IPMA Press Release – Keynote Speakers for 26th IPMA Congress

Dr Martin Barnes CBE, President of the Association for Project Management. Integrating Project Management Standards

The three standards of achievement in project management are the achievement of the objectives for the project for completion time, total cost and, most important, the function or performance of the finished project. Project managers have to balance these often competing standards in all their decisions – big and small. The most important skill of the project manager is integrating the three standards in all decisions taken by him or her and by all the other decision makers contributing to the project.

Martin Barnes was a speaker at the IPMA congress in Stockholm in 1972 when he announced the magical triangle – Time – Cost – Quality. Since then, he has spoken at many congresses. His career has been as a project manager working mainly in the engineering and construction industries but also in such diverse areas as managing business mergers and making television programmes. He has been a project management adviser to many important organisations internationally including the World Bank. He is an Honorary Fellow of IPMA and is President of the Association for Project Management in the U.K.

Dr Lynn Crawford, Bond University, Brisbane, Australia. Competition, Comparison, Collaboration - Mapping a Pathway through Project Management Standards

For over a decade the Global Alliance for Project Performance Standards (GAPPS) has been providing an independent benchmark and a basis for transportability and mutual recognition of project management standards and qualifications. This presentation will provide background and current status of this volunteer driven initiative that offers a platform for global collaboration in advancing project management.

Dr Lynn Crawford is Professor of Project Management at Bond University, Australia and Visiting Professor at Cranfield University, School of Management (UK). As a Director of Human Systems International she works globally with corporations and government agencies interested in improving their project management capability. Ongoing research includes PM competence, business change, contextual variation and public sector project governance. She is an Honorary Member of IPMA, Life Member of AIPM, Co-Vice-Chair of PMI’s Global Accreditation Center Board, a director of the Global Alliance for Project Performance Standards (GAPPS) and was recipient of the 2011 IPMA Research Achievement Award.

Prof Dr Nino Grau Vice President, IPMA Executive Board responsible for Standards and Awards. Standards and excellence in Project Management – in whom do we trust?

Different Standards serve for different purposes. Can the use of standards guarantee the excellent performance of a project or is the result just a good and acceptable project? These questions will be answered with regard to the new ISO 21.500 guideline for project management.

Prof. Dr. Nino Grau was born in 1950 in Zagreb, Croatia. He has lived in Germany since 1966.

As a professor of project and process management he has been in the Department of Industrial Engineering and Business Administration at the Technische Hochschule Mittelhessen since 1991.

Professor Grau worked for nearly a decade in different companies in the private business sector, responsible for communication in different international projects. His main area of interest today is project and process management. He was a member of the board and deputy president of GPM the German Project Manager Association. At IPMA-Level he was a contributing member of the Research and Development Management Board, Trainer for Assessors for the International Project Management Award, member of the programme committee at numerous national and international congresses and author of a wide selection of lectures and publications in the field of project management.

As a Vice President of IPMA he started the IPMA activities concerning the development of the new ISO 21 500 and has been Head of Delegation representing IPMA at ISO. He was responsible for the IPMA Young Crew and is now responsible for Standards and Awards within IPMA. He has been responsible for introducing the first postgraduate degree course in project management in Germany, which started in September 2002. He was Dean, Member of Senate of his University and Member of Senate of GEA College in Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Mr. Michel Ledun & Mr. Pierre Parent (France) Thales “International Project Management within Thales”

Internationalisation of Project Management Practices in Thales started in 2008 with the implementation of a corporate improvement programme to mitigate the root causes of main project failures. Main causes were mostly related to the bids preparation, the complexity of proposed solutions and associated supply chain and the full application of the operational processes by all. The Thales “Probasis” improvement programme related to bids and projects, includes the following domains:

• Project management international network organisation with identification of main stakeholders within the Group
• Organisation & Governance, with the clarification of intra-group business models, management reviews, unified reporting and implementation of PMO’s
• Processes, with the alignment on the international standards, a seamless integration of bids and projects activities, along with their associated tools
• Project performance improvement, with variance analysis and corrective actions plan at projects portfolio level
• Reviews and support, with the objective to anticipate project issues and support critical projects execution

The programme emphasizes skills and competences, with the alignment of project managers competences on the IPMA ICB®, associated training and the implementation of a Global Company Certification in liaison with IPMA and associated Member Associations.

Michel Ledun has been working for Thales during his entire career; he is currently in charge of Bids & projects as VP at Thales HQ. He is the Group Process Owner for “Manage Projects, Programmes and Portfolio” and of Non Quality Costs in the frame of the Probasis transformation plan. His experience in capturing the broad picture gives him a special aptitude for handling complex and wide-ranging issues in project management at international level.

Michel was in charge, during his career, of operational management direction: design office, engineering, production and business units in a multicultural environment: Europe, USA, Canada, Japan, Singapore, KSA & UAE, and Russia. Michel is graduate of Arts et Métiers and certified IPMA level A.

Pierre Parent has been working with the Thales HQ Project team for the past 3 years in charge of the implementation of the project management reference system and the project managers’ certification program in the Thales Group worldwide. His experience is mainly in various fields of engineering (Systems, SW, and services), applied in industrial control systems, transport and ticketing systems, completed lately with the participation as a design authority to international bids & projects relating to ticketing systems (Singapore, Hong Kong, Netherlands, Australia).

Pierre graduated from School of Mines (Paris) and received a Master’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (USA).

