Rising stars - next generation project managers

Meet the rising stars of project management. Young, bright and exceptionally talented the future is in safe hands.

Will Sargeant 

It was perhaps Will Sargeants gravitas way beyond his years that scooped him APM Young Project Manager of the Year 2011.

Not bad for someone who wasnt initially attracted to project management. Will joined management consulting firm qedis as an intern while studying for a Business degree. The course offered a project management module but it didnt appeal to me at the time! he explains. I had a burning ambition to become a consultant but the link to project management didnt click until I became a consultant. Now, my focus is nearly all project management.

Will, 26, joined qedis three-and-a-half years ago as an analyst, and soon completed his PRINCE2 qualification.

One of his greatest career achievements to date and the project that earned him the Young PM accolade was transforming payment card security for the East Coast Main Line.

Will has also worked on a number of high-pressure rail bids, and with two of the countrys largest retailers. He is currently working on a highprofile programme within GlaxoSmithKline.

He thrives on the leadership nature of project management, and adds that his strength is bringing the best out in people.

I like working with a variety of people. My job is to understand whats important to each person. You have to make sure everyone feels valued and gets the information they need. That was how I saw my role at East Coast. These were people with a lot of experience and knowledge Im never going to learn that in a year, but its my job to get the best out of those people as individuals and, more importantly, as a team.

In future, Will would like to put these skills to good use and focus on developing internal project capability for his clients. Its about going into an organisation, understanding why things are working well or not, from both tangible and intangible perspectives, to turn things around. Essentially building their own skills so they dont need consultants and contractors like me. He also wants to help people with their individual career development in future.

So whats Wills one piece of advice? Start with the framework but, as in life, always be prepared to be flexible. Will Sargeant

Fabiola Unazoi

Fabiola Unazoi has made her name as a fast learner in the digital arena.

In just eight months at internet giant AOL, Fabiola (32) worked on multiple media projects and advertising campaigns. Her first and biggest project there was launching money.aol.co.uk in just six weeks. It attracted the biggest display deal in AOL UK history, attracting 375,000 from the worlds largest building society.

Her time at AOL has been one of the proudest times of her career. She adds that her other proudest moment is being asked to feature in your magazine!

Fabiola, who has Polish and Nigerian parentage, is a high achiever both professionally and educationally. She holds degrees in Pharmacology and Law, a Post-Graduate Diploma in Law and a Legal Practice Course qualification. She worked her way from legal editor to project leader at Thomson Reuters; and she gained her scrum master certification at Nature, the scientific publishing division of Macmillan.

Indeed, Fabiola has found her mtier in project management. Every single project is different; its like problem solving analysing situations, what we need to achieve and how to go about it. Its a fantastic feeling when youve worked so hard and youve got something to show for it.

Im very organised, proactive and sociable all these skills are necessary in project management. Youre not just creating documents and holding meetings. You also have to mentor, coach and inspire sometimes in very challenging situations; overcoming that is fantastic and is what I enjoy most about project management.

Clearly, Fabiola enjoys being busy and is now moving to her next challenge at The Guardian to work on digital projects. Her remit there will be to get all news and publishing content online.

Im motivated by working in very dynamic companies, and working with people I can learn from. I always want to make a positive contribution to my team and the company Im working in.

Antony Hausdoerfer

For someone who calls himself the accidental project manager, Antony Hausdoerfer has achieved a lot.

As programme manager at Three UK, Antony has found a sweet spot in network-related consumer technology.

Unsurprisingly, his proudest moment is helping to launch the first commercial 3G products and services in 2003. That was a real high point for me, enthuses Antony, who was just 29 at the time. Delivering services that no-one had done before was pretty dynamic.

After graduating in Business & Marketing, and a stint at IBM, Antonys project management career started at the BBC as a trainee project manager. There he gained qualifications in PRINCE2, Practitioner and DSDM (Dynamic Systems Design Methodology).

Having worked in marketing for a while, I understood the [project management] process and found I was quite good at it, explains Antony, now 38. Telling people what they need to do and when, and communicating how were getting on, are fundamental.

