She holds a Masters degree in journalism, is studying for the CIPR’s post-graduate diploma in public relations and is a member of both the Chartered Institute of Public Relations and the British Institute of Facilities Management. In her professional capacity she was involved in the conference programme for World Workplace 2008, the global event for the International Facility Management Association, is a judge for the BIFM Awards and a committee member of the BIFM London region, where she was voted regional committee member of the year in 2012. She was also named as one of FMX magazine’s 40 under forty, a recognition programme for emerging talent and high achievement in the facilities management industry.

Richard is a communications professional with over 30 years’ experience across a range of media and professional organisations in both senior editorial and management roles. His experience and interests centre on design, the workplace, facilities management, public policy, planning, architecture, sustainability and communications. He joined the British Institute of Facilities Management (BIFM) as head of communications and external affairs in 2004. In 2007 he joined the board and masterminded the institute’s new corporate identity, adopted in 2009. As director of corporate and public affairs, he focused on raising the profile of FM with government and business through consultation, direct representation and joint working with industry and professional bodies. Richard’s outlook is distinctly international. He was part of the working group that created the Global FM alliance in 2006 and chaired its communications directors group. He also lead the editorial board of EuroFM Insight from May 2010 and more recently, chaired EuroFM’s Vision and Strategy taskforce. Graduating from Dundee University in 1981 with a 2:1 in Urban and Regional Planning, Richard joined the Financial Times as an editorial researcher. Following two years as a researcher with a pioneering leisure information company (using the almost unknown Apple Lisa, precursor to the Mac) and three years managing communications for renowned architects and planners DEGW, he moved into journalism in 1989 as assistant editor, then editor of Premises & Facilities Management magazine. He took P&FM through two re-designs, launched an awards scheme and an e-newsletter and claimed the MITIE press prize three times. In 2000 he moved into the dot com world as the first full-time editor of the i-FM.net website before joining the BIFM in 2004.

Marianne has extensive experience in journalism and in business. She has written regularly for national publications including The Herald, Sunday Herald and The Big Issue, and has interviewed all sorts of people from politicians and celebrities to business people. For four years from 2004 Marianne worked as a financial analyst for Deutsche Bank in the City of London and on Wall Street, NYC. Marianne has a masters in journalism and in 2007 she qualified as a chartered accountant. She joined Magenta Associates in autumn 2011, and is delighted to be on board. Outside of work Marianne enjoys singing, learning to play the guitar and practicing yoga.

Adelphine has some 20 years' operational FM experience working client-side and within some leading outsourced provider organisations. Her experience has crossed both private and public sector environments and she is an accredited member of the British Institute of Facilities Management. Adelphine has also gained sound public relations experience working within a brand development environment for several years. More recently she has become very active in the social media web marketing world where PR consultancy and campaign development has seen its greatest evolution during the past 10 to 20 years.

Lionel is an international consultant specialising in strategic management, organisational planning and service standards in facilities and property management, incorporating customer care, sustainable best practice, business processes, systems and performance measurement and improvement. He is credited as being a pioneer of facilities management and in October 2011 he was honoured with the BIFM Award for overall industry impact. In 1984 Lionel founded what is regarded as the first specialist facilities management company in the UK, Facilities & Property Management plc, attracting a number of blue chip companies as clients. The business was acquired by Chesterton International plc in 1994 when he became managing director of the property asset management division. There he instigated and negotiated acquisitions of the FM subsidiary of British Gas plc and ICL’s Workplace Management, and created Chesterton Workplace Management. Since 1999 Lionel has acted as an independent businessman and consultant. Assignments have included work for a number of blue chip companies, including a three-year secondment to Siemens plc as managing director of Siemens FM. Recent assignments have included work in the Gulf region, as well as adviser to one of the UK’s largest property investment institutions. He was BIFM chairman from 1997-1999, chairman of EuroFM from 2000 to 2005; and a board director of IFMA from 2006-2008.