When the FMANZ Foundation awarded Kamal McEntee-Amziane one of its first scholarships in 2023, it wasn’t simply investing in his study. It was investing in the future of facilities management in Aotearoa.
Today, that investment has taken him somewhere few would have imagined.
Over the past 18 months, Kamal has been living and working in the United Kingdom, managing operations and coordinating major events for some of the world’s most recognised brands, including Formula 1, BMW, MINI, Lexus, Toyota, Adidas and American Express. From helping build temporary retail infrastructure at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone to coordinating VIP experiences at the iconic Goodwood Festival of Speed, he has worked in fast-paced, high-pressure environments where precision, leadership and teamwork are everything.
Yet ask Kamal where he sees his future, and his answer comes without hesitation.
“Facilities management is still 100 percent my long-term career path.”
For Kamal, this isn’t a detour away from facilities management. It’s an opportunity to return home with an even broader set of skills.
“The experience I have been gaining here will put me in a good position when I return. Hopefully I can step into a facilities manager role rather than the coordinator role I had before in New Zealand.”
Listening to Kamal speak, it quickly becomes clear why facilities management has prepared him so well for an international career.
The same skills that make great facilities managers – coordinating contractors, balancing competing priorities, solving problems under pressure and bringing people together – are exactly the skills global brands are looking for.
“Through FM, you really get good people skills,” he says.
“It teaches you to balance clients, contractors and different personalities while keeping everything moving. Those skills have transferred directly into the work I’m doing here.”
Working in London has also given him something impossible to learn from a textbook. Everything happens on a larger scale. Bigger events. Larger teams. More complex logistics. More diverse cultures. He believes that experience will make him a stronger facilities management professional when he returns to New Zealand.
“Hopefully I’ll be able to bring back new skills and maybe a fresh set of eyes.”
Perhaps the most inspiring part of Kamal’s journey is that, despite working around Formula 1 cars, international sporting events and some of the world’s biggest brands, he still believes facilities management offers one of the most exciting careers available.
“I think facilities management is one of the best career pathways you can take because it’s so broad. You’re involved with finance, operations, people, contractors – you become the person who brings everything together. It opens so many doors.”
Reflecting on the scholarship that started it all, Kamal says it changed the direction of his career.
“It was the best thing that could have happened to me.”
Without it, he doesn’t believe he would have entered facilities management at all. Instead, it gave him the opportunity to study while working in the profession, opening doors that have now taken him around the world.
For the FMANZ Foundation, this is exactly what success looks like.
Not simply funding someone’s education but helping launch the next generation of facilities management leaders – people who will leave New Zealand, learn from the world’s best, and one day return home ready to strengthen our profession.
And we can’t wait to welcome Kamal home.
Kamal’s journey shows the difference a Foundation scholarship can make. There are many more future facilities management leaders waiting for the same opportunity. If you’d like to help open that next door, please consider making a donation to the FMANZ Foundation. Donate here.
