The Project Management Institute is holding their annual Global Conference from Oct 6-8 at the Los Angeles Convention Center – West Building. This prestigious venue is the largest convention center in the US to receive Gold Recertification for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Existing Buildings (LEED-EB)
Los Angeles Convention Center, 1201 S Figueroa Street, Los Angeles, CA 90015
The Project Management Institute (PMI) Global Conference is a huge event because PMI is a leader in the Project Management world, offering PDU’s, which are global, recognized certificates. With PMI Chapters worldwide, last year Chapter Leaders represented over 67 countries and over 1400 organizations were represented, 20 of which were Key Fortune 500 Companies. This year due to its popularity, attendance is expected to exceed 2017 admissions and places are rapidly filling up.
The format for PMI Global Conference is educational sessions (built around the PMI Talent Triangle of Leadership, Strategic and Business Management and Technical Project Management) Keynote Speakers, Networking, Exhibits, SeminarsWorld, and the popular features of the Playground Area and The Wellness Pavilion.
Educational Sessions
With over 100 sessions to choose from, we have reviewed a selection of them. Industry portfolio and business professionals will run them all and upon completion delegates can gain PDU’s. These tracks are divided into four categories, representing the different areas of the PMI Talent Triangle.
Analyzing and Process Improvement
Yelena Okonechnikova, PMP Qualcomm, Senior Program Manager will run a track, which is in the category of Technical Project Management on the PMI Talent Triangle. Yelena will present “Navigating Through Project Uncertainties with Quantitative Risk Analysis.” With projects facing increasing levels of uncertainties through risks of market changes, organizational change and global independencies the project life cycle can derail. Yelena will give her insights on how to apply a probabilistic approach of quantitative risk analysis to successfully navigate through project uncertainties, explaining the pros and cons of qualitative and quantitative risk analysis in a constantly changing business environment.
Parto Dehdashti, PMP received her Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt designation at Vanguard and holds the PMI Project Management Professional certification. Parto will run a track, which covers two categories of the PMI Talent Triangle; Technical Project Management and Leadership. Parto will present “Utilizing Lean, Design Thinking, and Project Management Techniques to Improve a Process.” When a process across multiple groups requires a redesign to reduce cycle time more than one methodology is often needed to bring these groups together. Parto will give her insights into the business process redesign explaining how techniques from three disciplines (lean value stream improvement, design thinking, and project management) can be integrated into the plan, thus using multiple methods to problem solve.
Communication and Teamwork
Kevin Wozniak, PMP IT Director at AIG will run a track, which covers the Leadership category of the PMI Talent Triangle. Kevin will present “Effective Leadership That Engages.” Kevin will give his insights into effective meeting management, using different combinations of direct, dotted line, and influential management. Kevin will demonstrate how to effectively lead meetings using a variety of management styles that will engage meeting attendees to participate in meetings.
Nanda Kishore Thesingh, PMP will run a track, which covers the Leadership category of the PMI Talent Triangle. Nanda will present “Hidden Gems of Leadership: A Quest to Identify Them.” With a leadership crisis in every organization, Nanda’s interactive presentation explores the qualities of great leaders and how these qualities can be applied so that we can become better leaders in our organization.
Sarah Leslie, PMP Senior Project Manager at TEAGUE will run a track, which covers the Leadership category of the PMI Talent Triangle. Sarah will present “Know your Audience: Tools and Techniques for leading Multi-Generational Project Teams.” Sarah will give her insights into the generational differences in attitudes, experiences and education among Baby Boomers, Gen-Xers, Millennials, and Xennials. Discover what makes generations tick, what motivates and inspires them and what their unique strengths are. Learn how to motivate members of different generations toward project goals.
Decision Making and Problem Solving
Tanish Mather PMP Associate Vice President at HSBC will run a track, which covers the Leadership category of the PMI Talent Triangle. Tanish will present “Bounded Rationality –Influence on Decision Making in Project Management Leadership” Tanish will give his insights into bounded rationality and its impact on project management. Tanish will discuss different bounds, which can impact critical decisions during different phases of the project life cycle. Tanish will propose a bound-free model, which is based on rational thought process, an analytical and intuitive approach, the project management triple constraints, and metacognition.
Curtis Friedel, Assistant Professor and Director of the Center for Cooperative Problem Solving and James C. Anderson II University of Georgia, Leadership Education Extension Specialist will both run an interactive session which covers the Leadership category of the PMI Talent Triangle. Curtis and James will present “Agents of Change: Managing Collaborative Problem- Solving Styles Among Project Teams” Often very gifted individuals work to manage projects and facilitate change within organizations. Sometimes teams may find it difficult to maintain focus and high productivity. One reason for this inefficiency is the difference in how individuals perceive problems and choose to work within an organizations’ structure to solve them. Curtis and James will discuss a psychometric framework used to identifying and managing these differences.