After a break of several years, which included working at the Vodafone Group as a consultant in project and programme management, Antony returned to Three in 2010. I really enjoy it, he says. My team project manages all marketing proposition deliveries for Three, such as mobile broadband, pay-as-you-go and contract handsets. We also support the delivery of all devices that we take to market handsets, dongles, tablets and so on as well as co-ordinating big marketing activities around devices like iPad and iPhone.

Antonys ambition is to push the technology forward and his passion is clear. Its about mobile data now, not just apps. There are so many amazing things you can do through having a mobile offer I think were only seeing the start of it. As you get faster speeds and better coverage, why would you need to have fixed lines, or even Wi-Fi, if you can get the same speed wherever you are through a radio network?

Having recently completed the Managing Successful Programmes course, Antony is evidently serious about project management. He concludes: Im motivated by action the ability to deliver, make a change, make something happen. If that comes naturally to you, its automatic in project management.

Jayne Coote

At 26, Jayne Coote has made a remarkable impact over a very short period of time.

One of my biggest achievements is receiving an award from Fujitsu for being Best Newcomer to Project Management in 2011, says Jayne, who joined Fujitsu in 2009 as a graduate project manager.

She already has PRINCE2 Practitioner and the ITIL Foundation under her belt, and has recently completed a course in Risk Management.

Jayne has a BSc in Biological Sciences with Biomedicine, and an MRes in Biological Sciences. But it was while working alone in a lab during her postgraduate degree that Jayne had a eureka moment and decided solitary work wasnt for her.

I didnt particularly enjoy working alone in a lab, she comments, but enjoyed leading teams towards a common goal.

My scientific background has been very useful though in particular the ability to visualise, articulate and solve complex problems and create appropriate solutions.

One of her most successful projects at Fujitsu was to set up a Global Cloud Service Desk in Manila. Currently she is managing a global solution for standardisation of technical and maintenance logistics.

She explains: My role involves engaging global leads as part of a virtual team to improve our internal processes.

Jayne particularly enjoys variety, and takes an independent approach to project management: I like to put together a strong team and build trust so that micro management is unnecessary.

She adds that a bespoke approach is vital: There are lots of processes in project management that are really useful, but all projects are different, so tailoring those processes to your client is really important.

Jayne is motivated by working alongside highly skilled individuals, making a difference and adding value to businesses. She enjoys community projects, and has recently been talking to secondary school students in a drive to motivate them towards career development.

She concludes: I hope to take on more operational and business development roles and gain recognition for my ability to manage complex projects. In the future I aim to move towards technology development within the healthcare industry.

Chris McGovern

Chris McGovern was destined to become a project manager in the construction industry.

From a very early age I followed my father around when visiting construction sites, as he ran his own construction business, explains Chris.

But it was a Saturday job at Woolworths that gave him the idea of project management. Within months, Chris became the youngest Woolworths Sunday store manager at the time, at just 17.

I started bossing the store manager around, he reflects. It could have ended in either of two ways me getting sacked or promoted. Luckily for me it ended up with the latter.

Chris, now 26, has worked on 14 projects within the past five years, including luxury hotels, two award-winning spas, the longest private tunnel in London, two student residential projects, an office fit-out for a computer games company and the refurbishment of 15 passenger lifts within a Grade II-Listed office building.

Working with the Dorchester Collection and Kings College London are particular highs for me, he enthuses. Organisations like these make you work harder to excel in every aspect of their project.

Chris explains his approach: Its very much about treating a project as your own. Its best to set high goals for yourself before others set them for you.

For Chris is currently a senior project manager at consultancy Buro Four, the best thing about project management is meeting lots of new people from all walks of life. Successful projects are made up of talented and motivated people, he comments. In part its the project managers job to ensure that all members of the team have the chance to show their talent and motivation, not forgetting to have a laugh now and again along the way.

Its not all plain sailing for young talent, though. Chris explains: If youre good enough, your age should not matter, but there are still some barriers in an industry that respects age over performance.

Chris, too optimistic to be daunted, though. Hes eager to take on more hotel projects in the future and to expand on university work. And, with characteristic enthusiasm, he adds: Id also like to see more of the world.

