PMFORUM Breaking News

Leaders of the International Project Management Association (IPMA) will deliver keynote speeches at the 4^th SCPM and 1^st IPMA/MedNet Conference on Project Management, which will be held on the Greek Island of Chios during 29-31 May 2008. The Conference is being organized by the Centre for Construction Innovation, National Technical University of Athens & the Dept. of Financial & Management Engineering, University of the Aegean. The Conference is officially sponsored by the profPM project (Network of Project Managers in Greece – Sustainable Professional Development), IPMA/MedNet and the 22^nd IPMA World Congress.

Veikko Välilä (pictured at left), President of IPMA, will deliver a keynote speech on the topic of “Risk Management on Large Projects". Veikko Välilä is President of IPMA, Chairman of Project
Management Association Finland and Practice Leader of Marsh Ltd. He has more than 25 years experience in project and risk management, gained in employment with PaloDEx Group, Kone Corporation, Industrial Mutual, Ministry of Trade and Industry, P&C Insurance and Marsh & McLennan. Veikko has been Scientific and Industrial Commissioner of Finland for China and Southeast Asia and has lived and worked in circa 50 countries. He was a co-founder of Soredex Oy (a dental imaging company) and responsible for start up of new insurance underwriting operations in the London market (Hansa Industrial Insurance). Veikko has provided consulting and risk management services to many large corporations in the areas of power generation (including thermal and nuclear power), pulp & paper industry and large infrastructure projects (including harbor and motorway projects)

Gilles Caupin, former IPMA president and chair, will deliver a keynote speech on the topic of “Certification of the PM competences in the Mediterranean Area." Gilles Caupin is a diplomed engineer wtih over 40 years of experience in project management. He has been involved, both in consulting and operations, in the management of numerous international projects in various areas and in many countries. This experience covers UN entities, governmental organizations, information technology, infrastructure (airports, rail, roads), nuclear energy, process industries, telecommunications. He now provides PM training and consulting services in an international context. He has been heavily involved for many years in the development of project management professional associations and PM certification in the world. He is one of the founders and a past-President of the French project management association, past-Chair and Distinguished International Fellow of the International Cost Engineering Council (ICEC), past-Chair and Honorary Fellow of IPMA, and past-Chair of the Global Project Management Forum initiative. He is presently Secretary General of IPMA Mediterranean Network, as well as first assessor and international validator for several IPMA certification bodies around the world. He is also a Global Advisor for PMForum (www.pmforum.org) and a PM Ambassador™ (http://www.pmforum.org/ambassadors/ambassadors.htm).

Adesh Jain, Chair of IPMA Council of Delegates, will deliver a lecture on the topic of “The only thing we can influence is the FUTURE and that too, only in the PRESENT.” Adesh Jain is a globally recognized visionary leader shaping PM around the world. He is B.Sc. (Mathematics), B.E. (Electrical Engg.) from Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore and MS in Control Systems from North America. Adesh had worked in Canada / USA in the field of IT. He returned to India in 1973 to shape the IT landscape of SAIL and BHEL. In 1991, he was awarded the fellowship by former President of India, Dr. SD Sharma. Since 1992, he is passionately involved in spreading PM globally. He was the first non European Vice President of IPMA in 1999, first non-European President of IPMA in 2005 and the first non- European Chair of IPMA in 2007. He is currently President designate for the International Construction PM Association, Switzerland and President of International Construction PM Union. He was one of the founding members of the Global PM Forum in 1995. Adesh is also a Global Advisor for PMForum and a PM Ambassador™ ( http://www.pmforum.org/ambassadors/ambassadors.htm).

Mary McKinlay, IPMA Vice President, will deliver a lecture entitled “PM is changing. How can we respond to the challenge?" Head of her own consultancy in the UK (Mary McKinlay Project Ltd) and an adjunct professor at ESC Lille, Mary has worked in Project Management for almost 30 years as practitioner, researcher and trainer. Following a degree in Systems Engineering, she started her career on the Tornado aircraft project and has subsequently have worked on many large programmes. Mary has acted as an assessor for the IPMA Awards since 2004. She is a Governor of the University of Greenwich and an active member of Institute of Directors. Mary’s main interests are in the principles & theories of programme/project management and development of a closer relationship between Industry and Academe, working together transnationally and establishment of standards to make this possible.

The PM-04 Conference is a joint venture between the Scientific Conferences on Project Management (SCPM) which have been organized in Greece since 2001 and the 1st IPMA / Mediterranean Network (MedNet) Conference. The theme of the Conference is “Project Management Advances, Training & Certification in the Mediterranean”.

This 4th SCPM will be combined with the 1st conference for the recently established Mediterranean Network (MedNet) established by the International Project Management Association (IPMA). The conference will support the IPMA/MedNet objectives of fostering closer cooperation, business relations and knowhow exchange between Mediterranean and neighbouring countries.

Researchers, professionals and firms active in the Mediterranean basin and neighboring countries who want to expand in the area are invited to participate. The conference has been designed with a view to professional careers and will offer a good basis for developing closer cooperation, networking and common initiatives among organizations and people with common interests, cultures and visions. The International Conference is fully supported by IPMA/MedNet (http://www.ipma.ch/resources/events/Pages/default.aspx)!

The Network of Project Managers in Greece, PM-Greece, is a professional project management society affiliated with the International Project Management Association (IPMA), the global network of national PM associations. PM-Greece was founded in 2005 to link together people from universities, contractors, construction management companies, designers, specialized software houses and others with an active interest in the application of project management procedures and practices in Greece. PM-Greece is one of the largest PM organizations in Greece, with strong relations with major Greek universities and industrial organizations. For more information, visit http://2008.pmgreece.gr or contact Dr. J.P. Pantouvakis (Conference Chair, http://paris.pantouvakis.gr) or Dr. K. Kirytopoulos (Local Co-Chair, http://www.kirytopoulos.eu).