2026 PMI Award Winners

Congratulations to our winners!

2026 PMI Award Winners

Congratulations to our winners!

Meet the 2026 winners

Congratulations to this inspiring group of Project Professionals, teams, chapters, volunteers, researchers and changemakers whose work is shaping a better future.

Across industries and communities, their stories show how bold ideas become real-world impact, and lead the charge of project success.

Professional Awards

Project of the Year
Winner

The PMI Project of the Year Award recognizes outstanding project success in complex environments. It honors project management practices that deliver measurable organizational results, innovation, and elevate our world in alignment with PMI’s purpose.

Saudi Aramco
Project: Acceleration Excellence
(Saudi Arabia)

  • PMI Construction/Infrastructure Project Award

    Saudi Aramco transformed the depleted Hawiyah Unayzah gas reservoir in Saudi Arabia into a first-of-its-kind, large-scale storage facility—delivered in just 45 months despite COVID-19 and global supply chain disruptions. The program strengthens national energy security and peak-demand gas supply while achieving 65 million safe work hours with zero fatalities or lost-time incidents.

PMI Fellow Award
Honoree

The highest and most prestigious individual award presented by the Project Management Institute for sustained service and broad impact to the Institute and the project management profession.

  • Dr. Lambert Ofoegbu, PMP, PMI-RMP, PMI-SCP

    Nigeria (Sub-Saharan Africa)

    Dr. Lambert Ofoegbu has spent more than 20 years advancing the PMI mission across Africa and globally, becoming the first PMI Fellow from Sub-Saharan Africa. He led the partnership of PMI and the Tony Elumelu Foundation and PMIEF – resulting in the PMI-TEF Masterclass that trained over 5,000 entrepreneurs across Africa – and has contributed to PMI Global Standards including OPM3, PMCDF and the Construction Extension to the PMBOK® Guide.

PMI Eric Jenett Award
Winner

Spotlights an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the project management profession or its practice through leadership, technical project management, and strategic and business management acumen.

  • Fernando Romero, PMI-PMOCP, CSPP, DASSM, CAPM

    Angola (Sub-Saharan Africa)

    Fernando Romero helped make the PMI Angola Chapter one of Africa's most active project management communities, delivering 300+ workshops, 250+ events and 90+ community projects. As PMOGA Sub-Saharan Africa Hub Leader, PMI Angola President and BFA Bank Head of PMO, he expanded professional development to 10,000+ people, helped educate 280+ vulnerable children and grew the PMI Angola Conference from 600 attendees (2022) to 6,300 (2024).

Rising Leader Award
Winner

Recognizes and honors young professionals who have made a significant impact in advancing project management within their organizations or communities. These individuals exhibit exceptional knowledge, leadership potential, and a strong alignment with PMI standards, culture and ethics, contributing to the growth and evolution of the profession.

  • Rishab Vardhan Harikrishnan

    United States (North America)

    Rishab Vardhan Harikrishnan led AWS's liquid-cooling initiative for a first-of-its-kind 60 MW AI data center, delivering it 55% faster than industry benchmarks while coordinating 200 stakeholders across 40+ teams. He secured a $20M strategic investment, built portfolio tools used by 1,500+ employees, and also mentors emerging professionals through the PMI Puget Sound Chapter, where he serves as Director of Mentorship and Professional Development.

PMO Award

PMO of the Year Award
Winner

This award recognizes PMOs demonstrating performance, leadership, and value delivery within organizations. These PMOs advance project, program, and portfolio management practices—driving strategic alignment and generating effective value for their organizations.

  • Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (Saudi Arabia)

    Middle East PMO of the Year Award

    Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development has institutionalized its EPMO as an engine for strategy execution and value realization. Overseeing 370+ initiatives and 1,800+ projects through unified governance, the EPMO enabled 98% strategy achievement and 94% project delivery performance, transforming strategic priorities into measurable, sustainable value and advancing institutional excellence.