Natasha Zelem

From a graduate job in TV production to her current role as technical project manager at BBC Sport, Natasha Zelem just 28 has enjoyed an extraordinary career.

After graduating with a first-class honours degree in Film and Moving Image Production, she worked on Emmerdale and Last of the Summer Wine.

However, she soon moved into project management, having found her niche while delivering a series of innovation and leadership events for Yorkshire Forward. While there, Natasha worked on marketing and communications through traditional and emerging platforms, which introduced her to the fledgling world of digital communications.

I really enjoyed project managing a broader spectrum of work, but the digital side specifically appealed to me, she reflects.

Prior to joining the BBC, Natasha worked at marketing agency JDA (now called Involve) as a senior interactive account manager, and then at Numiko as a digital project manager. This latter role involved high-profile, award-winning projects for clients including NSPCC, Virgin Media and O2 Telefonica using a variety of project management frameworks such as Waterfall, Agile and Scrumban (a lean software engineering approach).

At Numiko, Natasha project managed a number of websites for ITV. com which subsequently won a number of awards including a Royal Television Society Yorkshire Award for Best Cross Platform Website, Revolution Award for Best Media and Entertainment website and an NMA Effectiveness Award.

Natasha moved to the BBC in January 2011, overseeing the delivery of the recent Sport website refresh a high point in her career.

It was full of fantastic challenges, she explains, including managing a team split across two locations. Clearly, broadcasting is where Natasha excels.

 To be a really good project manager, you need to keep evolving your knowledge, and adapting to the world around you this is one of my aspirations.

She adds: It helps too if you believe in the talent around you, and enjoy working with other people who are also passionate about what they do, and are open to sharing skills, tools and knowledge with each other.

Thea Oakley

Chemical Engineering graduate Thea Oakley discovered early in her career that she was drawn to dealing with people rather than solely the technical aspects of projects.

Brisbane-born Thea (30) moved to the UK, her parents homeland, after university. She began as a graduate in Arups environmental team in London seven years ago, specialising in air quality. Now she is a senior project and programme manager.

The majority of her work has been with large programme management jobs in the public sector, including Legible London for Transport for London and a sports project in the capital.

Internally, she manages one of Arups strategic charities, Fairbridge (now part of the Princes Trust). Thea comments: It is incredibly rewarding to be able to use my programme and project management skills to improve the lives of young people. She has also managed aspects of the development and roll-out of Arups in-house project management software tool, apex (Arup Project Excellence).

However, the highlight of her career so far is project managing the University of East Londons New Schools Structure restructuring programme. This was the first time I was solely responsible for a project from start to finish and reporting directly to the Deputy Vice Chancellor, says Thea, who achieved APMP in 2010.

What I love about the profession is the variety I effectively change jobs every six to 18 months, whilst having the stability of being employed by the same company. A lot of effort goes into re-establishing yourself and building credibility at the start of each new project with a new team, but this is a challenge that I relish.

Thea is currently working at a hospital trust, supporting them as they embark on a 500-million programme across multiple hospital sites. This is a significant step-change for the team, so I am working on ensuring the processes are fit for purpose and that the team of project managers are supported by the right programme management structure.

She adds: In the future I hope to head up a large programme and be responsible for my own team.

Fernande van Schelle

Fernande van Schelle is already helping other young people in her early project management career.

With a first-class honours degree in Biochemistry, and an MA in International History, she first discovered her management skills as an undergraduate as she managed various clubs and their development.

Fernande is now Innovations Analyst/Project Manager at aerospace and defence company Thales, but it was while working at research firm CognoLink that she realised her love of delivering projects. It never occurred to me that this could turn into a career, she remarks.

As well as working on defence projects in her day job, Fernande (30) also devotes much of her spare time to helping her own generation and younger.

 Through Thales strong relationship with the Association for Project Management (APM) I began attending APM events and broadening my knowledge, explains Fernande, who is working towards the recognition and participation of new project managers in the APM. She has built a nucleus of project managers in the Thames Valley region that organise events for those new to the profession.

