PMO Expert

In 2007, after more than a decade working in Project Management, I setup my first Program Management Office for a major pan-European telecommunications provider operating a network of 60'000 km of lit fiber. Since then, I successfully deployed PMOs of different breeds on three continents and in several industries, including nuclear, theme parks, defense, real estate, airports, and facilities management.

I put a name on my job late in my career when I discovered the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK®) and joined the Project Management Institute in 2006. I pursued my Project Management Professional (PMP®) certification in 2007 and joined the Program Management Office Community of Practice (formerly known as PMOSIG) in 2008, and served on the Board of Directors from 2009 until the dissolution of the Communities of Practice model by PMI. During my tenure, I was Program Chair for the PMO Symposium in 2011 (Orlando) and 2012 (Las Vegas), and Judge for the PMO of the Year Award in 2013 and 2014. A founding member of the PMI UAE Chapter, I served on its Board of Directors from 2014 to 2015.

From 2015 to 2017, I supported the Scientific Committee of the Dubai International Project Management Forum, and in 2018, I served as a Judge on the PMO Global Awards before joining the Board of Director of the PMO Global Alliance in 2019.

I have been featured in numerous PMI® publications, like PM Network (in June 2013, August 2015, September 2017) or their famous Projectified podcast and am widely considered a PMO Expert:

An expert is a person who has found out by his own painful experience
all the mistakes that one can make in a very narrow field.
Niels Bohr

Public Speaker

I have been an active Toastmaster for several years, having launched two very successful corporate clubs. I have completed my Competent Communicator, Advanced Leadership, Presentation Mastery and Effective Coaching curricula, and was awarded the prestigious Triple Crown in 2018 and 2019.

I started public speaking in June 2008, in Prague (Czech Republic) when I gave a keynote at the first Project Risk Management Forum on Managing Risk Attitude. I frequently speak at conferences and seminars, and here is a selection of some of my past speaking engagements:

Features of Performing PMOs was presented in March 2014 at the PMI AGC PMO Symposium in Muscat (Oman). Based on my previous works with PMI®, I presented the various PMO Archetypes and their key attributes, showcasing Best Practices from past PMO of the Year Award finalists.

The Essential of Risk Management was presented in April 2014, at the Project Management Asia Conference in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia). This was a very hands-on presentation on how to setup a Project Risk Management function from scratch.

Using budō to Win the War for Talent, was presented in November 2015, at The Big 5 Project Management Conference in Dubai (U.A.E.). In this presentation, I adopted a different outlook on Talent Retention based on my personal experience as a Martial Artist. After this first session, I have been invited to speak at The Big 5 again in 2018, 2019, and 2020.

Portfolio Management Best Practices was presented in Amsterdam at the 10th Strategy Execution Forum. In this presentation, I emphasized the EPMO as the vehicle for Strategy Execution, and both the content and delivery were acclaimed by the attendees and organizers alike.

How to Train your Project Managers was presented in November 2018, at The Big 5 Project Management Conference in Dubai (U.A.E.) and described the project management professional development program I perfected with my team for the past four years to increase our organization's project management maturity.