Catherine Barnes didn’t start her career with ambitions of transforming the facilities management industry; she began by decorating model homes. Drawn to architecture and interior design, she began her professional journey in Kentucky, where she helped stage homes for real estate developers. But what started as an eye for aesthetics quickly turned into a fascination with operations.
Catherine Barnes | Rite Aid | Vice President of Facilities, Energy and Store Development
“I loved the hard design aspects, but I became more curious about how things worked behind the scenes,” she says.
That curiosity led her into commercial real estate, where she found herself handling everything from bookkeeping to computerized maintenance management systems. It was a small business, but it gave her big exposure to operations, systems, and the complexities of keeping buildings running smoothly. That experience opened the door to her first formal facilities management role at Target.
At Target, Barnes flourished in a hybrid role that straddled commercial real estate and operations. She quickly realized that the key to successful facilities management wasn’t just fixing things—it was aligning teams, creating systems, and ensuring operational continuity across a growing footprint. That mindset carried her into larger roles at Walgreens and eventually led to her appointment as vice president of facilities, energy and store development at Rite Aid.
“I’ve been on both sides—building the programs, overseeing construction, managing assets—and I’ve seen how essential facilities leadership is to business performance,” she says. “But I’ve also seen how disconnected the support systems can be.”
That disconnect ultimately inspired her next chapter.
Turning a corporate setback into an industry solution
When Rite Aid filed for bankruptcy a second time in late 2023, Barnes faced a difficult decision. She’d weathered the company’s first Chapter 11 and had been working hard to turn around its facilities program. But this time, she knew it was time to pivot.
“As soon as the news hit, people started reaching out to offer me roles,” she says. “But I thought—what if I didn’t work for just one company? What if I worked for all of them?”
That question led to the founding of OnPoint Strategic Partners, a consulting firm designed to bridge a persistent industry gap: the mismatch between what facility leaders need and how service providers typically present themselves. With more than two decades of experience leading multimillion-dollar facilities programs, Barnes knew the problem wasn’t that providers lacked capability—it’s that they weren’t speaking the right language.
“Too many vendors pitch services when they should be solving problems,” she says. “They approach it like a transaction, not a strategic partnership. That’s where so many relationships fall apart before they even begin.”
OnPoint’s mission is to fix that. The firm guides FM service providers through a transformative, seven-month program using its proprietary OnPoint CoreBuild™ Method. This five-phase framework—Survey, Blueprint, Build, Handoff, Maintain—helps vendors decode what their clients actually value, align sales messaging with FM priorities, create repeatable systems, execute go-to-market strategies, and drive long-term growth through performance.
By combining real-world FM expertise with vendor-side insights, OnPoint helps providers move beyond transactional selling and into scalable, trust-based partnerships.
“Whether you’re PE-backed, expanding nationally, or trying to grow within existing accounts, we help you build a foundation for smarter, more strategic growth,” Barnes says.
Built from experience & a franchise perspective
Barnes isn’t just a facilities leader—she’s also a small business owner. She and her husband own Dogtopia of Arlington Heights, a dog daycare and spa franchise that’s become a beloved part of their community. Running the business gave her hands-on experience in operations, customer service, and staff management—but more importantly, it gave her a fresh perspective on the facilities challenges franchisees face.
“Being a franchisee made it crystal clear how fragmented facilities planning can be,” she says. “Franchisors want brand consistency and service quality, but without a central FM strategy, it falls on the individual operator—and that’s not scalable.”
This realization shaped part of OnPoint’s strategy. In addition to supporting service providers, the firm also collaborates with franchisors and multi-site operators to develop comprehensive facility programs that maintain brand integrity and operational continuity.
“Franchise systems are growing rapidly, and many don’t have in-house FM leadership. That’s where we come in,” she explains.
The confidence to build a company from scratch came not just from her time at Dogtopia but from her years leading FM programs at major corporations.
“I felt comfortable launching OnPoint because this is my world,” she says. “I’ve built programs. I’ve sat on the boards. I’ve coached teams. I’m not guessing—I’ve lived it.”
Even the company’s name reflects that personal connection.
“We named it OnPoint after our German shorthaired pointer,” Barnes says. “They’re determined, loyal, focused—just like the best facilities leaders. And like in golf, which I love, you’ve got to stay on point even when things aren’t going your way.”
A vision for growth, change & impact
Barnes doesn’t see OnPoint as just a consultancy. She sees it as a platform for industry transformation. In the next three years, she plans to grow the company to include five to six coaches and consultants, each with unique specialties—ranging from vendor-side strategy to franchise program development to executive-level advocacy.
“We’re already running workshops, traveling to clients, doing live scenario planning,” she says. “This isn’t theory—it’s practical, actionable, and it’s helping companies change how they operate.”
Beyond client work, she’s laying the groundwork for a nonprofit arm focused on addressing the skilled trades gap.
“There’s a real need to get young people into trades and facilities roles,” she says. “I’d love to build a foundation that supports that pipeline.”
She’s also developing a tech solution—a patent-pending product she believes could become a game-changer in the FM space. And, true to her entrepreneurial drive, she’s even mapping out a five-book series and investing sweat equity in a small startup.
But despite the ambition, Barnes keeps her focus on a core truth: facilities management is still often underappreciated in strategic conversations.
“Facilities teams are shrinking, but portfolios aren’t,” she says. “We’re amazing at strategy, but we’re still the last ones invited to the meeting.”
Through OnPoint, she wants to change that narrative—by helping service providers earn trust earlier, speak the language of FM, and build relationships that stick.
“I want organizations to say, ‘This firm didn’t just train us—they changed the way we think about facilities,’” Barnes says. “That’s how you become essential.”
With decades of experience, the resilience of a small business owner, and the determination of someone who’s seen every angle of the FM world, Catherine Barnes is building more than a company—she’s building a movement.
And she’s doing it with precision, vision, and, as always, staying on point.
