FIRST PMO DIRECTOR’S DINNER OF 2024 HOSTED BY PARTNER’S CONSULTING IN PHILADELPHIA

February 28, 2024

Partner’s Consulting President and CEO, Peggy Gionta, hosted the first PMO Director’s Dinner of 2024 in Philadelphia on February 28. EPMO/PMO leaders from several of the region’s largest corporations gathered at the Pyramid Club to discuss a variety of topics, including portfolio planning and prioritization, advantages of specific methodologies at the project, portfolio and program levels, and best practices to support, lead and inspire project teams and showcase their value.

For Donna Matthews, who manages the Project Management Office at Cooper University Health Care, this was her second time participating. “I was thrilled to be invited back to this event. I love what I do, and these dinners provide a great opportunity to network with other folks in the same space who may be dealing with, or who have already dealt with, similar issues and hurdles in their PMOs. Being able to collectively examine ideas and solutions in a small, study group-type setting helps you understand quickly that you are not alone on an island; other organizations are facing the same roadblocks.”

Ms. Gionta has coordinated these get-togethers with high-level IT leaders within the project-based technology space since 2014, developing agendas based on attendee feedback and topic recommendations. “It’s so valuable for me to be able to listen to these conversations and have a chance to ask clarifying questions, because when we recruit PMO leadership resources for our clients, we are able to consider the obstacles that project teams are encountering,” she explained. “Understanding the current state of program, project and portfolio management and how this space is evolving as technology is constantly changing helps us view the roles and required skillsets through a different lens.”

Maureen Hetu and Gerald Flaherty of Penn Medicine shared how they have been able to effectively identify criteria to prioritize portfolio projects and allocate resources. “Working with executive leadership to understand organizational goals helps us determine which projects best align with those goals and support critical needs,” said Ms. Hetu. “This is especially important when there is a finite number of resources committed to multiple projects.”

Timothy Brown, Enterprise Planning and Analytics PMO Director at Johnson & Johnson, agreed. “A clear understanding of the customers’ needs, and the anticipated benefits associated with addressing the needs should be the basis of the business case for any project,” he added.

Andrew Cvitanov from DLL, Diane Stanton from Cooper University Health Care and Brian Green from Independence Blue Cross offered their mixed experiences using Agile, Waterfall and hybrid methodologies, agreeing that the required approach depends on the type of project, portfolio or program, especially when working cross-functionally with other teams and vendors.

PMO and EPMO directors and leaders from Comcast, SJI and Tower Health also contributed to the discussion, offering their insights into innovation, long-range planning, and how Artificial Intelligence will shape certain aspects of project management over the next several years.

The Partner’s Consulting team announced the second dinner of the 2024 series will be held in May. For information about attending or sponsoring a Partner’s Consulting PMO Director’s Dinner, please contact Katie Kelly at kkelly@partners-consulting.com.

Partner’s Consulting is the first and only woman-owned project leadership company that helps enterprises meet the changing demands of technology. Based in the Philadelphia area, the company has specialized in providing IT Project and Program Leadership resources, such as Project, Product, Portfolio and Program Managers, Agile Scrum Masters and Business Analysts, to oversee large-scale technology projects for Fortune 500 corporations since 2006. As a nationally certified WBE, commitment to diversity is one of the company’s core values; specifically, recognizing the importance of placing more women and diverse candidates into senior leadership roles within IT.