Chris Mach
Global Workplace Strategist, AT&T
As Global Workplace Strategist at AT&T, Chris sees the tools, policies, and physical environment of the 21st century workplace rapidly changing. In his role, Chris is responsible for integrating research, project-oriented activities, and evolving technologies into a cohesive vision within AT&T’s Evolving Workplace Program. His current research and development focus is on the “Third Workplace “– not the home, not the office, but various public, on-demand private and coworking venues from where people are increasingly performing work. Chris helps to shape the company’s vision for meeting the needs of the mobile worker-consumer.
In his 15 years at AT&T focusing on portfolio and workplace strategies, Chris has seen technology-enabled process improvements change the way people work, and has been instrumental in driving those changes. His group formalized some of the first shared collaborative workspaces and Agile workplaces within AT&T. (Agile is a method and philosophy by which programmers develop code.)
Prior to joining AT&T, Chris served in various capacities in corporate real estate analytics, strategic planning, mergers and acquisitions, information systems, and workplace strategy.
Nicknamed “Mikey,” by a former employer’s EVP for his willingness to try new things (as Mikey did in the 1970’s Life Cereal commercial), Chris was known for his creative problem solving and pattern recognition abilities early on. His first projects focused on showing how corporate real estate and workplace could serve as a strategic support to the core business. Projects included computer-aided spatial inventory systems, occupancy costing, and chargeback methods followed by regional strategic real estate portfolio planning — all before he turned 24.
According to Chris, it’s his design background and creative studies training that give him a unique perspective. He sees patterns quickly and can rapidly analyze and interpret a situation based on what he observes. An activator, a leader, and a strategic risk taker, Chris keeps top of mind the famous quote: “Be the change you want to see in the world.”
He earned his B.A. from the School of Architecture and Planning at the State University of New York at Buffalo, and his M.A. from Michigan State University. Chris interned at the World Bank in Washington, D.C. and worked at Sempra Energy in Southern California prior to his coming to AT&T.
Among his honors and distinctions, Chris is an IFMA Scholar, MSU Fellow, Sirius CRE AT&T recipient, MCR (Masters Corporate Real Estate), and Past President of the Southwest CoreNet Global Chapter. Chris is a current Steering Committee member of the Workplace Consortium and serves on the Global Board of CoreNet Global.
Hailing from San Diego, Chicago, Washington DC, and originally from Upstate New York, Chris now lives in Dallas with his wife Stacy and pre-K sons, four-year-old Reed and two-year-old Henry. He enjoys Adirondack hiking, fishing, golf, and spending time with family.
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