Kenneth O. Hartley

Ken Hartley joined PMI in 1973 as member number 843. He was active in both chapter and global activities. He served in several capacities while part of the PMI Northern California Chapter from 1976 through 1989, including secretary, president, representative to the PMI Council of Chapter Presidents, executive committee member and advisory committee member. During that time he also served as co-publicity chair for the successful PMI ‘86 Seminar/Symposium held in San Francisco.

After relocating to Boston to work on the Central Tunnel/Artery project, he served as co-project manager (with Karen White) for the PMI ’96 Seminar/Symposium. At the PMI Board level, he served as vice president of member services (1981-82), president (1983) and chair (1984). Mr. Hartley was asked to return to the PMI Board to fill an unexpired term (1999-2000) and was reelected to the Board again for the 2002-04 term, during which he served as chair in 2004.

As the PMI vice president of member services in 1982, he was tasked to research and develop what was intended to be the most prestigious PMI award recognizing the contributions of a PMI member to the organization proper, as well as to the profession. The PMI Fellow Award was the result. As PMI chair in 1984, he and the entire PMI Board of Directors sat for the “beta” version of the first Project Management Professional (PMP^®) examination. He passed the PMP^® examination in 1993 (PMP^® number 1840). In addition to being recognized with the PMI Fellow Award (1986), Mr. Hartley received numerous PMI recognitions: PMI Northern California Chapter Wally Kruse Award (1986), PMI Person of the Year Award (1985), PMI Distinguished Contribution Award (1997), and he was the first recipient of the PMI Eric Jenett Project Management Excellence Award in 1999.

Mr. Hartley served at various times on the Project Management Journal Editorial Review Board, reviewed changes to the PMP^® examination, evaluated papers for presentation at PMI Research Conferences, was on the Ethics Review Committee, served on the Advisory Committee for PMI’s first approved Project Management Master’s Degree program at Western Carolina University, and was a member of the PMI Educational Foundation (PMIEF) Board of Directors three times.

He worked on mega-projects in 20 countries and resided in six of these countries during his career. Ken held both a B.S. and M.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Missouri, and was recognized with the University of Missouri Honor Award for Distinguished Service in Engineering.

*Deceased