Swiss national Markus Oberlin is CEO of Farnek Services LLC, an independent and leading provider of smart and green Facilities Management throughout the Middle East region.
Markusis a certified HVAC Engineer, with an MBA in Services Management, from the University of Lucerne. He was appointed General Manager of Farnek in 2006 and further promotions ensued, before he was made CEO, in 2012.
Under his leadership Farnek has now grown into one of the largest, most sustainable and innovative technology driven FM companies in the region, with over 9,000 employees.
During his 17-year tenure, Markus has launched a number of specialist companies and divisions under the Farnek banner.
These include Hitches & Glitches a residential and SME maintenance specialist, HITEK, a smart FM technology solutions company, Trendz, a hospitality management company as well as a dedicated sustainability consultancy, which helps organisations to reduce their energy and water consumption as well as their carbon emissions.
Farnek now delivers professional Facilities Management services across several sectors including Hospitality, Banking, Retail, Residential, Commercial, Infrastructure, Government, Education, Leisure and Entertainment.Farnek’s portfolio of high-profile customersinclude, the Burj Khalifa, Expo 2020, Yas Marina and Dubai Airport, to name but a few.
In addition, in December 2020 Farnek opened its AED 200 million state-of-the-art and award-winning staff accommodation centre‘Farnek Village’in Dubai, which is home to 5,000 Farnek employees.
Furthermore, in January this year, Farnek unveiled its own roadmap to achieve Net Zero emissions by 2050, supporting the UAE’s strategic initiative, announced in October 2021.
Over the past 15 years, the company has won more than two dozen prestigious industry and government awards. Farnek’s first award came in 2007, when it was recognized with the Dubai Quality Award for its survey identifying energy and water consumption in Dubai’s five-star hotels.
Since then, Farnek has been awarded Overall FM company of the Year, as well as prestigious awards for its HSEinitiatives, hospitalityleadership, security services, sustainability initiatives, technologyimplementation and CSRinitiatives.
On a personal level, Markus is widely recognized as one of the most influential leaders in the FM industry and is consistently featured in the top five of FMME’s annual FM Power 50 list.
Looking to the future, Markus believes that Net Zero, digitalization and acquiring and developing tech-savvy talent, will shape the future of the FM industry. This he believes will be particularly true for those involved in real estate development and building management, with governments, investors and consumers driving the demand.
