Here are our great speakers
for this year...
Introductory Speeches
Sunil Prashara.
As President & Chief Executive Officer of the Project Management Institute (PMI), Sunil Prashara is the lead advocate for PMI’s global organization, serving more than three million professionals working in nearly every country of the world. His primary responsibility is to implement PMI’s global strategic plan with a priority on strategic focus, customer centricity and organizational agility. This includes expanding the PMI footprint globally, as well as digitizing PMI’s offerings and platforms to benefit its members and a variety of other stakeholders. The plan will also continue to enhance and advocate for the profession of project management.
Sunil's talk: Introductory Speech.
James R. Snyder
Mr. Snyder is a founder of the Project Management Institute, a Fellow of the Institute, and a past Volunteer Executive Director, President and Chairman of the Board. He is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the PMI Educational Foundation, Treasurer of the Delaware Valley Chapter, and a member of the Editorial Review Board of Project Management Journal. Mr. Snyder, who is casually referred to as the "Father of PMI," has been awarded the PMI Man of the Year Award and is an Honorary Life Member of the Institute. He is also a founding member of the PMI Delaware Valley Chapter and the Pharmaceuticals Specific Interest Group (SIG). Mr. Snyder served as the project manager for the construction of PMI's World Headquarters in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, USA. The PMI James R. Snyder Center for Project Management Knowledge and Wisdom, located in the headquarters building, is named in his honor.
Jim's talk: Introductory Speech.
Keynote Speakers
Marian Salzman.
Marian Salzman is a top trendspotter and one of the most-awarded female marketing executives in North America. Her communications career has spanned more than three decades, at roles that have placed her in spots around the world. Now, as SVP of Communications at Philip Morris International, she is focused on designing a smoke-free future for a company in the midst of a dramatic journey of transformation.
Previously, Marian was CEO of Havas PR North America, where she led the agency for more than nine years. While there, Marian co-created and chaired the Global Collective, Havas PR’s operation across several continents.Marian has held other leadership roles, as well; she was Chief Marketing Officer at both Porter Novelli and JWT Worldwide and Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer at Euro RSCG Worldwide (Havas) from 2001 to 2004.Marian co-founded CyberDialogue in the ’90s, where she pioneered the use of online focus groups for social research.She is the author/co-author of 15 books on topics ranging from current affairs to the youth market to the commercial workplace. Buzz: Harness the Power of Influence + Create Demand (2003) was among Wiley’s top 10 sellers for five years.She serves on multiple boards, including the Board of Directors of the Bob Woodruff Foundation’s ReMIND.org, and Board of Advisers for Venture for America. And she is a mentor for Brown Women in Business. She graduated from Brown University with honors.
Marian's keynote: Strange Days for Communicators - and the World
James Kane
James Kane is considered the leading researcher and authority on what makes someone truly loyal - to another person, to an organization, or to a cause. As a behavioral scientist and consultant who has helped some of the largest and most well-know organizations in the world, including Apple, Amazon, the Mayo Clinic, Marriott International, and Major League Baseball build nearly unbreakable relationships with not only their clients and customers, but with members, fans, volunteers, vendors, sponsors and employees, as well, James reveals the science behind the real human emotion called loyalty, and what anyone can do to receive its benefits. The author of an upcoming book - The Loyalty Switch -James has worked with every major industry, while advising and training organizations around the world—including over 150 law firms— ranging from Global 1000 giants to small, regional companies. As one of the most quoted and profiled authorities on loyalty in the traditional mainstream media, James has been profiled in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Business Week, the BBC, and numerous other global and industry publications. He has taught at both Harvard and Penn State University and is a frequent guest on CNN, CNBC and Bloomberg TV, which credits him as being “one of the best experts in the business."
James' Keynote: HELP! The science behind supporting others.
Frank Saladis, PMI Fellow.
Frank P. Saladis, PMP, is a Consultant and Instructor / Facilitator within the project management profession and has over 35 years of experience.
He is a Project Management Professional and has been a featured presenter at the Project Management Institute ® Annual Symposiums, Project World, PMI World Congress, CMMA, and many PMI Chapter professional development programs. He is a past president of the PMI New York City Chapter and a Past-President of the PMI ® Assembly of Chapter Presidents. He is the originator of International Project Management Day and has written numerous leadership and project management related articles.
Frank's talk: Conclusion & Wrap-up & Last Pieces of Wisdom.
Conference Hosts
Mike Frenette
Mike Frenette, SMC, ITCP, PMP, a LIMC 2015 graduate, is an employee and consultant in the IT and project management industries. He heads the Information Systems Project Management Office at Halifax Water in Nova Scotia, Canada and presents at conferences and conducts project management and change management training through his company, Corvo Project Management.
A self-confessed project management evangelist, Mike specializes in helping organizations meet their strategic goals through planning and execution of portfolios of programs and projects.
Mike blogs on both LinkedIn and ProjectManagement.com, where he has been a headliner for several years. Mike is a serial volunteer, having filled many roles in PMI and other not-for-profits for over twenty years.
