Frederic Casagrande brings over two decades of experience in Project Management and has implemented PMOs for telecommunications, nuclear, defense, real estate, theme parks, airports and facilities management industries.

Holding numerous professional certifications, Frederic served on the Board of Directors for the PMI® UAE Chapter, the PMI® PMO Community of Practice and the PMO Global Alliance where he now sits on the Advisory Board. He played prominent roles for the PMI® PMO Symposium, the PMI® PMO of the Year Award and the PMO Global Awards, and received the Europe PMO Leader of the Year award in 2021.

With his reputation as a PMO Expert and more than a decade of public speaker, he is a sought-after thought leader dedicated to sharing his knowledge and experience in Project Management, PMOs, and Strategy Execution with the wider industry. Get in touch for speaking engagements or consulting requirements.

Although it was never the main of his career, Frederic Casagrande always had a passion for food, inspired by a lineage of cooks on both sides of his ancestry. Classically trained in the culinary arts in France under Alexandre Lopez, a disciple of Joël Robuchon and Paul Bocuse, Frederic is a distinguished member of the Ordre Culinaire International, the Toques Françaises and the Dubai Chefs Collective.

In 2021, Frederic was a finalist of the Rotana "Smoke'n'Flames" competition, hunting for the UAE's best amateur BBQ master. On this occasion, he developed The Mighty RBI: a twist on the classic philly cheesesteak sandwich based on raclette cheese and wagyū ribeye that almost gives him the win. The unique blend of spices he created for that recipe gave birth to Smoking Beards®.

Get in touch for a Private Chef experience, catering for your event, or to buy our amazing rubs!

Fred started his journey in martial arts aged 9, learning Judō under Guy Jordache for several years in his hometown. In 1996, after having tried Aikido and Karate), he discovered Budo Taijutsu and started training at the Bujinkan Niten Dōjō under Dai Shihan Didier Chasserot and Dai Shihan Roland Rutyna. In 2008, Fred moved to Dubai and joined Bujinkan Sanshin Dōjō.

Fred passed his Godan with Dai Shihan Arnaud Cousergue and founded the Bujinkan Fudō-myōō Dōjō in 2016. In Japan, Fred trained under Sōke Hatsumi Maasaki, Dai Shihan Furuta Kōji, Sōke of Kumogakure Ryū (who gave Fred his nickname of "Ginkuma"), Dai Shihan Nagato Toshirō, Sōke of Shinden Fudō Ryū, Dai Shihan Noguchi Yukio, Sōke of Koto Ryū, Dai Shihan Seno Hideo, Dai Shihan Shiraishi, Dai Shihan Someya to name a few.

Shihan Fred currently holds his 10^th Dan Black Belt in Bujinkan Budō Taijutsu. Get in touch to discover Budō in Dubai.

Fred's parents made sure there was always music in the house and he developped a very ecclectic taste, listening to all genres, but more heavily influenced by Iron Maiden, Whitesnake, Steve Vai, Jean-Michel Jarre, Vangelis, Kitarō, Andreas Vollenweider, Yanni, James Horner, Jerry Goldsmith, Hans Zimmer, Giorgio Moroder and Jan Hammer, just to name a few. After learning piano at a very young age, Fred studied musicology at university where he wrote a thesis on electronic music. He also composed one album, Mythology in 1996, consisting of eight experimentations of instrumental new age music.

Today, he plays with his son, Gabriel Casagrande in his home studio consisting of a Roland Fantom G8 workstation, a Korg R3 vocoder, a Roland AX-Synth keytar, a Boss RC-30 loop station, a Audio Technica PRO61 hypercardioid microphone, a Behringer XENYX Q802USB mixer and a pair of Presonus Eris E4.5 monitors.