Prof Hiroshi Tanaka, (Japan), Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Keio University Graduate School of Business Administration (Japan), SKEMA Business School (France), Kiev National University of Construction and Architecture (Ukraine), National Shipbuilding University (Ukraine), Immediate Past President of Project Management Association of Japan (PMAJ). Standards in the Changing Landscape of Project and Program Management

The standards in project and program management have contributed tremendously to the outreach of project management profession to every corner of the society. Especially, the ICB and NCBs have steadily served as framework models of approaching new business and social missions in a balanced way thanks to their three eyes of competence. The ICB and NCBs represent a multi-value approach to the project management discipline.

Meanwhile, the market, or more broadly the ecosystem of project and program management, is changing rapidly due to profound complexity woven by the persistent worldwide economic recession, the EURO crisis, geographic shift of economic vigor, and aftermath of disasters. Here we cannot escape from asking a primary question as to how a value added project can be produced, and how a program of innovation formulated by way of structured knowledge vis-à-vis the ecosystem. An additional module of standard would be worthwhile considering.

Professor Hiroshi Tanaka is Presidential Advisor and Immediate Past President of Project Management Association of Japan (PMAJ), principal of Pacific PM Innovation, and professor of strategy, program and project management at Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Keio University Graduate School of Business Administration, both of Japan; SKEMA Business School of France; and Kiev National University of Construction and Architecture and National Shipbuilding University, both of Ukraine.

He has 42 years of professional experience in the engineering and construction industry with his former employer JGC Corporation of Japan; 13 years as president of Japanese project management association; and 10 years of teaching at graduate schools in Europe and in Japan. Professor Tanaka has been honoured with thirteen international and three Japanese awards of project management on five state/public, three industry, five professional community and three academic levels. He co-authored two Japanese, two English (McGraw-Hill), and two Russian books on project and program management and is an author of numerous industrial research and scientific papers.

He holds Ph.D. in France and Academician – Doctor of Science Diploma of Ukraine. He is member of PMAJ, PMI, honorary member of IPMA’s UPMA of Ukraine, SOVNET of Russia and PMA of India

Professor Theodosis Tassios (Greece) Professor (Emeritus) National Technical University of Athens, Member of the Academy of Sciences, Turin (Italy), President of the Association for the Study of Ancient Greek Technology (EMAET). An introduction to the Ancient Greek Technology

This invited lecture refers to a very important component of the Ancient Greek civilization. In fact, Greeks adored Technology since the very beginning of their history, i.e. the second millennium BCE. They included Engineer-gods in their Pantheon; they constructed very large land-reclamation works, together with large ship construction used in their commercial businesses across Mediterranean Sea, since the 14th century BCE.

During the 6th century BCE, a cross-fertilisation of the newly born Greek Science and existing empirical Technology took place with considerable results. Finally, the culmination of Greek Technology was reached during the Hellenistic period.

All branches of engineering flourished in Alexandria, for more than four centuries-including the development of complicated machinery and automats. Invention and construction of scientific instruments (including the analog computer of the Antikythera Mechanism) were the reward of Technology to Science. Professor at the National Technical University of Athens, Greece, he is a Member of the Academy of Sciences of Turin, Doctor hoc of several Greek and foreign Universities, and author of 400 papers and 40 books in several languages, is President of the Association for the Study of Ancient Greek Technology (EMAET).

About the Congress

The 26th IPMA World Congress will include opening plenary sessions, professional presentations and discussions sessions along 14 different themes (tracks), seven special sessions on important current aspects of project management, opening welcome reception, networking lunches and breaks, a world-class exhibition of PM-related products and services, and a spectacular gala banquet. 

The three-day congress will be preceded by the Young Crew Global Workshop, and meetings of various IPMA boards and committees. For IPMA member associations in more than 50 countries, the annual world congress is the largest and most important opportunity to meet with colleagues and friends from around the world. The 2012 IPMA World Congress will be held on Crete, one of the most popular islands in Greece, at the beautiful 5-star Creta Maris Beach Resort and Conference Centre. Mark your calendars and plan to attend the 2012 IPMA World Congress on Project Management. For information, visit http://www.ipma2012.gr/.

The 26th IPMA World Congress is being organized by the Network of Project Managers in Greece (PM-Greece), the Greek member association of IPMA, in cooperation with the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), under auspices of the Hellenic Ministry of Infrastructure. The Chairman for the 26th IPMA World Congress is Dr. John Paris Pantouvakis, Associate Professor, Director of the Department of Construction Engineering & Management, Faculty of Civil Engineering, NTUA, Athens, Greece. Professor Pantouvakis can be contacted at jpp@central.ntua.gr.

Register now for the IPMA World Congress, at http://www.ipma2012.gr/.

About IPMA

Founded in 1965 and registered in Switzerland, the International Project Management Association (IPMA) is the World’s first project management organization. IPMA is an international federation of more than 50 cooperating and interacting national PM societies in Africa, Asia, Europe Australia and the Americas. With its unique 4‐L‐C (Four‐Level Certification) program for PM Competence, IPMA offers a career progression from Project Associate or team member to Project Manager, Senior Project Manager, Programme Manager, and/or Projects Director. IPMA is the clear choice for those who understand the need for PM Competence and business performance.

Most people don’t know that IPMA’s earlier name was INTERNET, 20 years before the name was adopted for the World Wide Web. IPMA’s Annual World Congress is one of the most important gatherings of project management authorities and industry leaders each year. IPMA and Member Associations present awards to International and National project teams that prove their achievements in project management. By recognizing project teams that succeed in project management, IPMA sets an important and innovative example. The President of IPMA for 2011‐2012 is Roberto Mori, from Italy. For more information about IPMA, please visit www.ipma.ch.

IPMA Press Release Contact: stacy.goff@ipma.ch.