Leading UAE-based smart and green facilities management (FM) company Farnek has appointed Ana Topalidis as the head of its soft services division.  The Brazilian national will be directly responsible for managing more than 200 duty officers and technicians while indirectly overseeing 4,500 employees across 600 locations, with a specific focus on health and hygiene, smart innovation, quality, sustainability and ultimately customer satisfaction. She will be working on major contracts such as Dubai Mall, Dubai Airport, Circle Mall in JVC, as well as RAK bank and du telecom.

“Despite the financial stress brought on by the pandemic, over the past 12 months our soft services division has managed to retain 98% of its clients and has secured contracts worth AED 350 million. So, quality, customer satisfaction and value are integral elements of our service offering,” said Markus Oberlin, CEO, Farnek. “Ana has the experience and the technical knowhow to lead from the front and I am confident that she will be an invaluable member of our executive team,” added Oberlin.

With 18 years’ experience in the UK, Qatar and the UAE, Topalidis is no stranger to working on prestigious projects. Before joining Farnek she worked for Expo 2020 for three years, as senior manager of cleaning and waste management, where she was responsible for soft services and waste management across 300 locations from technical planning through to building handover and delivery.

Prior to Expo 2020, Topalidis managed and delivered the soft services, namely cleaning, pest control, indoor landscaping and waste management for Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC), which comprises of Abu Dhabi, Al Bateen, City Terminal and Al Ain airports from 2013 to 2017.  

Last year, Farnek achieved GBAC STAR™ accreditation for its head office facility in Dubai, the first FM facility in the Middle East to be accredited by the Global Biorisk Advisory Council (GBAC), a division of ISSA, the global cleaning industry trade association, in the Middle East. 

Farnek established a cleaning, disinfection, and infection prevention programme that minimises risks associated with infectious agents like the novel coronavirus. GBAC STAR facility accreditation illustrates that Farnek employs the proper cleaning protocols, disinfection techniques, and work practices to combat biohazards and infectious disease in its own space. 

“One of the major reasons why I chose to join Farnek was its market-leading position, especially in soft services. In the wake of the lockdown in the UAE, Farnek was the first FM company to market, with their sanitisation gateway, face recognition system and then subsequently the GBAC accreditation. 

“My strategy is to drive cost and energy-efficient cleaning methods and procedures, develop a quality system through technical training, maintain our excellent ratio of contract renewals and develop new business opportunities by upselling and cross selling complementary services,” said Topalidis.