Agata Czopek
Agata Czopek, PhD, PMP is a Capability Development Manager designing learning programs for teams in 40 markets. She holds a Master of Science in Business Administration, a PhD in economics and she graduated from the PMI Leadership Institute Master Class in 2018.
She has 16 years of experience in building learning solutions (platforms, digital content, learning ecosystems) across industries, from media to pharma, from the US to the Middle East. She won one of the first Design Thinking Accelerator Programs organized by the leading European media group Sanoma in Amsterdam, building her own mobile learning platform. Later, she has worked as a management consultant at the Human Capital practice at Deloitte in Switzerland. Agata is the current President of PMI Switzerland Chapter.
Conference Speakers
Pablo Lledo
Since 1995, Pablo has guided business development projects in multinational companies around the world, coordinated training programs for executives, started companies, and helped enterprises to reach their strategic objectives through projects. He has published ten Project Management books, including his bestseller “Project Manager”; and delivered training and consulting to more than 20,000 executives in 20 countries. Moreover, he was a Board Director at PMI Buenos Aires Chapter (2009-2010), and founder and first President of PMI Nuevo Cuyo Chapter (2011). Both of those Chapters received the “PMI Chapter of the Year award” during his volunteer work. He is currently a PMIEF Board Director (2015-2020) serving as Board Chair.
Married to Marcela and father of three boys, he is active in sports, and volunteers as a rugby coach and helping undernourished children.
Pablo's talk: Social Good Leadership.
Fahad Ahmed.
Fahad Ahmed, PMP is an IT and management executive with cross functional and diversified experience in project management, business analysis, risk management, change management, implementation of large scale financial solutions, ERP applications and MIS applications. Fahad has had an extensive background in project management and leadership training. He has trained individuals from leading Multinationals, Banks, Pharmaceuticals, IT & Telecom Sector, Government Organizations, Armed Forces and Not-for-Profit Organizations. He also specializes in online training and consulting services. He is a Computer Science graduate, a certified PMP® and ITIL (IT ervices Management) credential holder. He is PMI Leadership Master Class Alumina from USA and volunteered with PMI Karachi Pakistan Chapter as their Chapter President till Jan 2020.
Fahad's talk: Experience, Embrace and Emerge – Leading change through CRISIS.
Mohamed Khalifa.
Mohamed Khalifa, PfMP, PgMP, PMP, CAPM, PMI-SP, PMI-RMP, PMI-ACP, PMI-PBA, OPM3, LIMC Alumni is a renowned project management consultant and speaker. Currently he is a member of PMI Ethics Insight Team. Mohamed Khalifa was the Community Council Manager of PMI's Project Management Global Sustainability Community of Practice. Mohamed Khalifa possesses a unique combination of broad-based skills, gained from more than twenty years of project management practice around the globe. He has developed, implemented and operated many Project/Program Management Offices (PMO) and Project Management Information Systems (PMIS). He has hands-on experience in automation of project planning, control, reporting and contract administration through different platforms. With a rich history of working with multinational companies, Mohamed Khalifa has gained valuable experience of dealing with culturally diverse workforces. He has spoken at various PMI forums.
Mohamed's talk: The Top 7 Leadership Lessons that I learned From Nizam.
Agnieszka Gasperini.
Agnieszka Gasperini is CEO and founder of Project Management Consulting, one of the first consulting and training firms, established in Poland in 2003. The company was moved to United Kingdom in 2014 and changed its name to Leader Tango Ltd. Both companies have trained and coached more than 10 000 executives and consulted over 500 companies. Agnieszka has been a speaker at forums in over 20 different countries, speaking in 4 languages. An active PMI volunteer for more than 18 years, Mrs. Gasperini is a Poland Chapter Founder (2002) and has been a PMI PC Vice and President for the 2008-BVAC team, Region Mentor in Central Europe and EF CEC. She graduated from the Leadership Institute Master Class in 2011. She was awarded by PMI for PMI Distinguished Contribution in 2012.
Agnieszka's talk: Together – Tips for Team Relationships In Times of Crisis.
Giusi Meloni.
My background is in humanities and I have combined linguistics, literature and psychology with management expertise, working within and with organizations of varied sectors, dimensions and cultures. In the past two decades I’ve dedicated myself to help individuals and organizations to achieve their potential and I spend most of my time training and coaching individuals and teams. I ground my work on recognized frameworks and cutting edge researches to model the skillset that best fits the organization and the individuals. I have a MH Degree, I hold a certification in Guidance and Counselling and I’m PMP, a Certified Scrum Master CSM® and a MBTI® Practioner. I’ve been an active PMI volunteer for over 15 years.
Giusi's talk: A desire path to leadership: morphing the future with metaphors.
Rick Morris.
Rick Morris is the owner of R2 Consulting and is an evangelist for project management. He is an internationally sought-after speaker delivering keynote presentations for conferences and PMI events around the world. At the age of 11, Rick was a Walt Disney World Performer. In high school, he worked on the New Mickey Mouse Club. Taking the experience of his youth and blending it with the knowledge he attained throughout his career, Rick has been able to inspire and mentor many project managers. His blend of experience and delivery style makes his passion for the profession contagious.
Rick's talk: Emergence - Preparing For the New Normal.