Carlos Santamaria

Carlos Santamaria is an industry professional with more than 25 years of experience in the commercial real estate industry focusing on facility operations, engineering operations, oversight of capital expenditures and strategic planning and implementation of operational best practices for buildings and portfolios within the built environment. As the Founder and Principal of Optimal Building (formally CEES-Advisors), he provides subject matter expertise and thought leadership in high-performance building operations and workforce development for high demand industry jobs. As the former Vice President of Engineering Services with mid-size and large real estate investment trusts, Mr. Santamaria’s national and international experience includes assessing and evaluating some of the most iconic buildings in North America and in Asia. With conducting assessments and evaluations in over 325+ buildings totaling over 100 million square feet of office, mixed use, hotel and industrial space, his extensive experience has resulted in transforming inefficient building operations to high-performance buildings. This experience within the built environment allows Mr. Santamaria to be able to identify and implement cost-saving strategies with integrating technologies that improve operational performance, indoor air quality, energy efficiency and investor asset values. Mr. Santamaria is a Board of Trustee member with the International Facility Management Association (IFMA) Foundation participating in its Global Workforce Initiative (GWI) while participating on various industry and company advisory boards.

Innovation Hub: Green Career Education