Kay Sargent

With more than 34 years of experience, Kay is a recognized expert on workplace design and strategy issues. She is an award-winning designer who has worked with several Fortune 500 companies to optimize their global real estate portfolios and create innovative work environments. As director of HOK’s WorkPlace team, a practice that supports organizations undertaking multiple projects in various locations, Kay is responsible for helping clients redefine how, when and where their people work, working in tandem to support a holistic design approach that integrates an organization’s people, processes and technology.

Kay is considered an industry thought leaders on workplace. She has authored multiple white papers and articles on a variety of design related topics including wellbeing; next gen workforce; technologies impact on the workplace; space fusion and the rise of the human factor. As Director of HOK’s WorkPlace team, Kay has recently published multiple in-depth industry research papers include:
• Neurodiversity and Designing Inclusive Workspaces
• Coworking: A Corporate Real Estate Perspective
• Moving Beyond Open Plan
• AI and the Human Experience
• UX and Curated Experiences
• Developing Global Guidelines and Principals
• Space Fusion
• In-depth White Papers on Industry Sectors:
o Defense, Financial, insurance and the Tech Sector
Kay is currently working on finalizing HOK’s research on “Neurodiversity and Inclusion in the Modern Workplace” and white papers on the Advertising, Media and Entertainment, AME, sector and the S&T sectors.

Kay speaks regularly at CoreNet, ULI, WorkTech, IFMA and other industry events globally. She has been honored with the ‘Luminary Award’ from CoreNet Global multiple times for being one of the top rated speakers. She was also rated the “Top Rated Presenter” at the Tradeline’s Space Strategies conference.

Kay currently serves on the Board of the International Federation of Interior Designers /Architects where she represents designers in the Americas. Kay was also elected to the CoreNet Global Board in 2017 and serves on the Governance Committee. In addition she serves on the HOK Board of Directors; the National ASID Foundation Research Taskforce; the Advisory Board for WorkDesign Magazine and on has served on the Advisory Board of Virginia Tech School of Architecture and Design and NVCC. During her career Kay has also served on the International Boards of IIDA, ASID and NCQLP. She is an active member of IFMA and co-founder of the IFMA Workplace Evoluntionaries, WE, community, and for the past five years has served as co-host for the IFMA WE monthly workplace webinars. Kay is committed to mentoring the next generation of designers and as such mentors multiple individuals within HOK and across the industry. She is also a Founder of the DC Chapter of UPWARD, a global network dedicated to the professional advancement of women in the workplace.