Derek McDonald, Senior Facilities Manager Europe at AMD (Advanced Micro Devices), was named Facilities Management Leader 2026 at the Facilities Management Awards 2026, held on 11 March 2026 at the Royal Dublin Convention Centre. The recognition honours a career built on strategic oversight, disciplined execution and sustained leadership across some of the world's most complex multinational workplace environments.

McDonald's professional journey spans two decades and three major global organisations. Beginning on the Symantec account through Cushman & Wakefield, he progressed to an EMEA leadership role overseeing 11 sites, delivering major international fit-outs and implementing a five-year strategy that delivered measurable reductions in both cost and energy consumption.

He subsequently joined Kellanova as Senior Facilities Manager for Europe, where he managed corporate offices, led large-scale projects and optimised hybrid work environments to meet the demands of a post-pandemic workforce.

In his current role at AMD, McDonald oversees integrated workplace strategy across 28 offices in 14 countries, with responsibility spanning operational excellence, risk management and continuous improvement across a complex, high-performance portfolio.

The judges noted that McDonald's entry stood out for the breadth of its strategic scope and the consistency of its measurable outcomes across geographies and business cycles. His ability to align workplace strategy with commercial and sustainability objectives across a multinational portfolio placed him firmly at the forefront of FM leadership in 2026.

McDonald's recognition reflects the rising standards within the Facilities Management Awards, where individual leaders are increasingly judged not only on operational performance but on their capacity to drive transformation at scale. His win underscores the growing expectation that senior FM professionals operate as strategic business partners, not simply operational managers.

Explore the full list of 2026 winners and discover the categories at the official Facilities Management Awards website and subscribe to the newsletter for updates on the 2027 programme.