The AACE international Conference & Expo 2025 will be held at the Anaheim Marriott California, 700 W Convention Way, Anaheim, CA 92802, on June 15-17, 2025. This year’s AACE international Conference & Expo 2025 are offering Keynote Speakers and over 100 tracks classified in the following areas: Project Management, Planning & Scheduling, Risk, Project Controls and EVM.
Key Note Speakers
Monday, June 16
Russ Peak is a motivational Speaker and Entertainer.
During his keynote, ‘Anything is Possible’. Russ will use a unique blend of inspirational humour, magic and mentalism to engage the audience. With audience participation, Russ will, in between the laughter, deliver a powerful message designed to unlock potential and create a positive attitude that challenges the audience to be amazing.
Tuesday, June 17
Lance Stephenson, FACCE Hon.Life. will headline a panel discussion with AACE leaders in AI.
In this interactive keynote, ‘Bridging the Gap: Getting Cost Engineers & Project Controls Ready for AI’, the panel will explore real-world applications and discuss how AI is already shaping project delivery and project controls.
The panel will reveal that success is based upon how AI tools are integrated into workflows and the challenges that this may face.
Tracks
The tracklist is vast, with over 100 tracks delivered by professional experts. We’ve selected a few from each category to offer a flavour of what to expect at the AACEi Conference and Expo.
Project Management
Eric Vyskocil, Laurentis Energy Partners and Ashrita Srikanth, Ontario Power Generation, will present ‘Do We Need a PMO?’ Eric and Ashrita will explain how a Project Management Office (PMO) or Project Management Center of Excellence (PMCOE) is typical and established in many organizations to help execute projects efficiently and successfully under standardized processes.
However, Eric and Ashrita will reveal that the types of projects completed in the power generation, transmission and distribution organizations have significant differences regarding how or if they have an established PMO and the responsibilities it may have. With projects planned to increase electricity generation transmission and distribution, the industry must demonstrate its ability to deliver them successfully. During this interactive session, Eric and Ashrita will discuss the following points:
- Does the PMO still hold a critical role in this, or are there other, better ways to deliver successful projects?
- What should a PMO’s structure and responsibilities be if they are still needed?
Abbas Shakourifar, PSP with FTI Consulting, will present ‘Integrating Advance Work Packaging with Data-Driven Portfolio Management: Enhancing Efficiency in Repetitive Project Portfolios.’ Abbas will discuss how, as project complexity grows and the demand for efficiency increases, organizations need innovative approaches to streamline planning and execution processes.
Abbas will reveal how Advance Work Packaging (AWP) offers a structured methodology that enhances early-stage planning and provides detailed work breakdowns, making it an ideal framework for generating actionable data in portfolio management. AWP’s design facilitates the creation and collection of a wealth of data throughout the project lifecycle—from early planning phases to execution and completion.
This data-centric approach enables project managers to utilize analytics and business intelligence tools to make informed decisions, optimize resource allocation, and proactively manage risks across the portfolio. Abbas will provide a roadmap for organizations seeking to enhance their portfolio management practices, ensuring sustained value delivery and competitive advantage in an increasingly complex project landscape.
Planning & Scheduling
Aldo D. Mattos, AMC Partners Inc. will present ‘Validate your PLAN before validating your SCHEDULE’. Aldo will explain that although systems are available, such as the DCMA 14-point assessment and GAO guidelines for schedule validation, these techniques assume the work plan is correctly reflected in the tasks interconnected in the schedule.
Aldo will reveal that many schedules will fail if the plan is incomplete, obsolete, unrealistic and generated with inaccurate data.
Using examples, Aldo will demonstrate the importance of validating the PLAN before validating the schedule by checking the completeness of the scope contained in the WBS, assessing the validity of the production rates considered in deriving durations, and validating the calendar and the resources.
Jeffrey Milo, Kast Construction and Sylvia Donado, SMDC Training & Consulting, LLC. will present ‘Scheduling: A Tool to Communicate the Plan’ Jeffrey and Sylvia will discuss the evolution of scheduling from its origins of Gantt Chart in the early 1900s to Time Scaled Precedence Diagrams, 4D & 5D Scheduling in the present day.
Jeffrey and Sylvia will examine how the tools we use to communicate the plan have changed. Jeffrey and Sylvia will offer their insights on the effectiveness of each tool in communicating the plan, their similarities and differences, and how they can be used together to provide a more complete scheduling solution for projects and programs.
Glen R. Palmer, owner of GR Palmer Consulting Services, LLC. and Christopher W. Carson, Vice President Arcadis, Inc., will present ‘The Top Ten Mistakes Made in Planning a Complex Construction Project.’ Glen and Chris will explain how most problems that arise in construction are just symptoms of the original problems related to poor planning.
If a project is planned in detail with the right stakeholders, it will survive most challenges with minor revisions or actions. Glen and Chris will reveal the top ten mistakes usually made in planning a complex construction project and describe how each of these mistakes leads to later failures. Glen and Chris will demonstrate how to plan efficiently to ensure a viable project plan and, on-time project delivery.
Risk
Gustavo Vinueza, a Senior Consultant with the Ferryfield Group, will present ‘Mental Model for Integrated QRA.’ Gustavo will offer practical examples that reveal how uncertainty and risk events can influence project timelines and budgets.
Using a mental model, Gustavo will explain how it can be applied to any industry, project size, or complexity, offering delegates an easy-to-use mental framework for quantitative risk analysis. This framework will help delegates manage uncertainty effectively, offering them the confidence to approach any project with a structured and proactive risk management mindset.
