Thomas Lau

Thomas had specialised in commercial and residential property management working in mainland China for 10 years. In 2018, he aspired to return to Hong Kong and was referred to JLL by friends in the real estate industry.

Coincidentally, he interviewed for the Lingnan University account, which he oversees on site today.

Although Thomas’ prior career experience lent to his new position, he had to adapt quickly to the requirements of a facility management function, particularly for a university setting.

Lingnan University’s main campus spans 24 buildings, including 10 student halls, visitor quarters, an indoor auditorium, theatres, offices, laboratories, a library and various sporting and recreational facilities.

In this high pressure-environment, Thomas needs to be all the more flexible and diplomatic at the front line.

“The university is a small community in itself – much like a mini U.N. with people who are diverse, who are from different backgrounds and have their own expectations on the user experience. It’s our job to take care of their needs and keep the campus safe,” says Thomas.

In a post-COVID world, the mission to provide a safe and healthy environment became even more critical for Thomas and the team, who tirelessly began preparations for precautionary measures and related training during the Lunar New Year holiday, just before the outbreak of the pandemic in Hong Kong.

He is thankful for the more than adequate knowledge and resource sharing, as well as emotional support that the facility management leadership and the firm provided.

“We have enjoyed growing with one another while tackling difficult times for Hong Kong and combating the COVID-19 pandemic,” he added.

Thomas acknowledges the on-site recreational team, usually responsible for managing the university’s sporting venues, who took the initiative to lead the implementation and set up of pre-cautionary measures as a COVID-19 taskforce.

“We should all review, recognise our own efforts in meeting our collective goals to build the team. We all need to take a step forward to contribute.”