Frederic Casagrande brings over two decades of experience in Project Management and has implemented PMOs in telecommunications, energy, 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. 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.

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 Emirates Culinary Guild.

During the finals of the 2021 Smoke'n'Flames competition hunting for the UAE's best amateur BBQ master, Fred created a unique blend of spices for his recipe that gave birth to Smoking Beards®. Crowned UAE's BBQ Champion in 2023, he ranked 7th in the World Food Championships!

Get in touch for a Private Chef experience, catering for your event, or to buy Smoking Beards®' amazing rubs!

Fred started his journey in martial arts aged 9, learning Judō under Guy Jordache for several years in his hometown. In 1996, 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 the Bujinkan Sanshin Dōjō.

Fred passed his Godan with Dai Shihan Arnaud Cousergue and in 2016, founded the Bujinkan Fudō-myōō Dōjō. 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 in university where he wrote a thesis on electronic music. He also composed a studio album in 1996, consisting of eight experimentations of instrumental new age music.

Today, he plays 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.