Mennat Allah Hammam and Osama Moselhi from Concordia University will present ‘Dynamic Risk Allocation in Collaborative Project Delivery’ Mennat and Osama will explain how, as projects progress through various phases, the risk control capabilities of each stakeholder can shift considerably. Stakeholders demonstrating strong performance in risk management may be assigned additional responsibilities in later phases. New risks not identified at the outset may surface, requiring the reallocation of risks equitably among the parties involved.
Using case studies as examples and lessons learnt, Mennat and Osama will demonstrate a framework for risk allocation that ensures fairness and efficiency throughout the project delivery phases. The framework introduces a set of assessment gates, one at the start of each project phase, to implement the allocation of risk and promote a flexible, responsive approach to managing project risks.
Project Controls
Sedat Akkaya with Hydro One and Jason MacDermott Hydro One will present ‘Production Board; Swiss Knife of Project Controls for Construction.’ Sedat and Jason will discuss a simple approach to track schedule, progress, and performance in an integrated way during construction using a “Production Board” methodology that can be effective and efficient.
Sedat and Jason will discuss how this methodology is common practice in the manufacturing industry. Although the construction industry has made many attempts to apply a Production Board during execution, there hasn’t been a significant uptake. Using a case study, Sedat and Jason will confirm the proposed Production Board methodology’s viability, strengths, and weaknesses.
Kiran Kumar Galla, with Hatch and Virgilio Monton, Hatch will present ‘Generative AI and Chatbots for Enhanced Project Controls and User Experience’. Kiran and Virgilio will discuss how generative AI can analyze vast amounts of data, generate human-like text, and provide real-time insights and predictive analytics, enabling project controllers to make swift, informed decisions. Kiran and Virgilio will explain how chatbots can offer round-the-clock support, answer queries, provide updates, and assist with routine tasks, freeing up valuable time for project controllers to focus on more strategic activities.
Together, generative AI and chatbots can streamline communication, reduce response times, and improve overall project management. Kiran and Virgilio will demonstrate various technologies and discuss their benefits and the challenges that must be addressed to realize their full potential in project controls.
Leslie E. McMullan, Hatch will present ‘The Project Controls Managers’ Playbook: A Survivor’s Guide for a New Era.’ Leslie will explain that, according to a study by CII, the basic concepts of Project Controls are sound, with the support of AACE and the PMI.
However, with the world changing due to disruptive technology, shrinking experienced resources and competition for resources at all levels, Leslie will discuss how project control responsibilities may be encroached upon due to the blurring of roles in the digital data environment for data analysis. Leslie will offer insights on the perception of the project control role at project and portfolio level. Leslie will provide a roadmap for becoming a project controls manager and discuss how the AACE can bridge the gap with its recommended practices, guidelines and certifications for the current and next generation of project controls managers and project controls professionals.
EVM
Dr. Prasad S. Kodukula from the Illinois Institute of Technology and Gustavo Vinueza from The Ferryfield Group will present ‘Earned Time Management: Improving Schedule Tracking in Earned Value Management.’
Dr. Prasad and Gustavo will explain how Earned Value Management (EVM) is widely used to track cost and schedule performance. The Cost Performance Index (CPI) is a reliable measure of cost. However, the Schedule Performance Index (SPI) has many limitations, including reliance on dollar values rather than time. Even extensions like Earned Schedule (ES) only partially address these issues.
Dr. Prasad and Gustavo will introduce Earned Time Management (ETM), a method that enhances EVM without requiring new data or infrastructure. ETM measures Schedule Variance (SV) in time units, providing clearer insights into schedule performance. It also calculates SPI based on actual schedule delays, making it more reliable for tracking tasks, critical paths, and overall project performance.
Dr. Prasad and Gustavo will explain how ETM introduces TSPI (To-Complete Schedule Performance Index), which forecasts performance under different scenarios, such as meeting the original baseline or finishing by a new deadline. Revised Gantt charts will display current and future performance, empowering project managers with more accurate tools for managing schedules.
To demonstrate ETM, Dr. Prasad and Gustavo will simulate a real-world project, role-playing a project manager and CEO, with the audience serving as the project team.
Carole A. Venters, Worley will present ‘Is EVM Still Relevant in Today’s Engineering Market for Consultants?’ Carole will explore how EVM is used in engineering /procurement contracts. Carole will review the progress on Front End Engineering Design (FEED) contracted by an American engineering and construction company, the lessons learnt, and how they are addressed in the project’s next phase. Carole will answer three key questions:
- What does it take to create and progress deliverables?
- Who really owns the list of deliverables? And the rules of credit used to progress the deliverables.
- Who is responsible for updating the progress of each deliverable over the duration of the project phase?
Carole will follow the EVM by using the resulting productivity factor to forecast the estimate at completion (EAC) throughout each phase of the project.
Registration Details
Below are the registration options for this year’s AACE international Conference & Expo 2025.
| Status | One Day Technical Program | Full Conference and Expo |
| Member | $900 | $1225 |
| Non-Member | $1000 | $1425 |
| Student | N/A | $900 |
All delegates who attend the full conference and Expo will receive a copy of the proceedings.
To register, click here
Summary
AACE international Conference & Expo 2025 is a huge three-day event, with over one hundred tracks available for delegate use, categorized so that they can easily be found at the Anaheim Marriott.
The keynotes offered at this year’s AACE international Conference & Expo 2025 will be both inspiring and entertaining. If a delegate purchases a full Conference pass, they will receive a recording of all the events at the conference.