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Tuesday, August 26, 2008
On the Same Stage - IPMA & PMI Leaders Address the Future at 2nd UT Dallas Project Management Symposium in Texas
Leaders from the International Project Management Association (IPMA) and the Project Management Institute (PMI) shared the stage as keynote speakers to conclude the 2nd UT Dallas Project Management Symposium in Richardson, Texas, USA on 19 August 2008. This was one of the few occasions when leaders from the world's two largest and oldest professional organizations have shared the stage at a major project management conference.
Ricardo Viana Vargas, Director-at-Large for the Project Management Institute (PMI), delivered a speech on "Project Management as a Strategic Competence" at 3:15 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon. He was immediately followed on stage by Veikko Valila, President of the International Project Management Association (IPMA), who spoke on the topic of "Where is Project Management Going?" Both leaders reviewed current trends and future directions affecting the project management profession.
Ricardo Vargas, MSc, PMP, based in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, is a Director-at-Large and member of the PMI Board of Directors. He is the first Brazilian to serve on the PMI board and flew to Dallas from Brazil to participate in the UT Dallas Symposium. In his talk, Ricardo reviewed recent trends in global industry that is leading more organizations to embrace PM as a strategic capability, reviewed several recent studies and surveys related to the growth and economic impact of projects, and strategic issues that PMI is addressing as it plans for the next 15 years. It was a highly charged and informative presentation.
Mr. Vargas, who is also Chair of Macrosolutions, a consulting company with clients and projects around the world, is the author of nine books on project management. He has a BS in Chemical Engineering, an MS in Project Management, and a Masters Certificate from GWU in Washington, DC. A part-time professor of project management, Ricardo has received PMI’s Distinguished Contribution Award and Product of the Year Award. He is currently Chair of the PMI Board's Strategic Planning Committee.
Veikko Välilä (pictured left), President of the IPMA, a global federation of over 40 national project management societies and based in Switzerland, delivered an equally interesting presentation on trends affecting both global society in general and the project management field in particular.
Veikko is also Chairman of Project Management Association Finland and Practice Leader of Marsh Ltd., a global insurance and risk management organization. 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 nearly 50 countries. He was a co-founder of Soredex Oy and responsible for start up of insurance underwriting operations in the London market for 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.)
The 2 Day Project Management Symposium was held on the UT Dallas campus in Richardson, Texas during 18-19 August 2008. Day one included Opening Ceremony with Keynote Speakers, 23 presentations over five tracks of topics, a networking lunch, and a Monday evening networking reception. Day two on Tuesday featured an opening keynote by Michael Kennedy, CEO of Targeted Convergence, 16 paper presentations, three panel discussions and closing keynote addresses by Ricardo Vargas, Director of PMI and Veikko Valila, President of IPMA. This annual event was intended to contribute to the productivity and success of organizations and industries in North Texas, and to local economic development.
The symposium was organized by the Graduate Program in Project Management at The University of Texas at Dallas (UT Dallas), in cooperation with the Dallas Chapter of the Project Management Institute (PMI®) and PMForum, Inc. The corporate sponsor was Global Knowledge, a leading project management training and education provider. Papers and presentations from this year’s symposium will be posted soon on http://pmsymposium.utdallas.edu, where additional information about the conference can be found. Individuals or organizations interested in participating in next year’s symposium should contact Debbie@utdallas.edu.
For more information about the Graduate Program in Project Management at UT Dallas, visit http://som.utdallas.edu/project/. For information about the PMI Dallas Chapter, visit www.pmidallas.org. For information about PMForum, visit www.pmforum.org.
Ricardo Viana Vargas, Director-at-Large for the Project Management Institute (PMI), delivered a speech on "Project Management as a Strategic Competence" at 3:15 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon. He was immediately followed on stage by Veikko Valila, President of the International Project Management Association (IPMA), who spoke on the topic of "Where is Project Management Going?" Both leaders reviewed current trends and future directions affecting the project management profession.
Mr. Vargas, who is also Chair of Macrosolutions, a consulting company with clients and projects around the world, is the author of nine books on project management. He has a BS in Chemical Engineering, an MS in Project Management, and a Masters Certificate from GWU in Washington, DC. A part-time professor of project management, Ricardo has received PMI’s Distinguished Contribution Award and Product of the Year Award. He is currently Chair of the PMI Board's Strategic Planning Committee.
Veikko is also Chairman of Project Management Association Finland and Practice Leader of Marsh Ltd., a global insurance and risk management organization. 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 nearly 50 countries. He was a co-founder of Soredex Oy and responsible for start up of insurance underwriting operations in the London market for 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.)
The 2 Day Project Management Symposium was held on the UT Dallas campus in Richardson, Texas during 18-19 August 2008. Day one included Opening Ceremony with Keynote Speakers, 23 presentations over five tracks of topics, a networking lunch, and a Monday evening networking reception. Day two on Tuesday featured an opening keynote by Michael Kennedy, CEO of Targeted Convergence, 16 paper presentations, three panel discussions and closing keynote addresses by Ricardo Vargas, Director of PMI and Veikko Valila, President of IPMA. This annual event was intended to contribute to the productivity and success of organizations and industries in North Texas, and to local economic development.
The symposium was organized by the Graduate Program in Project Management at The University of Texas at Dallas (UT Dallas), in cooperation with the Dallas Chapter of the Project Management Institute (PMI®) and PMForum, Inc. The corporate sponsor was Global Knowledge, a leading project management training and education provider. Papers and presentations from this year’s symposium will be posted soon on http://pmsymposium.utdallas.edu, where additional information about the conference can be found. Individuals or organizations interested in participating in next year’s symposium should contact Debbie@utdallas.edu.
For more information about the Graduate Program in Project Management at UT Dallas, visit http://som.utdallas.edu/project/. For information about the PMI Dallas Chapter, visit www.pmidallas.org. For information about PMForum, visit www.pmforum.org.
