Announcing FM’s New Executive Director B&LM

From: Bob Reuning
To: All-FM
Subject: Announcing FM’s New Executive Director B&LM

Dear Colleagues,
 
I am pleased to announce the appointment of Bob Pils as FM’s new Executive Director of Building & Landscape Maintenance (B&LM), effective October 9, 2023.

The Executive Director B&LM is responsible for the physical appearance of the UMD campus and oversees a variety of services including Arboretum and Landscape Services, Administrative Services (e.g., Special Services/Moves and Events, Recycling, Solid Waste Management, etc.), Building Services/Housekeeping, Snow Operations and Stormwater Facilities Inspection and Maintenance. 

Bob has over 30 years of leadership experience in facilities management, including the last five years with Cornell University, where he currently serves as the Director of Building Care. In this role, Bob oversees the daily operations of the Building Care department responsible for creating and maintaining a safe and clean environment for over 227 buildings. Some of his accomplishments during his time at Cornell include the development of a campus-wide snow removal mapping program, the creation of a quality assurance program using building inspection metrics, and successful union contract negotiations. 

Some of you may know Bob from his previous role with FM. From 2015 to 2019, he served as Assistant Director of Building Services. Bob has also held leadership roles at Colgate University and ServiceMaster Managed Services as well. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Relations from Clarion University of Pennsylvania.

We extend a heartfelt thank you to Interim Executive Director, Karen Petroff, for her exceptional leadership over the last eight months. Karen has made significant contributions to our organization during her time in this role. Under her leadership, FM has filled critical B&LM vacancies, integrated horizontal construction into B&LM, and successfully completed all B&LM summer projects – all of this while working through challenging FY24 budget cuts. Her commitment to FM’s success is much appreciated. 

Please join me in welcoming Bob Pils. You can connect with Bob at rpils@umd.edu.

Sincerely,

Bob

Charles R. Reuning, MS, MBA, P.E.
CAPT, CEC, USN (Ret.)
Associate Vice President
University of Maryland
301-405-6214