How did you get your start in the BSC industry?

In October 2022, I was offered the opportunity to become the new director general of the European Cleaning and Facility Services Industry (EFCI). EFCI is the European federation of the industrial cleaning and facility management industry and represents employer associations from 14 European countries in the cleaning sector, speaking with one voice on their behalf to institutions, unions, the wider European Union business community and other stakeholders.

You joined EFCI back in December of 2022 as its director general. As you look back at everything you’ve done so far within your first year, what has been the most surprising aspect of your role?

As I become more familiar with the specificities of the cleaning industry and I meet more and more entrepreneurs, I am amazed by the increasing technological dimension of cleaning. The (very wide-spread) image of a no value-added sector where staff performs very basic activities that require no specialization is clearly no longer the reality and it is the industry’s main duty to precisely deconstruct this diminishing vision of what cleaning means and entails. If I am to look at the personal aspect, I am always very flattered when I hear people from the industry that are represented by EFCI thank me for being their ears and mouth in Brussels. It gives me a concrete sign of how impactful my work can be for the industry as well as the thousands of entrepreneurs and the hundreds of thousands of workers EFCI represents.

What does your day to day look like as director general of EFCI?

A significant amount of my time is taken up by meeting people and speaking with them. As the person who carries the voice of the industry in Europe, I have to interact regularly with partners — policymakers, representatives of other industries and interests (sometimes conflicting ones), businesspeople, experts and academicians — to expose to them the industry’s views on a specific issue and convince them to support our requests and share our positions. I would say these meetings take up most of my working time, and surely represent the most interesting and fun side of my job. I also travel quite a lot within Europe to participate in events, meet EFCI member associations and companies and visit exhibitions.

Where do you see the cleaning industry and EFCI in the next five to 10 years?

I am rather confident that in 10 years cleaning will no longer be seen as a low value-added industry and instead viewed as a commodity that has a simple ancillary function to the rest of the economy. Already, the pandemic has helped to increase the level of awareness of the public opinion about the fundamental role cleaning has in guaranteeing safe environments. In the future, the technological advancement of the sector, the evolution of new modalities of cleaning and the role it will play as the cornerstone of the new “well-being” society towards which we are heading — a society where quality of living will be of primary importance — will give our industry a prominent position as an economic sector of activity and its actors greater public recognition. I am positive that EFCI, in cooperation with similar industry associations in other parts of the world, will have developed further its structure and capacities to support all concerned parties in this process.

What career accomplishments are you most proud of?

In my previous professional experience, I have succeeded in increasing the visibility and credibility of a (previously) rather small trade association, transforming it into a trusted actor of European Union affairs.

What is the best piece of advice you have received throughout your career?

As a professional, never refrain from asking questions and get clarification from those who are more qualified than you if you don’t feel entirely comfortable with what you know on a specific dossier. As a manager, always make sure that everyone on your team feels entirely part of the game and knows that they can get the support they need to shine in their work.