The climate crisis is one of the world’s greatest threats—and project leaders around the globe are stepping in, helping mitigate its effects with ambitious and innovative initiatives. Guests are: Dan Balaban, co-founder, president and CEO, Greengate Power, Calgary, Alberta, Canada: Balaban discusses the Travers Solar Project—one of the world’s largest solar-power initiatives—and why teams must be nimble, innovative and forward-looking in the fast-changing renewable energy sector, and how battery...
Apr 21, 2021•17 min•Season 4Ep. 8
COVID-19 has forever changed how—and where—people work. Some people are returning to the office, while others are remaining remote or adopting a new hybrid style. And it’s up to designers to reimagine offices in ways that encourage collaboration and innovation, no matter where team members are. Guests are: Todd Heiser, principal and co-managing director, Gensler Chicago: Heiser discusses designing offices as places where people come together, the growing focus on health and well-being in workpla...
Apr 07, 2021•23 min•Season 4Ep. 7
As many people head back to the office, they’ll return to a different world: one where remote work—at least part of the time—could be business as usual for many teams. Project leaders discuss how they led virtual teams during the COVID crisis and how they’ll adapt lessons learned to the new work ecosystem. Guests are: Marco De Santis, PMP, project management office digital transformation manager, Telecom Italia Mobile, Rome: De Santis discusses how he’s tried to lead with empathy and flexibility...
Mar 24, 2021•22 min•Season 4Ep. 6
As the world marks International Women’s Day this week, Projectified ® spoke with two women project leaders making their mark in traditionally male-dominated sectors: cybersecurity and mining. Guests are: Kat Megas, PMP, cybersecurity for Internet of Things program manager, National Institute of Standards and Technology, McLean, Virginia, USA: Megas discusses leading projects in cybersecurity, how women communicate differently—but no less decisively—than men and her hope that different leadershi...
Mar 10, 2021•18 min•Season 4Ep. 5
When project management office (PMO) leaders help define strategy, they can deliver more value. Guests include: Katitja Molele, PMP, strategy and innovation PMO manager, Africa operating unit for The Coca-Cola Co., Johannesburg, South Africa: Molele talks about how PMOs are evolving and how actively engaging PMO leaders in crafting strategy helps companies turn ideas into reality. Tom Kuczynski, vice president, IT, DC Water, Washington, D.C., USA: Kuczynski discusses how he helped build—and evol...
Feb 24, 2021•16 min•Season 4Ep. 4
Five megatrends are reshaping The Project Economy, fundamentally altering how we live, work and play. We talk to project leaders taking on these trends through projects: Farhad Abdollahyan, PMI-RMP, PMP, head of the project management office at the U.N. Office for Project Services in Niger, discusses the group’s infrastructure projects aimed at bolstering the country’s economy. He talks though how the organization measures these projects’ outputs and impact, and how it engages with partners to i...
Feb 10, 2021•20 min•Season 4Ep. 3
The citizen development revolution has arrived. With low- and no-code platforms, more people can quickly learn how to build apps—without waiting for the IT department. Arjun Jamnadass, managing director at FTI Consulting in London, discusses how citizen development can reduce the burden on IT teams and deliver the solutions teams need more quickly. Christian Peverelli, co-founder of WeAreNoCode in Los Angeles, talks about empowering citizen developers and how organizations can make the most of t...
Jan 27, 2021•16 min•Season 4Ep. 2
The pandemic has fundamentally shifted how people work. While some sectors and regions struggle, others are full of activity. So what does that mean for project leaders and their careers in 2021? Alice Chow, a director at engineering giant Arup in Hong Kong, China, discusses what she’s seeing on the post-COVID jobs landscape. She also explains why project leaders should strengthen their listening skills. Lindsay Scott, co-founder of Arras People in London, shares her outlook on job hot spots for...
Jan 13, 2021•16 min•Season 4Ep. 1
Wildfires are a devastating, natural phenomenon. But as climate change makes the world hotter and drier, the threat has intensified. Following megafires on Australia’s Kangaroo Island and in the Pantanal in Brazil, project teams got to work helping animals and looking at ways to future-proof their increasingly fragile ecosystems. Rafael Hoogesteijn, jaguar program conflict director at Panthera in Porto Jofre, Brazil, discusses how teams collaborated with the government and local community stakeh...
Jan 04, 2021•19 min•Season 3Ep. 29
Virtual learning was already a high-growth sector, but that was nothing compared to skyrocketing usage among children shut out of schools by the pandemic in 2020. While there have been promising results, there’s still plenty of room for improvement. Mac Glovinsky, global program manager at UNICEF, talks about how his team accelerated the growth of Learning Passport, a virtual education program that’s ranked number 3 on PMI’s 2020 list of Most Influential Projects. He also shares how despite incr...
