How data-driven solutions and customer-centric strategy are transforming facilities management under Cheryl McCall’s leadership, eighteen months into her role as CEO.
When Cheryl took the helm at EMCOR UK, she inherited a company with strong foundations but recognised the need for strategic evolution. Now, having navigated through an intensive period of transformation, she reflects on what has been “a really busy, but really productive and rewarding” journey.
“I believe that we’ve well embedded our strategy across the business,” Cheryl explained. “We’ve launched our new website, we’ve launched four new solutions to support our FM offering, and we’ve got a very clear and focused approach to work winning and customer retention.
“We continue to invest in our people and ensure our values are central to everything we do.”
Research-Led Strategy
The foundation of EMCOR UK’s recent success lies in comprehensive industry research that has shaped the company’s strategic direction. Cheryl and her team conducted extensive research both within the FM industry and with their existing customer base to understand the evolving needs of the market.
“We really wanted to understand what customers want from an FM provider, what are their challenges, what are their pain points, and how can we position ourselves to respond to those,” she said.
The research revealed four critical areas of focus that have become the cornerstone of EMCOR UK’s approach.
At the top of the list is cost management, driven by economic uncertainty. “Customers are very, very focused on how they control their cost and improve efficiency,” Cheryl noted.
Closely linked to this is the growing emphasis on risk and resilience, particularly relevant given EMCOR UK’s work with critical national infrastructure clients. “How do they make sure that they mitigate risk, that their estate and all their assets perform, and ensure that they’re resilient and compliant?” Cheryl asked. “We work with a lot of customers in critical national infrastructure, so that resilience is really important because they need to run their estate 24/7.”
The third area identified was an increased “hunger for data” – the ability to make intelligent, data-driven decisions. Finally, employee attraction and retention emerged as a key concern, encompassing workplace environment, wellbeing, safety, and productivity.
Four-Pillar Solution Framework
In response to these findings, EMCOR UK developed four interconnected solutions that address each identified pain point. At the core sits Insight Intelligence, a platform that collates data and provides comprehensive estate visibility through what Cheryl describes as their “one data world platform.”
“We use our own subject matter experts and the intelligence to interpret that data and then make intelligent decisions,” she said.
The Asset Dynamic solution focuses on ensuring assets are properly maintained, compliant, and operating safely. Meanwhile, Carbon Transformation supports clients throughout their energy management journey, helping them achieve carbon targets whilst reducing costs and improving efficiency.
Finally, Workplace Evolution addresses the employee experience challenge. “It’s about creating a great environment for employees to be really productive, where they want to work, where they feel their wellbeing is looked after, and they’re in a safe environment,” Cheryl said.
Industry Outlook and Challenges
Looking at the broader FM industry, Cheryl sees both challenges and opportunities shaped by current market volatility.
“The industry as a whole is very much about that cost focus, risk and resilience, and how can FM providers support customers with all of those challenges so they can concentrate on their day-to-day
operations.”
She emphasised the need for agility in an ever-changing environment: “For us as an FM provider, it’s about being agile, responsive, and innovative with how we adapt our solutions to address these ever-changing challenges and hurdles that customers are experiencing in a pretty volatile market right now.”
Collaborative Leadership
Cheryl’s leadership philosophy centres on inclusivity and collaboration. “I’m a really inclusive person.
“It’s really important to get the right people around the table to make the right decisions,” she said. This approach aligns with EMCOR UK’s organisational culture, which she describes as “highly people-led”
with a focus on collaboration and listening to customers.
The results speak for themselves. Over the past 18 months, the company has successfully renewed and extended contracts with long-term customers, validating their customer-centric approach.
“We’ve got some great relationships with our customers and clients with real longevity,” Cheryl confirmed.
Looking Ahead
For the next three to five years, Cheryl’s vision for EMCOR UK encompasses three key areas: maintaining exceptional service for existing customers, investing in employees and the supply chain, and pursuing responsible growth in sectors where the company has established credibility, including defence, process and government,
utilities, and life sciences.
“What’s next is really about our purpose: to create that better world at work,” she said. “How do we bring our engineering heritage and our innovation to the table all the time? How do we continue to make sure that we are providing a great technical service with a focused and structured approach, but at the same time, being agile,
adaptable, and innovative with our solutions?”
Cheryl’s philosophy reflects the reality of modern facilities management: “When you see what’s happening, it’s forever changing. You never know what tomorrow’s going to bring, and that, for me, is really important.”
Under her leadership, EMCOR UK has demonstrated that success in the FM industry comes from combining deep technical expertise with genuine innovation, always keeping the customer’s evolving needs at the centre of strategic decision-making. As the industry continues to face new challenges, Cheryl’s research-driven, solution-focused approach positions EMCOR UK well for sustained growth and success.
Cheryl McCall joined EMCOR UK as CFO in 2021 and was appointed CEO in January 2024, bringing extensive
experience in infrastructure and a commitment to innovation-led growth.
