David Jakeš has held the position of project management director, Czech Republic and Slovakia, since October 2021, and before that he was a property manager with Prologis for 5 years. In this challenging role, he is responsible for the entire construction process of Prologis facilities in the two countries, from the acquisition of the land to the final handover of the building to the customers and facility managers.

“I oversee all the construction aspects of development projects to ensure that they correspond to our customers’ needs and requests, “Jakeš says. “But it is not just about construction – I also secure all the necessary approvals, choose suitable and reliable suppliers that are subject to our highest demands, and finally I hand over the buildings to those who will use them.”

David is no newcomer to the industry. He joined Prologis in 2015 as project manager, Czech Republic and Slovakia, and brought with him 13 years of previous experience in the field of construction and project management. Thanks to his diligence, composure, innovative thinking and enthusiasm, he has quickly gained the respect of colleagues and customers.

It is the technical aspects of the project processes that Jakeš enjoys the most in his current role. He describes himself as someone who likes to be in the thick of the action where the construction actually takes place, not an office worker behind a desk.

“I enjoy watching how the desires of our customers literally materialize and grow in front of our eyes. Every project is different and customizing the buildings to suit the wide variety of businesses and customers is a challenge that keeps pushing me on,” he explains.

Looking at trends in logistics, David identifies a growing focus on the automation, which will have
 a profound effect on logistics real estate. Another major trend is sustainability as customers become increasingly concerned about implementing sustainable solutions, especially in the field of renewable energy.

He himself has participated in many sustainable developments and two of his Czech projects achieved the top standard in this field. Building 18 at Prologis Park Prague- Rudná and the new Building 3 at Prologis Park Prague-Airport achieved the highest possible rating of ‘Outstanding’ in the BREEAM certification process – the world's longest established method of assessing the sustainability of buildings. Prologis now owns two out of the three logistics buildings in Continental Europe that hold such a BREEAM rating.

“After evaluation of all the parameters, we achieved a score of 88.3% for the 37,800 square meter facility at Prologis Park Prague-Airport, which really is an amazing success,” David notes.

David’s goal for now is to keep pace with the Czech Republic’s Western neighbors that are now constructing carbon neutral buildings, such as the 101,000 square meter facility delivered for pan-European customer L’Oreal at Muggensturm.

“It will definitely take more time for such buildings to become more commonplace, but as always we focus our efforts on being ahead of what’s next – to provide our customers with solutions they will appreciate not only today, but also in several decades from now,” he concludes.