Dec 16, 2020•25 min•Season 3Ep. 28
Projects have the power to not only benefit business but society as a whole. But to achieve positive social impact, the same strategic mindset behind the drive for bottom-line results must be applied to ensure projects create a better world. TED@PMI speaker and marketing consultant Khulan Batkhuyag discusses how keeping things simple can help teams be agile and how her visits with Mongolian nomads changed her views on sustainability and her approach to projects. Okka Phyo Maung, co-founder, CFO ...
Dec 02, 2020•19 min•Season 3Ep. 27
PMI’s 2020 Most Influential Projects highlights more than 250 bold, breakthrough efforts—spanning sectors and continents. Guests discuss three of those initiatives: Hugh Lawson, project director at Sydney Metro in Sydney, discusses how the massive project will transform transportation in the city and how COVID-19 created opportunities to challenge long-held assumptions. César García Marirrodriga, project manager at the European Space Agency in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, shares what scientists h...
Nov 18, 2020•22 min•Season 3Ep. 26
Command and control leadership is losing ground to a new style—one that emphasizes creativity, resilience, authenticity and a willingness to reach out for help. Two TED@PMI speakers discuss the must-have skills of the modern leader. Billy Samuel Mwape, PMP, assistant information and communications technology manager at Development Bank of Zambia in Lusaka, discusses resilience and letting team members make mistakes. He also talks about a very personal project: unifying a team of therapists in re...
Nov 04, 2020•19 min•Season 3Ep. 25
Innovation in the healthcare sector takes time—with companies devoting long hours to research and clinical trials while adapting to regulatory changes along the way. Leo Rapallini at Medtronic in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA discusses how his team upgraded the world’s smallest pacemaker for a bigger share of the market. He talks about how company culture and a passionate, multidisciplinary team helped the organization deliver disruptive innovation. Andy Molnar at UVD Robots in Boston, Massachuset...
Oct 21, 2020•21 min
India is at a crossroads, a moment that may determine whether its economy can grow fast enough to support its rising population. To survive—and thrive—will require new ways of thinking. Rachna Singh, IT deployment program manager at Amazon in Bengaluru, discusses how the IT business has changed in India over the course of her career, what lies ahead—and the skills project professionals need to succeed in the sector. Ankur Jain, founder and CEO at Bira 91 in New Delhi, talks about some of the cha...
Oct 07, 2020•21 min•Season 3Ep. 23
There’s a lot riding on the future of food—our personal health, the health of our environment and the growing issue of food security. One potentially promising solution? Plant-based foods. Giulia Braghieri, head of growth and expansion at NotCo, discusses how the Chilean company uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to create plant-based versions of food staples like mayonnaise, milk and more. She also talks about how NotCo uses agile to turn the founder’s ideas into reality. Troy Sw...
Sep 29, 2020•21 min•Season 3Ep. 22
Innovation separates the leaders from the laggards. While there’s no surefire path to the kind of breakthrough creative thinking that leads to the next big thing, organizations are on the prowl for ways to spark innovation. Vidhya Abhijith is the co-founder of Codewave Technologies in Bengaluru, India. The PMI Future 50 leader talks about the link between design thinking and innovation, and how team members can push one another to think differently. Yuri Bartzis, innovation manager at Pomerleau ...
Sep 09, 2020•15 min•Season 3Ep. 21
The World Bank estimates 1 billion people experience some form of disability. That means accessibility must be built into how teams approach every project—helping them deliver more value to everyone. Kathryn Rutkowski, PMP, senior program manager, Atlassian, Sydney, Australia, discusses how bringing in experts can help bring an accessibility sensibility to project teams. She also talks about designing projects with accessibility customers in mind to create a better experience for everyone. Matt ...
Aug 26, 2020•20 min•Season 3Ep. 20
Without a permanent physical office, digital nomads are leading projects as they travel the world. Ott Vatter, managing director of the e-Residency program in the Republic of Estonia in Tallinn, Estonia, discusses how the project helped create a community for digital nomads. Christina Nguyen, PMP, strategy practice leader for Global Professional & Field Services, Dell Technologies, Austin, Texas, USA, talks about leading a project portfolio as a digital nomad. She also shares the lessons she...
Aug 12, 2020•21 min•Season 3Ep. 19
The world’s historic and cultural sites connect us to human history. Projects to preserve or restore these sites must be handled with care. Ray Pepi, president and founder of Building Conservation Associates in New York, New York, USA, talks about managing priorities of preserving a building’s cultural and historical significance while also setting it up for continued use. He also discusses how he sees structural conservation changing in the future. Kacey Hadick, director of project development ...
