Sarah Pollard joins JLL as division president for financial services, public institutions and data centres across EMEA

• New appointment to lead Financial Services, Public Institutions, and Data Centres divisions in EMEA
• Pollard brings extensive global real estate leadership experience from Meta, Amazon, and prior JLL tenure
• Divisional restructure positions JLL to deliver enhanced sector expertise as client needs grow more complex

LONDON, 1, October, 2026 – JLL has appointed Sarah Pollard as Division President, Work Dynamics EMEA, to lead the firm's Financial Services, Public Institutions, and Data Centres divisions in EMEA and drive continued growth across these high-priority sectors. Pollard joins from Meta, where she most recently served as Global Head of Central Operations, leading complex, multi-regional operational frameworks for one of the world's most sophisticated real estate portfolios.

In her role, Pollard will be accountable for service delivery and growth across her divisions in alignment with JLL's Global Industry Leads. She will report to Sue Asprey Price, CEO, EMEA Work Dynamics & Global Head of Portfolio Services, and will join the Work Dynamics EMEA Board. Based primarily across JLL's London offices, Pollard will initially lead Financial Services and Public Institutions, with accountability for the Data Centres division transferring to her at the end of November.

The appointment comes at a pivotal moment for the sectors Pollard steps in to. JLL's latest EMEA Mid-Year Data Centre Report identified record growth across the region, with FLAP-D markets on track to deliver approximately 453 MW in 2026 – roughly tripling 2020 volumes – while live capacity reached 3.8 GW. The sector is currently experiencing its most significant geographic transformation in a decade, driven by AI-scale power requirements and grid constraints in established markets.

Meanwhile, JLL's Future of Work Survey 2026 reveals that global financial services organisations are navigating unprecedented complexity around AI adoption and portfolio strategy. The sector shows the widest range of AI maturity of any industry, with 29.8% still bystanding while 18.3% have reached the optimising stage. With 67.1% planning office expansion and 38.9% naming rental increases a top occupancy cost driver – the highest of 15 industries surveyed – financial services clients require sophisticated guidance as they commit to space on longer horizons while AI's impact on footprint remains unresolved.

Pollard’s extensive real estate leadership experience will help address these challenges and opportunities, with a background in global operations, client strategy, and high-performing team leadership across some of the world's most demanding technology and financial services environments. At Meta, she led central operations on a global scale, managing sophisticated real estate delivery frameworks that supported rapid growth and complex operational requirements. Prior to Meta, Pollard spent four years at Amazon in senior global and regional leadership roles, where she drove strategic real estate initiatives across multiple markets.

Pollard previously spent over two years with JLL EMEA Work Dynamics, after having held senior strategy and operational roles at BNP Paribas Real Estate, Regus, Johnson Controls, and Barclays, building a proven track record of aligning portfolio and workplace strategies to clients' business objectives and leading high-performing, multi-disciplinary teams.

"We are thrilled to welcome Sarah back to JLL at such an important moment for our business," said Sue Asprey Price. "Her experience leading global real estate operations at Meta and Amazon – two of the world's most sophisticated and fast-moving organisations – gives her a unique perspective on the complexity our largest clients are navigating. Combined with her proven ability to align real estate strategies with complex business objectives, she is perfectly positioned to lead these critical divisions as we deliver our Accelerate 2030 strategy."

She added: "Sarah's deep understanding of how to scale operations while maintaining excellence in delivery will be invaluable as our clients' needs become increasingly sophisticated. In financial services, clients are making expansion commitments while navigating AI-driven transformation, and in data centres, operators are securing capacity in an increasingly competitive landscape shaped by unprecedented infrastructure growth. Her leadership will be instrumental in ensuring we deliver the depth of sector expertise and coordinated solutions our clients expect."

"I'm excited to be rejoining JLL at such a dynamic time for the business," said Pollard. "Having spent recent years working at the forefront of global real estate operations with Meta and Amazon, I've seen firsthand the value of having built experience on both the client and supply side. That perspective allows me to understand clients' needs and challenges in ways that strengthen how we build partnerships and deliver strategic solutions at scale."

She added: "What attracted me back to JLL was the opportunity to lead a business within a world class organisation whose values I am aligned to. JLL's integrated platform and deep sector expertise position the firm uniquely to support clients as their requirements become more complex. My immediate focus is to leverage my client side and operational experience to ensure we have the frameworks in place to set the business and its customers up for continued success.

1. What will Sarah Pollard be responsible for in her new role at JLL?
 

She will lead JLL's Financial Services, Public Institutions, and Data Centres divisions across EMEA, with accountability for service delivery and growth in alignment with JLL's Global Industry Leads. She will join the Work Dynamics EMEA Board and take on Financial Services and Public Institutions immediately, with Data Centres transferring to her remit at the end of November.

2. What experience does Sarah Pollard bring to this position?
 

Pollard brings extensive global real estate leadership experience from Meta, where she most recently served as Global Head of Central Operations, and Amazon, where she held senior global and regional leadership roles for four years. She previously spent over two years with JLL EMEA Work Dynamics. Earlier in her career, she held senior strategy and operational roles at BNP Paribas Real Estate, Regus, Johnson Controls, and Barclays, with a proven track record of aligning portfolio and workplace strategies to complex business objectives.

3. Why is JLL making this appointment now?
 

The appointment comes as JLL's EMEA business continues to grow and client needs become increasingly sophisticated across both sectors. The EMEA data centre market is experiencing record growth, with FLAP-D markets on track to deliver approximately 453 MW in 2026 – roughly tripling 2020 volumes – while financial services clients navigate AI-driven portfolio transformation with 67.1% planning office expansion despite uncertainty about AI's footprint impact. The divisional restructure ensures each sector receives the focused leadership attention required to scale effectively while delivering enhanced sector expertise to clients.

4. Where will Sarah Pollard be based?
 

She will be based primarily across JLL's London offices and will report to Sue Asprey Price, CEO, EMEA Work Dynamics & Global Head of Portfolio Services.