Speakers at the Project and Portfolio Management Strategies Conference

Darrin Anderson

Darrin is employed at Metavante Corporation as a project leader for enterprise projects such as Information Technology (IT) acquisition integration, information security, and cost reduction process improvements.  Darrin possesses a unique combination of project leadership, IT process improvement and IT governance that has added great value to many organizations. Darrin has completed advanced certifications in project management (PMP), IT service management (ITIL), IT Governance (CobiT) and technology (Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer).  In his past, Darrin spent over a dozen years as an information technology consultant advancing from a UNIX/Windows engineer to a project manager, governance coordinator, and a program leader. Some of Darrin's clients included: Wells Fargo, Liberty Mutual Insurance, The Bank of New York, The State of Wisconsin, Oshkosh (Truck) Corporation, and Shopko/Pamida.  Darrin's experiences in business continuity and disaster recovery include a simulation for the State of Wisconsin, and numerous data center disaster recovery improvement projects for companies in the financial, insurance and government industries.  Darrin has experience crafting disaster recovery business cases that target a fine balance between cost and quality.
Mark Calabrese
Mark E. Calabrese, PMP is Managing Consultant in the Business Strategy Execution Practice Group with Project Leadership Associates, leading the development and delivery of PLA’s “Principled Project Leadership” approach to project management.  Mark has over 20 years of experience in roles building and aligning organizations to achieve operational excellence, world-class customer service, and maximum benefit from their IT investment.  While an executive with Aon Corporation, Mark led departments of project managers, IT Directors and application teams and has implemented PMOs and project management best practices to enhance the strategic value of project management to the delivery organization.   While a consultant with Blackwell Consulting, Mark advised senior business partners on project and program best practices from both a client and delivery perspective.  Mark has had extensive project management training and experience with a variety of multi-vendor solution projects including SaaS implementations, hardware/infrastructure implementations, custom software development and total cost of ownership studies.  Mark is PMP certified and Masters Certificate in IT Project Management from the George Washington University in Virginia and a BA/BS from Central Michigan University.

Terry Doerscher

Terry Doerscher has over 26 years of experience in program, project, work & resource management, process & PMO development and strategic planning. As the Chief Process Architect for Planview, Terry’s focus is on innovating world-class business management techniques aligned to the to unique challenges of today’s technology-centric, knowledge worker environments. Since joining Planview in 1999, Terry has worked with over a hundred Planview customers worldwide, and has become a trusted advisor in their journey towards business management excellence.  Mr. Doerscher is the primary author of PlanView PRISMS™ Business Processes and Best Practices, a companion product to Planview Enterprise portfolio management software. He also drives the acclaimed ‘PMO 2.0’ series of whitepapers, presentations, leadership forums, the 2008 PMO 2.0 Survey and his entertaining and educational blog, the Enterprise Navigator - all of which are recognized as a catalyst for redefining the role of the PMO in integrating and aligning business management functions for the enterprise.  Terry is a passionate evangelist for integrating business management processes as a proven method of improving organizational performance; he is a frequently cited industry expert and his candid and engaging presentation style makes him a sought after speaker. He is a contributing author to the book, “The Modern PMO – Practical Insights and Case Studies” by Mark Perry (due out in the Spring of 2009), and is currently co-authoring a book on portfolio management (due out in the Summer of 2009). His collective body of work is very influential in positioning Planview as a recognized thought leader within the industry.  Mr. Doerscher is a voracious reader and self-directed learner. He received his formal engineering education in the elite US Navy Nuclear Power Program, has been a member of PMI since 1997, is a member of the PMI PMO SIG, is ITIL v.3 Foundation certified, and is a Certified Process Design Engineer (CPDE).
Richard Knaster
Richard Knaster is the WW Practice Manager for PPM at IBM Rational   He has extensive experience as a Senior Technology Leader and has held various executive technology positions with Fortune 500 and mid-sized companies, ranging from Director, Development to Vice President, Business Process Engineering. Richard's expertise includes developing new products and services, managing all phases of software and IT projects, directing IT operations, building teams and organizations and implementing Project Management Offices and tools. Richard also leads a Project and Portfolio Community of Practice at IBM to help IBMers and customers deploy and adopt Agile and Traditional Project Management solutions.

Terry Melnik

Terry brings over 20 years of experience from his roles as a management and strategic consultant, operations manager and program manager in the healthcare, government and defense, and manufacturing/retail/distribution industries.  His areas of expertise include Business Planning and Strategy, Promoting Process Improvement, Understanding the Customer, Business Development, Strategic Program Management, Goals Deployment, Mergers and Acquisitions, and Six Sigma.  Terry has worked with some of the world's largest and most admired organizations including the US Army, Navy and Air Force, the UK MOD, UK National Health Services, GE, AT&T, Best Buy and IBM. Terry has presented at a number of conferences in North America and Europe on the topics of Process Excellence, Keys to Successful Deployment of a Program Office and Effective Goals Deployment. Prior to joining PowerSteering, Terry was a Senior Manager with Andersen and before that a Senior with Computer Sciences Corporation.  Terry holds an MBA from Boston College with a concentration in Strategic Management and a BA in Economics from Concordia University in Montreal, Canada.