Jul 29, 2020•18 min•Season 3Ep. 18
A new generation of leaders is creating, transforming and defining The Project Economy. Meet a few members of PMI’s Future 50, a group of rising project leaders who are making their mark with bold thinking—and innovative projects. Kenneth Harris II, senior satellite engineer, Joint Polar Satellite System, NASA, Greenbelt, Maryland, USA, talks about his career journey and the future of project teams and STEM talent. Geetha Gopal, PMP, senior infrastructure projects manager, Panasonic Asia Pacific...
Jul 15, 2020•24 min•Season 3Ep. 17
What skills will help project leaders succeed in times of uncertainty? As organizations pivot and deploy virtual teams, collaborative, engaging leaders are steering their teams to success. Penny Pullan, PhD, PMP, founder, Making Projects Work Ltd., Loughborough, England, says when you’re working virtually, command and control doesn’t work. She shares the value of facilitative leadership and the importance of building a team culture and relationships when leading virtual teams. Luiz Dias, PMP, Pg...
Jul 01, 2020•16 min•Season 3Ep. 16
Diverse project teams deliver value. A team that offers a wide variety of mindsets and skill sets will outperform the competition, as members challenge one another and approach problems from new angles. That often leads to innovation. Blair Taylor, partner, Workforce of the Future, PwC, Seattle, Washington, USA, says diversity unlocks potential. It yields better business results, and diverse teams create personal connections between people. He also discusses how he believes empathy—associative a...
Jun 17, 2020•19 min•Season 3Ep. 15
In the coronavirus pandemic, following the wrong information could be a fatal error. That’s why fact-checking organizations are delivering projects to separate truth from rumors. Silvia Cavasola, project manager, Pagella Politica, Milan, Italy, shares how teams from multiple organizations are working together to create a chatbot to answer COVID-19 questions. She also talks about the chatbot’s potential to create a closer relationship between readers and fact-checking platforms. Itziar Bernaola, ...
Jun 03, 2020•17 min•Season 3Ep. 14
The world of business will look different after COVID-19, setting the stage for project professionals to lead the way into the next normal. Lindsay Scott, PM Network career columnist and co-founder of Arras People, London, England, shares how skills development—including certifications and specialized training—and maintaining your professional network can help project professionals prepare for the competitive job market to come. She also talks about how young project leaders can find their voice...
May 20, 2020•29 min•Season 3Ep. 13
The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the importance of risk management. David Hillson, PhD, PMI Fellow, founder of The Risk Doctor Partnership, Petersfield, England, discusses identifying and analyzing risk in innovative and novel situations. Dr. Hillson says COVID-19 isn’t currently a risk—it’s a problem—and the risk management task is to look at the uncertainties that could come next. Mohamad ElHelaly, PMI-PBA, PMI-RMP, PMP, assistant project manager at Orascom Construction, Cairo, Egypt, ...
May 06, 2020•20 min•Season 3Ep. 12
On Earth Day, ProjectifiedTM looks at projects to preserve the planet. Devan Wardwell, director of growth at Forest Carbon in Jakarta, Indonesia, discusses a project to restore peatlands. He also talks about using satellite data and sensors to monitor the project’s progress and make data-driven decisions. Michael Sweet, PhD, a researcher at the University of Derby in Derby, England, and an officer of the International Coral Reef Society, discusses two projects aimed at restoring coral reefs—one ...
Apr 22, 2020•20 min•Season 3Ep. 11
The Project Economy calls for a new look at the structure and dynamics of project teams. Ingrid Smith, head of PMI’s Thought Leadership in London, England, shares the power skills that will help teams succeed. She also discusses the importance of empathy while working on virtual teams and how ready-for-anything teams are agile, collaborative and put the customer first. Peter Moutsatsos, PMP, chief project officer at Telstra in Melbourne, Australia, shares how the organization’s shift to agile at...
Apr 15, 2020•23 min•Season 3Ep. 10
With arenas being built across the world and industry revenues on the rise, esports is leveling up. Joe Marsh, CEO of T1 Entertainment & Sports in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, discusses two major esports construction projects. The first is the headquarters for T1 Entertainment & Sports in Seoul, South Korea, which will be a space for the organization, gamers and fans. The second is the Fusion Arena, which is being built specifically for esports in Philadelphia. TL Frasqueri-Molina, P...
Apr 08, 2020•21 min•Season 3Ep. 9
5G networks are coming online around the world, bringing new, innovative project opportunities. Will Townsend, senior analyst, networking infrastructure and carrier services at Moor Insights and Strategy in Austin, Texas, USA, discusses how latency reduction will drive innovation on projects. He also shares early 5G use cases involving edge computing. Odianosen Peter Ebhabha, PMP, project director at Huawei in Lagos, Nigeria, talks about how infrastructure, politics and funding can affect 5G lau...
Apr 01, 2020•15 min•Season 3Ep. 8
