This is a compilation of some of the earliest PM Point of View episodes, covering new directions in Project Management. Robert Brese, former CIO of the Department of Energy, talks about risk and what he looks for in a Project Manager. John Cable, Director of the Project Management Center for Excellence at the University of Maryland, discusses PM in the Academic sphere. Greg Balestrero, CEO Emeritus of the Project Management Institute, focuses on sustainability in Project Management – and it’s more than just the environment. German futurist, Oliver Schlake and Michael Hannan of Fortezza Consulting talk about how PMs need to create and nurture an environment that promotes innovation.
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PM Point of View® is a podcast series produced by Final Milestone Productions and PMIWDC. PMIWDC members and the public at large are invited to listen to brief and informative conversations with practitioners and executives from all over the world as they discuss various perspectives on project management – its uses, its shortcomings, its changes, and its future.
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Mr. Brese is the Chief Information Officer (CIO) for the Department of Energy (DOE). He provides leadership, establishes policy, and maintains oversight of DOE’s annual $2 billion investment in information technology (IT), at more than 25 National Laboratories and Production Facilities, to enable urgent missions that span from open science to nuclear security. Mr. Brese is also a leader in the U.S. Government’s cybersecurity community and a key contributor to the Administration’s efforts in legislation, policy and technology research, development, and deployment. He is a Chair to the CIO Council’s Management Best Practices Committee and also serves as an advisor to the Domestic Policy Council’s Strong City, Strong Community Pilot. Prior to his current assignment, Mr. Brese served as DOE’s Deputy CIO.
Previously, Mr. Brese was the Deputy CIO for Information Technology for the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and also the Director of the Office of Program Evaluation within Defense Nuclear Security in NNSA, where he began his civilian career and his tenure in Senior Executive Service.
Prior to working in NNSA, Mr. Brese served as a submarine officer in the U.S. Navy, retiring after a 22-year career, which culminated in his assignment as a Senior Advisor to the Deputy Administrator for Defense Programs within NNSA.
Mr. Brese holds a Federal Chief Information Officer Certificate from The National Defense University. He obtained a Master of Science from Catholic University of America, was a qualified Naval Nuclear Propulsion Engineer in the U.S. Navy’s Nuclear Propulsion Program, and received a Bachelor of Engineering at Vanderbilt University.
Mr. Cable is a licensed architect and general contractor with over 35 years experience. His activities have included planning, design, and construction of buildings; building energy conservation research; management consulting; and teaching. In 1980 he was cited by Engineering News-Record as “one who served in the best interests of the building industry.” And, in 1992 he was selected by Remodeling Magazine as one of the 50 best remodeling contractors in the United States.
Since joining the Clark School of Engineering at the University of Maryland in the fall of 1999, John initiated the graduate program in project management, an undergraduate minor, and the Center for Excellence in Project Management.
He teaches courses in Project Management Fundamentals, and Managing Projects in a Dynamic Environment and is widely sought after for his seminars and workshops on a variety of Project Management topics. John is also chairman of the Project Management Institute’s Global Accreditation Center Board of Directors, a member of the Federal Government’s Project Management Working Group, and a member of the Science & Engineering Council of NASA’s Center for Program/Project Management Research. John is also a founding member of the International Project Management Educational Union along with Peking University and 6 other universities worldwide. In 2004 he coauthored a report for the National Academy of Sciences Federal Facilities Council on “Key Performance Indicators for Federal Facilities Portfolios”.
Prior to joining the University, Mr. Cable was a Research Fellow in the Logistics Management Institute’s Facilities and Engineering Management group where he managed a variety of lead assignments analyzing facility design and construction practices, conducting benchmarking and business process re-engineering studies, assessing the use of information technology in the management of design and construction, managed business and program planning assignments, and training/assisting clients in becoming certified in compliance with ISO9000 Quality Management Standards.
Prior to LMI, John created and managed a design/build firm specializing in renovation and new construction of residential, commercial and retail properties and directed energy conservation research in buildings for the U.S. Department of Energy.
Greg Balestrero has been a global advocate for excellence in performance management and business results. In a career spanning more than 40 years, he has been a project engineer, project manager, and for the last 30 years, a senior executive of professional membership associations related to engineering and project management. From 2002 – 2011, Greg served as the President and CEO of Project Management Institute (PMI®). He has met with business and government leaders in more than 60 countries, advocating and promoting a project focus in engineering, construction, and a broad range of business sectors. This exposure has shaped his thinking and message, reinforcing the need that organizations must transform to sustain themselves, integrating the values of community and the planet, with their own corporate strategies and values. Through his work at IIL as strategic advisor, Greg aims to help global corporations discover how they can change their strategies to focus on serving their communities and the planet, while being or becoming market leaders.
Dr. Oliver Schlake is a Clinical Professor at Robert H. Smith School of Business, a senior business consultant, entrepreneur and researcher. His publications and research on scenario-based strategic planning and innovation strategy have been featured in leading academic and practitioner journals worldwide. Oliver has been an international management consultant and strategic advisor for leading companies and government agencies in Europe and North-America. Prior to joining the Smith School he was Assistant Professor for E-Business at National University, San Diego and CEO for German based consulting firm Scenario Management International (ScMI AG).
Mike Hannan is Founder and Principal Consultant for Fortezza Consulting, LLC, which helps CIOs, IT PMO Directors, and project teams improve the speed and reliability of their Project Portfolios. Mr. Hannan brings over 20 years’ experience as a Consulting Executive, IT Project Portfolio and Program Manager, Process Engineer, and Software Architect/Engineer/Designer/Tester. His background in Project Portfolio Management started at NASA in the early 1990s supporting large, complex programs such as the International Space Station and High-Performance Computing & Communications (HPCC). He has managed and consulted on $500M+ project portfolios, and trained CIOs and other senior executives in Federal Civilian, Military, and Commercial environments. Mike has been an active speaker at industry events, including local PMI chapter and community meetings, webinars, PM Symposia, and in the Agile community. He is a leading innovator of disciplined ways to integrate Agile, Lean, Critical Chain, and other techniques to drive dramatic breakthroughs in the performance of IT Project Portfolios. Mr. Hannan has been a PMP since 2005, and is a member of both the PMIWDC and Montgomery County chapters. He has been a Theory of Constraints Jonah since 2011, and has Masters degrees in Information Technology and International Affairs. He is also a devoted father of 3 teenage boys, a competitive masters-level track athlete, and an amateur oenophile.