A Profile of Christa Dodoo

Christa Dodoo, Chief of Facilities and Infrastructure for the World Food Programme, has navigated the cultural nuances of the international facilities management landscape with grace and adaptability. Her journey was shaped by a special and evolving bond with her mother, whose influence played a pivotal role in her path. As a young girl, Christa dreamed of joining the military, then considered a career in law—both of which worried her mother. However, Christa's curiosity and determination led her to explore new possibilities, eventually sparking her interest in buildings and architecture.

Now overseeing global real estate, operations, engineering maintenance, and infrastructure support for the World Food Programme's headquarters in Rome, Christa Dodoo also manages field locations across Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and the Americas. Reflecting on her early career, Christa shared a pivotal moment from her internship at an organization where her mother was the head of HR. “She fired me,” Christa recalled. “I wasn’t following the organizational procedures seriously, so she let me go. That experience taught me that people notice when you cut corners or don’t give 100%. It also instilled in me the importance of managing with humanity—another lesson my mom always emphasized.”

While Christa, originally from Ghana, has lived and worked in both the United States and Europe, including Washington, DC, Rome, and Vienna, she finds that people don’t always understand the full scope of facility management. To set the record straight she’s worked on a five second elevator pitch that goes something like this:

See this elevator. See how nicely and smoothly it is running? Well, you have a facility manager to thank for why there aren’t any unexpected stops between floors and the doors open when they’re supposed to.

“I’ve learned to describe the role of the facilities team as the folks behind the scenes who perform the magic that keeps our building environment working and productive,” said Christa.

In addition to traveling, Christa has another hobby that connects her to people and places – collecting coins.

“I have a big coin collection from every country I’ve visited. I’ve got coins from different decades and coins from the United States from the 1930s till now. There’s a strong connection between the culture or history of a country and its coins, which fascinates me,” she said.

While based in Italy, Christa has oversight for facilities in 120 countries and about 700 offices. She’s also involved in property acquisition, renovations, retrofitting, asset management, safety and operations. The hybrid work environment means some people are working three days a week on site.

An avid reader, Christa enjoys biographies of famous people in history. As a child growing up in Ghana, Christa remembers being outside most of the time playing with her friends and her large family.

Christa has an international perspective on the future of facility management and is a member of the IFMA Global Board of Directors.

“I believe facility management will evolve into a more mainstream profession in the built environment in the next decade. With the increased visibility experienced in the wake of the pandemic and the inroads with the industry emerging topics, organizations will rely on strategic infrastructure management to help grow global economies,” she said.

“Urban development will be forced to shift focus from design and build to maintain and grow and facility management will play a critical role in that area.”

As for career advice for those curious about careers in facility management, Christa offered encouragement:

• Be a sponge
• Learn as much as you can from anyone and everyone 
• Ask questions and apply them to your life and career
• Use networking to your advantage