About Janus Henderson
Janus Henderson Investors is a global asset management firm, formed through the merger of Janus Capital Group and Henderson Global Investors. It manages assets for institutions, retail investors and private clients worldwide and has a long-established reputation for investment expertise across a diverse range of asset classes. Headquartered in London, it operates internationally across Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific.
Our work with Janus Henderson
Maxwell Stephens has recruited two senior international property and facilities roles for the firm:
- Corporate Real Estate and Workspace Manager (Janus Henderson, then Henderson Global Investors)
- Global Facilities Manager (Janus Henderson Investors)
Corporate Real Estate and Workspace Manager
As the business, then Henderson Global Investors, expanded its international footprint, it engaged Maxwell Stephens to strengthen its Corporate Real Estate (CRE) function with a manager able to drive portfolio optimisation, workplace consistency and operational efficiency across its global estate. The remit covered the global leased office portfolio; lease events, acquisitions, renewals, disposals and negotiations; CRE data and portfolio performance; landlords, sub-tenants and external advisors; global workplace and occupancy strategy; fit-outs, refurbishments and infrastructure projects; operational and capital budgets; workplace consistency worldwide; business continuity; and aligning property strategy with growth.
Corporate real estate and facilities management are usually recruited as separate disciplines. A single role spanning lease transactions, fit-out delivery and day-to-day workplace standards across several countries narrows the field considerably.
We searched our corporate real estate, workplace and FM network for professionals who had managed international property portfolios, and assessed them on portfolio management, lease event management and negotiation, workplace strategy, commercial and financial acumen, project management and senior stakeholder engagement. The search was scoped as real estate plus workplace delivery from the start, rather than a transactional CRE profile with facilities bolted on. Maxwell Stephens placed an experienced Corporate Real Estate and Workspace Manager who became a key contributor to the firm's global real estate strategy, providing strategic direction and operational oversight across the portfolio.
Global Facilities Manager
Janus Henderson Investors needed a Global Facilities Manager to oversee and streamline its international facilities operations across an extensive property portfolio in multiple regions. Three factors made the search demanding:
- Global scope. The role covered facilities across multiple continents, so the candidate needed extensive international experience, not a UK portfolio with an overseas office or two attached. Managing buildings the manager will rarely visit calls for governance, regional supplier management and the judgement to know when a local issue needs central intervention.
- Complex requirements. Strategic direction, operational expertise and strong leadership were all required. Many senior facilities professionals are strong in one or two; the brief needed all three.
- Industry knowledge. Financial services workplaces are client-facing and closely regulated, and an understanding of asset management's particular facility needs was essential.
We began with in-depth consultations with key stakeholders, ran a search spanning multiple regions, and put candidates through detailed interviews and assessments of technical skill, strategic thinking and cultural fit, involving the firm's stakeholders at key stages. Maxwell Stephens placed a Global Facilities Manager with over 20 years of international facilities management experience and a proven track record in financial services.
Why it worked
Global property and facilities roles are sometimes filled on the strength of a large domestic portfolio, on the assumption that scale transfers across borders. It rarely does: differences in regulation, supplier markets and working culture between regions are what make the job hard. Both searches were scoped as genuinely international from the outset, and each tested for the exact combination the role needed, whether real estate with workplace delivery or multi-continent facilities leadership.
If you are recruiting a corporate real estate or facilities leader for a multi-region portfolio, get in touch with our team to discuss the brief.
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