Its a project close to APMs heart and one that has really benefited the professional lives of those working on it, says Fernande.

Project management is becoming a career that you choose when you leave higher education rather than a role that you fall into after years in the business, she adds. Younger project managers not only have to learn the business they are in quickly, but also people and business skills as they are given increasingly greater levels of responsibility earlier in their careers. By focusing on new entrants we are ensuring that the profession has confident and competent project managers.

Fernande is also involved with her local Tall Ships Youth Trust branch. We aim to allow as many young people [12 to 25] as possible to experience the incredible experience of sailing as a team on a big boat, one of which looks like a pirate ship! Parents say they really notice a difference in their son or daughter after a voyage.

Fernandes ambition is to run a division or department of a business one day. Project management provides you with the business acumen, financial appreciation and the people skills needed to do all of the above well. And, it seems, shes on track to achieving that.

Will Josten

At just 25, Will Josten has already been involved in handling a crisis at a newly commissioned power plant as project manager with Watercare International Limited, an industrial water treatment design and build company.

A major power-generating plant failure saw almost eight tonnes of lubrication oil leak into the lines of the condensate system. As well as decreased operational performance, the plant failure resulted in a severe threat to plant operator safety.

The oil leak incident reduced the power plants operational output considerably and caused significant financial impact, something which was minimised through Watercares rapid and effectively delivered response.

Through meticulous inspection and testing, Will a Mechanical Engineering graduate carried out an assessment of the oil contamination and the magnitude of damage caused. He explains: The clean-up and restoration was especially difficult given that a water treatment plant is not expected to and therefore not designed to withstand oil.

In order to find a solution after such an abnormal accident, Will had to research the effects of oil on each component within the plant, and source chemicals to aid removal of the oil without adversely affecting other system equipment.

Leading the project has been the highlight of my career, he remarks. Will, who joined Watercare International as a graduate project engineer, says he applies a pen-and-paper approach to his work, relying less on technology and more on the fundamental philosophy of project management an attitude that was essential during the oil leak. He says that this approach helped him by offering flexibility and ease of implementation. Project management software and tools arent always suitable, he comments. They can prove expensive, timeintensive and, by detracting from the important aspects of a project, increase complexity.

He continues: For smaller projects particularly, these tools are often too complicated, too time-consuming and unnecessary sometimes better results are achieved by using simple management techniques which wont detract from the key objectives.

In the future, Will hopes to work on bigger and more varied projects.

Andrew Brand

Twenty-eight-year-old Andrew Brand clearly loves his job. Project management ensures that you are working in a dynamic, challenging, exciting environment every day what more could you ask for?

Its easy to see why Andrew is excited by his career. He is working at the forefront of pilot technology, as Project Manager at BAEs Electronic Systems operation in Rochester. Specifically, Andrew works on the Q-SIGHT Helmet Mounted Display (HMD), which uses holographic waveguide technology to improve situational awareness for pilots and aircrew.

Andrew, who has a degree in Business and Business Information Systems, joined BAE as a student, completing an industrial placement in 2005 in project management and subsequently returning as a project management graduate. After completing the two-year scheme, he became assistant project manager. Since then I have progressed through positions of increasing responsibility and projects of increasing complexity to now be an established Project Manager, he says.

Andrew already has the APMP qualification and aims to complete the Practitioner Qualification this year. Working in project management allows you to experience a really diverse range of activities, he comments. Youre typically leading a multi-disciplinary team, so you get to see most if not all of the functions of your given business, and you interact with a variety of external stakeholders including customers and suppliers.

He adds: A good project manager should also be fully aware of the strategic import of their work so you should at the very least be getting an appreciation of programme and portfolio management within your business, if not be directly involved in it.

Motivation seems to be embedded in Andrews daily routine. Im lucky in that I cannot envisage how anyone could be demotivated in the environment I work within. At BAE you are challenged, stretched, surprised and developed on a daily basis if that doesnt motivate you, then you are in the wrong business!

His ambitions, unsurprisingly, are to keep progressing in project management, moving to programme and eventually portfolio management. How far can I go, we will see ask me again in a few years! Watch this space...