PMIEF Award

Kerzner Award for Excellence in Social Impact
Winner

This award recognizes a Project Manager who has made important contributions to solve social issues and/or improving the quality of life, well-being, sustainable development of individuals or communities.

  • Rahim Thompson, PMP

    United States (North America)

    Rahim Thompson brings storytelling and disciplined project leadership to his role as Senior Program Manager at the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center, inspiring dialogue across diverse audiences. A former journalist and PMI Future 50 honoree, he expands access to Holocaust and human rights education and deepens community engagement with his work.

Global Chapter Awards

Global Chapter of the Year Award Winner

This award recognizes PMI chapters that demonstrate exceptional performance, leadership and impact in advancing the profession, supporting members and contributing to PMI global goals through the dedication of their volunteer leaders and communities.

  • Greece Chapter

    Europe

    PMI Greece Chapter expanded access to project management education, reaching more than 2,000 secondary students in 2025 and growing from 597 to more than 1,950 members over five years. Through 38 educational events, a six-month mentorship program with 37 mentor-mentee pairs and collaborations with 24+ PMI chapters across five continents, the chapter built a strong bridge between students, professionals and the global PMI community.

Chapter Leadership Impact Award Winners

This award recognizes individual volunteer leaders whose exceptional service, leadership, and dedication have made a significant and lasting impact on the success and growth of a PMI chapter or mentor region.

  • Gantsetseg Erdenebat, PgMP, PMP

    Mongolia Chapter (Asia Pacific)

    Gantsetseg Erdenebat has spent more than 8 years strengthening the PMI Mongolia Chapter, helping improve the operations, governance and member value that keep their volunteer community working well. Her work with the chapter includes supporting the PMI Lexicon translation, helping members access shared project management language while building clearer ways for the chapter to operate, serve and grow.

  • Andrii Skoromnyi, PhD, PMP

    Ukraine Chapter (Europe)

    Andrii Skoromnyi has expanded project management education through the PMI Ukraine Chapter by establishing academic partnerships with universities across Ukraine, bringing project management knowledge and PMI resources closer to students and future professionals. Through his volunteer leadership, he has promoted project management education by delivering guest lectures and creating new opportunities for students to engage with the global PMI community.

  • Antonio Maturano Huerta, PMP

    Bajío, México Chapter​ (Latin America)

    Antonio Maturano Huerta, together with the Board of Directors and the volunteer team, strengthened the PMI Bajío, México Chapter by organizing 100+ professional development events that enabled members to learn and connect. His leadership strengthened volunteer engagement, fostered member participation, and expanded the chapter’s reach to 25 countries, contributing to a strong, collaborative and sustainable professional community across the Latin America Region.

  • Mona Zbidi, PMP, PMI-RMP

    Tunisia Chapter​ (Middle East North Africa)

    Mona Zbidi expanded the Project Managers Without Borders program through the PMI Tunisia Chapter, turning volunteers' project expertise into a practical driver of social impact. Her chapter leadership fostered purpose-driven service, positioning project management as a strategic catalyst for nonprofit empowerment, community resilience and impactful volunteer engagement.

  • Beaula Prashanth, PMP, LSSGB

    Lakeshore, Ontario Chapter​ (North America)

    Beaula Prashanth has contributed more than 21 years of volunteer service to the PMI Lakeshore, Ontario Chapter, helping modernize the operations and governance behind the member experience. Her long-term chapter leadership serving as Director, President and Past President strengthened the systems, processes and volunteer foundation that help a local PMI community serve members consistently, including through partnerships with academic institutions and social impact projects through Project Managers Without Borders.

  • Vijay Narayanan, B.E., PMP, MBA, MSc

    Chennai Chapter (South Asia)

    Vijay Narayanan helped the PMI Chennai Chapter by focusing on membership, outreach, volunteer engagement, social impact and organizational development through M.O.R.E. His chapter leadership introduced project management skills to thousands of students while strengthening how members and volunteers connect with a more organized and sustainable PMI community.

