PMFORUM Breaking News

Mr. Jose Machicao, MSc, CIP, PMP®, has joined PMForum.org as an International Correspondent in Lima, Peru. Mr. Machicao is also an Organizational Project Management consultant within public and private sectors in Peru, providing project management (PM) training and consulting services to governmental and industrial organizations in several different industries.

Mr. Machicao has a PMP® certification from the Project Management Institute (PMI®) and a Masters Degree in Energy from the University of Cardiff, Wales, UK, and has completed Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energies studies at the Universidad Nacional de Ingeniería in Peru. He has a Mechanical Engineering degree from the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú and is a member of the Colegio de Ingenieros (CIP 59417) (Peruvian Association of Professional Engineers).

Mr. Machicao is an experienced consultant and user for OPM3® products from PMI®. His professional experience includes 10 years on project management assessments and methodologies at public and private institutions. He is an expert applying organizational models based on international best practice improvement, control, measurement and standardization. He is the author of the GOAL© Methodology

Jose is currently a lecturer in post-graduate courses at the Escuela de Gerencia Continental (representative of Alpha Consultoría in Peru, REP®), and at more than 10 universities in Peru, including the Instituto para la Calidad, from the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (REP®) within project management issues. He has been an international lecturer on project management topics. Mr. Machicao is a World Energy Council member, PMI® member and Education Director for the PMI GovSIG®. He is also a Member of the Association of Energy Engineers.

According to Wikipedia, Lima is the capital and largest city in Peru, and the cultural and economic hub of the country. Lima occupies the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers. It lies on a desertic coast overlooking the Bay of Lima in the Pacific Ocean where its port was built and named Callao. Founded by Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro in 1535, Lima was once known as the City of Kings. It became the most important city in the Spanish Viceroyalty of Peru, an administrative area encompassing most of Spain's possessions in South America during the colonial era (mid 1500s to early 1800s). For more than three centuries, Lima was the the greatest metropolis in South America. Today nearly one-third of the nation's population lives in this one metropolitan area.

Lima Metropolis ranks among Latin America's largest and densest urban concentrations, with an estimated population of 8.2 million for the metropolitan area. Lima has substantial textile, paper, paint, and food products industries. The Historic centre of Lima, located in downtown Lima and the Rímac District, was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988 due to the large number of historical buildings dating from the Spanish colonial era, a number of which have now been restored. In particular, the monumental Plaza Mayor, with the 16th century Cathedral and the Presidential Palace, and the catacombs of the Convento de San Francisco are popular with visitors.

Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America, bordering Ecuador and Colombia to the north, Brazil to the east, Bolivia to the south-east, Chile to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Historically known as the cradle of the Inca empire, archaeological evidence indicates that Peru was inhabited twenty thousand years ago. Some of the oldest civilizations appeared circa 6000 BC in the coastal provinces of Chilca and Paracas, and in the highland province of Callejón de Huaylas.

Since 1990, the Peruvian economy has undergone free market reforms, from legalizing parts of the informal sector to significant privatizations in the mining, electric/power, and telecommunications industries. Aided by foreign investment and cooperation between the former Fujimori administration, the IMF, and the World Bank, economic growth was rapid in 1994–97, with inflation kept low. Growth up to the year 2005 has been realized by construction, investment, domestic demand and exports. Peru has had one of the most liberal market economies in Latin America. The country's petroleum, natural gas and power industries are expected to increase due to relatively high domestic and foreign influx of capital. The tourism, agriculture, mining, and construction sectors have also grown since 1995.

In April 2006, Peru signed a trade agreement with the United States. Peru is currently negotiating trade agreements with Chile, Mexico, Singapore and India. Peru is also seeking a free trade agreement with the European Union. These negotiations will greatly expand the markets in which the Peruvian products are traded. Peru has potential to export agricultural products, textiles, clothing, shoes, petroleum derivatives, natural gas, minerals, as well as fish and seafood products, tourism, and manufactured goods. In 2005, Peruvian exports were worth US$ 17.1 billion (an increase of 34.6% compared to 2004). By the end of 2007 exports are expected to reach US$30 billion, with a goal for the production sector and the government to reach US$100 billion by 2012. The markets of Peru have grown in all sectors (energy, construction, commerce, fishing, manufacturing, tourism, etc), one the fastest growth rates of market economies in South America. Additional information about Lima and Peru can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peru, the source of information presented in this article.

Jose Machicao lives in Lima, Peru and can be contacted at jcmachicao@gmail.com and http://blog.pucp.edu.pe/jcmachicao. We at PMForum.org want to welcome Jose to the PMF Global Correspondents Network.

On August 9, 2006, PMForum.org announced the formation of a global network of International Correspondents to provide more timely and varied project management-related news and information from around the world. More information about this program and about other international correspondents can be found at http://www.pmforum.org/pm%20forum%20team/index.htm#5. Correspondents also provide pmforum.org with local representation, and provide news and articles for publication in the PM World Today eJournal. Other experienced current or former PM professional leaders located in major cities around the world who may be interested in becoming an international correspondent for pmforum.org are encouraged to contact editor@pmforum.org.

Established in 1995 by the late David Curling, PMI Fellow and globally recognized professional leader based in Canada, www.pmforum.org is one of the most popular sources of project management news and information in the world of project management. PMForum.org is a company formed in 2005 to operate and administer the pmforum.org website. PMForum.org also produces the monthly online ejournal PM World Today where articles, case studies, papers and viewpoints by leading PM authorities and experts from around the world can be found. Free subscriptions are available at www.pmworldtoday.net.