Spotlight Interview – Joe Lyon | Thermatic Group

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10 November 2026

The facilities management (FM) sector faces significant challenges, including a persistent skills shortage and systemic industry fragmentation. In a recent interview, Joe Lyon, CEO of Thermatic Group, shared insights on his transition from military life into FM leadership, the untapped value veterans bring to the sector, and the urgent need for cross-industry collaboration.

Lyon spent 14 years as an engineer in the Royal Air Force before entering the civilian FM sector in 2016 within the water industry. Progressing through site management and project management, he joined Thermatic as Director of Projects in 2023. He subsequently advanced to Operations Director before taking on his current role as Chief Executive Officer.

Thermatic Group is a national technical FM provider headquartered in the Northwest, offering mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) services, alongside drainage solutions following a recent acquisition.

What Veterans Bring to FM

Veterans and service leavers bring key qualities to the FM workforce, including:

• Core Attributes:
  High levels of loyalty, trust, agility, and a strong work ethic.

• Need for Structure:
  Veterans thrive on accountability, clear expectations, defined metrics, and robust management systems. Because military environments are highly structured compared to civilian workplaces, clear frameworks help prevent frustration during transition.

• Diverse Skillsets:
  Not all service leavers possess identical traits or skills. Employers should evaluate candidates individually rather than applying broad assumptions.

Overcoming Barriers to Transition

Despite the value ex-military personnel offer, significant barriers hinder their entry into FM:

• Lack of Awareness:
  Facilities management as an integrated concept does not directly mirror military structures. While military personnel work as electricians or mechanical engineers, their focus is on military assets and establishments rather than commercial building services. Consequently, many service leavers within their final 12 to 18 months of service are unaware of career opportunities in FM.

• Absence of Clear Pathways:
  Unlike conventional engineering routes, there is a lack of structured transition pathways connecting military roles to commercial FM positions like contract managers, estate managers, or procurement leads.

To resolve these barriers, Lyon highlights the work of the IWFM Veterans in FM Committee. The committee is actively shifting its focus from educating businesses on why they should hire veterans to directly educating service leavers on opportunities within FM. By building partnerships with businesses, the committee aims to establish formal apprenticeships, career pathways, and talent pipelines.

Rethinking Industry Norms: Breaking Down Silos

When addressing the broader skills gap and operational inefficiencies, Lyon argues that the FM sector remains overly fragmented across end users, managing agents, tier-one providers, regional contractors, and subcontractors.

To overcome these structural issues, he advocates for several key changes:

• Ditching Purely Transactional Relationships:
  Procurement should move away from bottom-tier cost models (such as 80% cost / 20% quality) toward proactive, collaborative partnerships between tier-one firms and SMEs.

• Peer-Level Collaboration:
  Rather than operating in isolated competition, Thermatic regularly engages with regional competitors to share insights, operational experiences, and ideas.

• Shared Mission Mindset:
  Drawing on his military deployment experience - where multi-national forces rallied behind a single operational objective - Lyon calls on the FM sector to adopt a shared commitment. Regardless of where an entity sits in the supply chain, the primary focus should remain on delivering safe, compliant, and well-managed environments for building occupants.

Getting Involved

Organisations looking to tap into ex-military talent or establish structured transition pathways are encouraged to connect with the IWFM Veterans in FM Committee to support candidates exiting military service.

Picture: A headshot of Joe Lyon, CEO of Thermatic Group.

Article written by Dave Mapps | Published 10 November 2026

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