Praveen Moturu

Praveen Moturu is currently working as an Enterprise Architect at Health Care Service Corporation, a Mutual Legal Reserve Company (HCSC). He has more than 14 years’ experience providing strategic planning, enterprise leadership, driving business and it alignment, guiding top-tier organizations in areas pertaining to business transformation, enterprise architecture and business performance improvement. Mr. Moturu has extensive expertise in leading and implementing enterprise-wide business/technology strategies and innovative solutions with background in senior management positions as a Consulting Partner, Principal-Strategy Consulting, Director of eBusiness Practice, Solutions Architect and Senior Enterprise Architect. Experienced in turnaround and change leadership, mentoring and managing high skilled architects, and management of subject matter experts in the accomplishment of enterprise IT programs. His focus areas have been planning, definition and execution of strategy and management of complex implementation projects, establishing strategic relationships, new technology adoption, future state business and technology architecture definition, and the alignment of IT investments with business strategy by collaborating with key departments/stakeholders of the enterprise. His current engagements are focused on processes integration, enterprise reference model development and service oriented architecture governance, roadmap, and adoption. Mr. Moturu has a master’s degree in IT and is a certified Enterprise and Business Architect. Prior to joining HCSC, he held positions at CNA Insurance and Cambridge Technology Partners.

Rebecca Porterfield
Rebecca Porterfield is currently Director of Project Management at Performance Trust Capital Partners, where she is responsible for establishing and streamlining Project Management and Project Portfolio Management methodologies, as well as overseeing the Enterprise Project Portfolio.  Both a Certified Scrum Master Certified (CSM) and Project Management Professional (PMP), Rebecca is a proven Project Management Leader with over a decade of experience in software application development and IT Project Management. She has broad expertise in diverse project management and software development techniques including Waterfall, Iterative Development, and recently has become an Agile specialist.  Previously, as a consultant, Rebecca had a penchant for aligning technology with business goals, providing Project Management expertise to a variety of clients including fast-paced, academic, start-up and F500 companies. And, as Director of Project Management of a fast-paced internet marketing company, she conducted project evaluation, program planning, capacity planning and overall company portfolio management. There she also successfully rolled out Agile across the enterprise portfolio. 

Fabrice Roche

Fabrice Roche, a Senior Vice President and Chicago Regional Director with UMT Consulting Group, has over 12 years of Portfolio and Project Management implementation, software development and consulting experience.  Fabrice is actively involved in managing, leading, planning and participating in all facets of Portfolio and Project Management, with concentrations in methodology development, governance, process design & definition, creation, prioritization, optimization and on-going management of portfolios and projects. He also has a strong financial background including Accounting and Corporate Finance.  Fabrice has taken leadership and participated in multiple strategy consulting, business process and IT implementation projects for Financial Services, Professional Services & Manufacturing clients in North America and Europe. He has worked with several Fortune 1000 companies including but not limited to JPMorganChase, Wachovia, KeySpan Energy, Ernst & Young, PricewaterhouseCoopers, IBM, Michelin, Renault Nissan, Arcelor, Alcatel, Dassault, National Savings, etc.  Fabrice holds an MBA with focus on Management and Finance from the Stern School of Business at New York University and a Master of Science and Engineering from ENSTA, a leading French engineering school.

James J. Sibenaller
Presently, Mr. Sibenaller is an IT Director at Loyola University Chicago responsible for the Project Management Office, Enterprise Architecture, Information Security, Quality Assurance and Change Management processes. He is the primary driver behind the creation of IT Governance processes and best practices within the Information Technology Services department. In 2008 he and his peers received the Most Effective IT Team Award from the Chicago Chapter of the Association of Information Technology Professionals (AITP). He currently sits on the IT Executive Steering Committee and established the functional processes for that committee. Mr. Sibenaller has a diverse background in technology, project management and information processing. From a technology perspective he has experience with web-based, client server and mainframe applications. In addition to his financial systems and higher education exposure, he has business exposure from a technology perspective in manufacturing, inventory control, accounts payable, general ledger and data warehousing. External activities include participation in various user groups and technology conferences. Jim is a ten year member of the Project Management Institute (PMI) and is Foundations Certified in ITIL. He participates annually in the IT and Architecture Symposium & Strategy Meetings held by Gartner. Mr. Sibenaller holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from Aurora University in Aurora, Illinois.

Sara Strock

Ms Strock has over 25 years IT experience with 15 years of senior level experience in Strategic Planning, Marketing, and Project and Portfolio management.  She has managed and implemented PMOs and associated portfolio and budgeting methodologies.  Ms. Strock has worked in a variety of industries including Publishing, Consumer Electronics, Pharmaceutical and Insurance.  She is currently working in the Chicago area for a Consumer Packaged Goods manufacturer.

Randy Wimmer

Randy Wimmer is a Manager at UMT Consulting Group which provides IT Portfolio & Project Management consulting services. Prior to joining UMT Randy was at Allstate Insurance where over the course of ten years he worked in several technology area PMOs implementing portfolio and project management best practices including the Capability Maturity Model-SW. His background also includes a first career of over ten years in Public & Corporate Accounting. Randy holds an undergraduate degree in Accounting and has successfully achieved certifications as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and Certified Software Quality Analyst (CSQA).