Enhancing PM Skills
Kim Wasson PMP, CEO of IvyBay Consulting, will run a track, which covers the Technical Project Management category of the PMI Talent Triangle. Kim will present “Agile Time Management How NOT to Work 60 Hour Weeks” Kim will give her insights on Agile Time management. By using Agile development and adding tools from behavioral psychology as well as incorporating pragmatic prioritization a personalized system can be built which fits an individual’s own working style. Kim will demonstrate how to use the key components of a good time/priority management system.
Tejas Desai Senior Manager at Deloitte and Aswin Natarajan, PMP, Manager at Deloitte, will both run a track, which covers the Leadership category of the PMI Talent Triangle. Tejas and Aswin will present “Project Management Styles in Times of Advancing Disruptive Technologies” Tejas and Aswin will give their insights into how organizations and project managers, in particular, can learn and adapt to ever-changing technology evolution and still be able to drive positive growth in their business portfolio.
Shobhna Raghupathy, PMP is a global strategy and project portfolio management consultant. Shobhna will run a track, which covers the Strategic and Business Management category of the PMI Talent Triangle. Shobhna will present “Agility, Innovation and Project Management in This Age of Digital Transformation” Shobhna will describe the various challenges of managing and leading transformations offering her insights on how embracing agile as a mindset is important to drive innovation, and how project managers can lead this effort through prioritized customer value and continuous risk assessment leading to an effective time-to-market metric.
Keynote Speakers
Saturday 6 October
Jon Dorenbos is a former NFL Pro Bowler and known as the “Magic Man” achieving the final of America’s Got Talent. Jon will present a keynote “Life is Magic” drawing on his own life experiences, he will discuss the importance of discipline, teamwork and perseverance in achieving goals.
Sunday 7 October
Cam Marston is an author, blogger and lecturer on the impact of generational change and its impact on the marketplace. Cam will share his insights in his keynote” Sharing Gems on The Generations.”
Monday 8 October
Abigail Posner is head of strategic planning at Google’s creative think tank for agencies and brands. Abigail will present her keynote “Cracking Creativity: Re-Engaging Our Innate Creativity for Greater Productivity and Growth” offering her insights into culture, creativity and the Internet.
Networking & Exhibits
There are ample opportunities to network scheduled after Keynote Speakers and Educational Sessions. Also, vendors will be on hand to demonstrate their products and offer advice on best practices. Closer hands-on demonstrations on a one to one basis can be arranged in The Playground Area.
SeminarsWorld
SeminarsWorld offer attendees’ in-depth training on specific topics run by industry professionals. These are both Pre and Post- conference. The Pre-conference SeminarsWorld workshops are either three or four days in length running from 2-5 October. The Post conference workshops are two days in length running from 9 October -10 October.
Wellness Pavilion
This area is designed to help delegates mange stress. Topics Include:
- Project Manage Your Health
- Relaxation Techniques: Simple Steps to Unwind
- Wellness Technologies for your Body, Home and Office
- Top 5 Health and Wellness Habits That Busy Professionals Should Create Now
Registration Details
There are a multitude of options, with add-ons available so that the conference can be tailored to your needs.
| PMI Member | Non-Member | Government | Student | |
| Day Pass | $950.00 | $1,050.00 | N/A | N/A |
| Full Conference | $1,650.00 | $1,750.00 | $1,350.00 | $650.00 |
| Pre-Conference SeminarsWorld 3-Day Course | $2,550.00 | $2,685.00 | $2,100.00 | N/A |
| Post Conference SeminarsWorld 2-Day Course | $1,500.00 | $1,790.00 | $1,400.00 | N/A |
Where To Stay
We reviewed two top hotels in close proximity to the Los Angeles Conference Center, the Millennium Biltmore and the Residence Inn by Marriott.
Millennium Biltmore
506, S Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90071
The Millennium Biltmore is a mile from Los Angeles Convention Center. This historic hotel has fantastic architecture. The Millennium Biltmore has appeared in many films and has also been a venue for the Academy Awards. The staffs are friendly and very knowledgeable of the local area. The beds are comfortable and many of the rooms have just been renovated. The hotel is clean and breakfast is inclusive. A three-night stay costs $935.75
Residence Inn by Marriott
901 W Olympic Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90071
The Residence Inn is 0.3 miles from the Los Angeles Convention Center, in the popular downtown area. The staffs are very friendly and accommodating and the hotel is spotlessly clean. The rooms are spacious with comfortable beds. The Residence Inn also provides a full breakfast (with hot and cold choices) included in the room cost. A three-night stay costs $1,763.00
Summary
PMI Global Conference is more than a meeting. It is a week-long celebration of professional development and networking that brings together thousands of Project, Program and Portfolio practitioners, chapter leaders, and business professionals from around the world. Delegates can gain immediate applicable knowledge, acquire insights from leaders and peers, enhance their technical and strategic skills and enjoy the tools provided by the PMI community.
A great way to make connections before the conference is via the PMI App, which provides the names of all attendees. At the conference you can seek out these new connections. The conference chatter on Twitter (#PMI) may have additional information and potentially provides another way to make connections prior and during the Conference.