Why the office has to earn its place.

Overview

As flexible work becomes the norm, some workplace leaders aren’t just reacting to change—they’re architecting it. In this episode of The Flexible Office Economy, Mark Gilbreath returns from hiatus with Robert Teed, VP of Corporate Services at ServiceNow. Together, they unpack what it really means to build a workplace strategy fit for a hybrid world.

From shrinking footprints to growing expectations, Robert shares his firsthand experience leading one of the fastest-growing workplace portfolios in tech. He discusses what’s broken in the old delivery model, how ServiceNow approached global scale, and why “workplace” can no longer be owned by real estate alone.

This episode offers a rare, insider’s view of the bold bets and measured strategies shaping the next decade of work—and what it takes to drive impact across space, people, and culture.

Episode Highlights 

• The evolution of workplace at ServiceNow—from 300K to 1.4M SF across 78 locations
• Why Robert believes Flexible Office isn’t a trend—it’s an imperative
• The new consumption model: less capital, more speed, better experience
• Why culture-building and workplace design must go hand-in-hand
• How global context changes everything—from vendor selection to service delivery
• What traditional brokers and landlords are getting wrong—and what must change