With more than 30 years of experience in facilities management, Scott Wollenzien is in a unique position to both look back on how his career has unfolded and how the profession will continue to evolve in the future.
As the senior director of facilities and construction at investment and insurance company Northwestern Mutual, Wollenzien has had the opportunity to oversee projects worth up to $500 million covering millions of square feet at office towers soaring 32 stories into the Milwaukee, Wisconsin, skyline.
While those kinds of projects grab all sorts of headlines, Wollenzien knows they don’t get accomplished without the help of many others who helped him get to where he is today.
“As I have grown into the profession, I’ve learned to appreciate the network of friends and partners I have developed in the industry,” says Wollenzien, a 2024 Facility Champion. “In the beginning, I tried to do a lot of things independently and struggled occasionally with outcomes that weren’t quite right.”
Wollenzien was recently profiled in the September issue of Building Operating Management, and he discussed the $500 million North Office Building Modernization project which saw the company raze a 13-story building and relocate major infrastructure into a 32-story modern office tower spanning two city blocks.
The tower is one of three Northwestern campuses, two of which are in the Milwaukee area and a third in New York, totaling 3.5 million square feet of office space.
“The goal of this strategic investment is to create an unparalleled campus experience for our employees, financial representatives and the community,” Wollenzien says.
While significant projects will always be on Wollenzien’s radar at Northwestern Mutual, he also dedicates significant time to ensuring the talent pipeline to execute them will not run dry.
Facilities departments are having a tough time finding the next generation of skilled trades workers, so another task that Wollenzien has poured time into is the career development of both current Northwestern Mutual employees and potential future ones.
Wollenzien helped develop a state certified apprenticeship program for the skilled trades within the company that has graduated more than 12 journey workers into the trades in fields such as electrical, HVAC, building automation, painting and carpentry.
The company also started a youth apprenticeship program through the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development to encourage high school juniors and seniors to enter the trades. During the program, students learn a craft and work toward the required hours needed for hands-on experience.
“One of the biggest challenges is addressing the high retirement rate and backfilling the vacated roles with knowledgeable, qualified and eager people,” Wollenzien says. “This is especially true with finding qualified men and women in the skilled trades. This is a significant challenge not just for us, but for the entire industry, and anticipated to get even more challenging over the next three to five years.”
The 2024 Facility Champions will be recognized as part of a webcast that will air on November 12 at 11 a.m. ET on FacilitiesNet. Register for the webcast here.
Dave Lubach is executive editor of the facilities market.
