2019 Annual Report

By nearly every measure, 2019 was a year packed with change and progress for PMI.

We welcomed and on-boarded a new global CEO; celebrated 50 years of building and advancing the profession of project management; launched an energetic and forward-looking new brand; refreshed our strategy; and accelerated our transformation.

We made two ground-breaking acquisitions in the Agile space; developed a host of exciting new products and platforms to support members, partners, chapters, volunteers and the organizations they serve; implemented a powerful new regional model; and proudly crossed the threshold of one million active PMPs around the world.

Early in 2019, the Board undertook a comprehensive global search for PMI’s new President and CEO. The Board was committed to finding a new leader for PMI with proven global experience, a robust background in digital transformation, and an ability to honor PMI’s past while taking the organization boldly into the future.

Most important, this new leader needed to be passionate about PMI’s global not-for-profit mission and purpose – to advance the profession worldwide and to prepare more than three million project, program and portfolio professionals for a world in which work and individuals are organized around projects.

Sunil Prashara, President & CEO of PMI introduces the 2019 Annual Report.

Sunil Prashara officially began his work with PMI on 1 March 2019, and has been partnering with the Board of Directors, the global PMI team, and thousands of you to advance PMI’s mission globally - and to make the world a better place through project management.

PMI’s 50th anniversary in 2019 gave us an unprecedented opportunity to look back at all we have accomplished together across five decades…and to look forward with clear eyes and renewed purpose for the next 50 years.

What we know for sure is that the future will not look like the past – a lesson that the early part of 2020 has underlined in bold! While we know that product, project and portfolio management will be more important than ever, the world in which we operate is moving faster than ever – and is increasingly becoming fully “projectified.” This context is a fitting backdrop for PMI’s progress in 2019, and it is critical to how we think about our growth and relevance going forward.

PMI Executive Leadership Team

Meet the executives who lead and manage our team and initiatives across the globe, implementing the vision established by our Board of Directors.

I am particularly proud of the new culture we have established over the last 2 years. Today’s PMI is not the PMI when I joined in 2015. A huge transformation has already occurred but we have miles to go on our journey to better serve our global stakeholders.

Joe Cahill

Chief Operating Officer (COO)

In this period of enormous change and transformation for PMI, I’m most proud of our team of staff and volunteers. They never wavered in their commitment to our purpose and mission to deliver extraordinary value for our customers, stakeholders and the profession. We surpassed 1M active certification holders, and more than 600K global members. It was a year of celebration of the past 50 years, and anticipation and excitement for the next 50 years! In 2019, I learned this lesson for the future as we move forward: if you think change and transformation is easy, you’re not doing it right!

Michael DePrisco

Vice President, Global Experience & Solutions

In 2019, I’m proud that PMI achieved a new brand that reflected a vibrant, forward-looking organization, and the establishment of regional hubs to better serve our members, chapters, and volunteers. In 2019, I learned this lesson for the future as we move forward – to stay relevant and grow, PMI must accelerate its reach into new communities beyond the project management “bubble” with compelling products and experiences.

Otema Yirenkyi

VP, Global Engagement, Sub-Saharan Africa

In 2019, I’m proud that PMI acquired Disciplined Agile, a comprehensive guidance system across all of Agility. We now help people at all levels, tailor Agile ways of working, making their organizations even more unique and competitive. In 2019, I learned just how important technology-enhanced, virtual learning and work was going to be. In 2020, these changes suddenly became universal.

Dave Garrett

Chief Strategy & Growth Officer

I’m proud that PMI transformed its transparency and communication with its various stakeholders — ensuring that those who rely on PMI understand what the organization does for them around the world. I learned that not all stakeholders want the same things, or even the same level of engagement with PMI. We need to customize PMI’s offerings to deliver value across a wide global spectrum.

Sheri Woodruff

Interim Vice President, Communications

In 2019, I'm proud that PMI has invested in transforming our digital foundation which is key to organization agility, global scale, and a delightful customer experience. In 2019, I learned this lesson for the future as we move forward: PMI has infinite opportunities to add value to the world; at the same time we need to prioritize our efforts aligned to our resources to drive sustainable change.