  • Winnie Astrid ZAMBO ASSO’O, PMP

    Cameroon Chapter (Sub-Saharan Africa)

    Winnie Astrid ZAMBO ASSO'O transformed volunteer management at the PMI Cameroon Chapter by establishing a sustainable governance framework, modernizing volunteer processes and launching innovative engagement and recognition initiatives. Through her leadership, the chapter strengthened volunteer engagement, expanded leadership development through mentorship and built lasting structures that continue to enhance organizational performance and community impact across Sub-Saharan Africa.

Academic & Research Awards

PMI Linn Stuckenbruck Teaching Excellence Award
Winner

Honors faculty members for excellence in teaching project management curricula in higher education.

  • Prof. Ibrahim Odeh, PhD, MBA

    Columbia University, United States (North America)

    Ibrahim Odeh has helped bring practice-focused project management education to nearly one million learners across 190+ countries through global online courses and industry-connected teaching. His work at Columbia University combines curriculum innovation, industry immersion and teaching honors with a global approach to engineering education.

PMI David I. Cleland Project Management Literature Award
Winners

Recognizes the author(s) of a published book that significantly advances project management knowledge, concepts, and practice.

  • “Case Studies on Project Management in Practice”

    Case Studies on Project Management in Practice fills a major teaching gap with globally relevant project cases, while its PM.com webinar has drawn 20K+ views since launching in January 2026. Built as a competency-based learning resource aligned with the PMI Talent Triangle®, the book uses an active-learning approach to help educators, trainers, program directors and practitioners strengthen critical thinking, decision-making and professional judgment across diverse project contexts.

Donald S. Barrie Award
Winner

This award seeks to advance knowledge in the field of design, procurement, and/or construction by providing practical contributions and solutions to the engineering and construction industry.

  • Chan Heo

    Seoul National University, South Korea (Asia Pacific)

    Chan Heo, a PhD candidate at Seoul National University, studies how LLM-powered bidding agents can develop tacitly collusive pricing behaviors in construction procurement. Selected as an ASCE Editor's Choice, the study shows that disclosing historical bid data can increase collusive risks among AI bidding agents, highlighting the importance of carefully designing information disclosure rules in AI-enabled procurement.

Research Achievement Award
Winner

Celebrates an individual or group of individuals whose work has significantly advanced the concepts, knowledge, and practices of project management.

  • Prof. Lavagnon Ika, PhD

    Telfer School of Management, Canada (North America)

    Lavagnon Ika's research explains how major projects behave and why they succeed or fail, advancing understanding of infrastructure, megaproject and development work through technical, behavioral, institutional and contextual lenses. His work has informed decision-making for major projects worldwide through collaborations with PMI, the World Bank and the Government of Canada, including the PMI Maximizing Project Success research.

Young Researcher Award
Winner

Recognizes and celebrates emerging leaders in the academic field of Project, Program, or Portfolio Management with potential achievements to make a significant impact on the field and practice.

  • Dr. Carolina M. Zani

    University of Sydney, Australia (Asia Pacific)

    Carolina M. Zani developed the world’s most comprehensive, evidence-based framework to help governments and industry leaders design and adapt organizations for megaproject delivery. She worked with major projects such as High Speed Two and influenced organizations worldwide, including AECOM. Carolina earned recognition including the 2025 APM Research Paper of the Year Award, 2026 APM Doctorate of the Year Award and the Academy of Management 10% Best Paper Award 2025.

James R. Snyder Student Paper of the Year Award
Winner

Recognizes excellence in student development of original concepts in project management that advance the concepts, tools, and techniques of managing project-oriented tasks.

  • Zhiwen “Zoey” Zheng

    The Australian National University, Australia (Asia Pacific)

    Zhiwen Zheng's research tackles a question every project leader faces: how short-term project management success contributes to long-term project success. Published in the International Journal of Project Management, her paper provides evidence-based guidance for governance, resource allocation and investment decisions, demonstrating how meeting the necessary short-term targets enables projects to achieve sustained long-term value and impact.

2027 PMI Awards

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