Beth Gollogly

Vice President, Global Operations

2019 was the 20th anniversary of PMI in China. Through partnership with the Chinese government, we realized many significant achievements, including increasing awareness of PMI and reaching a total of 330,000 active PMPs in China by the end of 2019 – around 20% growth over the previous year. In the same time, we extended PMI’s business territory coverage by successfully setting up a new branch office in the Southwest region of China.

Bob (Yong Tao) Chen

Managing Director, China

In 2019, I'm proud that PMI achieved an expanded global footprint through establishing regions to get closer to our stakeholders; our brand refresh changing the way we look; significant capability additions to support transformation; and the 50th anniversary of our dynamic organization. We are one team, one song, one dance – working together to build and accelerate the future of the profession.

Dot McKelvy

Vice President, Global Talent

In 2019, I am proud that we made a significant milestone with our hot bricks transformation program, particularly implementing our pilot program on local currency capability in Brazil and India. That pilot program was to quickly address specific customer needs while capturing feedback. I learned we should always focus on continuously sensing and responding to the needs of stakeholders in a very agile and gymnastic way.

Christine Millaway

Vice President, Finance

I am proud of PMI's ability to focus on better serving its stakeholders by adopting a regional model that aims to better understand and meet the needs of our stakeholders in their specific environments.

William Scarborough, J.D.

Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary

At-a-Glance

There is no doubt that project leaders specialize in turning strategic visions into reality. Today's project leaders need a strong understanding of technology, the ability to determine the best project management methodology for projects, AND the new “power skills” like empathy, creativity and inspirational leadership. But they must also maintain an understanding of the major business, technological, economic and geopolitical trends shaping the world. And a global pandemic has highlighted something that project managers have known for years: you must be able to effectively lead, manage and inspire individuals and teams – frequently remotely and with increasing complexity.

As part of our work in 2019, PMI conducted an assessment of the most pressing, long-term trends around the globe—from climate change to shifting demographics to technological breakthroughs—and explored how these trends are influencing the work of project leaders. We evaluated research, news reports and industry data; conducted interviews with project professionals; and analyzed information extracted from political, economic, scientific and demographic databases—all to gain a greater understanding of where these critical areas are heading and how industry project leaders can prepare.

Just a handful of those insights informed our work in 2019, and set the stage for PMI’s work going forward when excerpts of this research were published in early 2020:

Africa and most of the developing world will be home to a new generation of talent ready to tackle a new generation of projects.

Climate change ranks as one of the biggest existential threats to civilization, but project professionals can play a pivotal role in avoiding the point of no return.

As artificial intelligence truly moves into the mainstream, it brings harsh realities — and immense opportunities for project leaders with the right blend of people and tech skills.

Rampant protectionism is forcing a rethink of the once unstoppable force of globalization. But for many project teams, it's cross-border business as usual (with a few tweaks).

The global infrastructure gap between needs and investment is wide. To close it, project leaders are relying on data-driven innovation — and good old-fashioned people skills.

Keeping information safe requires a united front, backed by a cross-disciplinary, enterprise-wide cybersecurity culture.

These insights won’t make the world any less complex, but they do provide context to help us shape the priorities and work of PMI going forward. On behalf of the entire Board of Directors and the global PMI team, we thank all of you for helping to make 2019’s progress possible.

We’d also like to take a moment here to offer two special shout-outs. First, our thanks to the legendary Jim Snyder, one of PMI’s founding members who traveled the world with us in 2019 and helped to mark the 50th anniversary of this great organization. His guiding hand and wise counsel have been invaluable to us as individuals – and as a Board – for decades. And second, we offer special thanks to devoted PMI staff members around the world. 2019 was rich with challenges and opportunities – and this group of professionals rose to the occasion to deliver unprecedented results for our stakeholders. We simply cannot thank you enough.

Every single day, we work to ensure that we are providing value and relevance for stakeholders and partners like you. Without your feedback and challenges and ideas and creativity and commitment, none of this would be possible.

We are humbled and grateful for the opportunity to serve you and your profession – every day, all over the world.

To Our Valued Global Stakeholders: