Chapter Calendar

Overview

Ask the CEO brings project professionals and senior executives together for a direct conversation about what drives project success, what gets in the way, and how expectations are shifting in an environment shaped by transformation, change fatigue and AI-enabled delivery.

This is not a panel of executives talking at project managers. It is an evening where both groups can surface what really matters. For executives, it is a chance to hear directly from the project community about the constraints they work within, the trade-offs they navigate, and what blocks good delivery. For project professionals, it is a chance to understand what keeps senior leaders awake at night, what they most value from delivery teams, and where projects often fall short from an executive perspective.

The evening opens with short research-based insights on project success, then moves into a practical panel discussion with three senior leaders who will speak candidly about their biggest concerns, their learning from failures, and what they need from project teams to feel confident in delivery.

What you will take away

For project professionals

• What senior leaders define as success, and why it is often different from project delivery metrics
• The real constraints executives face when they prioritise projects and allocate resources
• Where projects most often disappoint from a business perspective, and why technical delivery alone is not enough
• What builds trust with senior leaders, and what erodes it
• How to make the shift from project manager to strategic partner

For executives

• The actual operating environment project teams work within, including competing priorities and resource constraints
• How project professionals see the decisions executives make, and where alignment breaks down
• What project teams need from leaders to deliver well, and what creates friction
• How AI is reshaping project delivery, and what skills matter most going forward

Panel

Jarrod Kinchington, Smartsheet

A strategic and creative thinker with a verifiable track record in increasing performance through dynamic leadership, innovation, strategic planning and change management.

With over 20 years’ experience, working closely with Business and IT Stakeholders to develop and implement options that satisfy a range of competing objectives. Jarrod is experienced across a number of industries from Telecommunications & Utilities, through to Transportation, Financial Services, & the Public Sector With a proven track record in achieving measurable outcomes, Jarrod has a strong background across areas such as Enterprise Applications, Integration, Managed Services, and migrating organisations from legacy environments to consumption based cloud services across both infrastructure and application platforms.

With increasing demands to do more with less, Enterprises & Organisations can no longer rely on traditional methods to ignite innovation and operational agility, and need to take advantage of best-of-breed technologies to drive and support growth. Being passionate about bringing together innovation, culture and strategy - Jarrod has a strength for developing high performing teams to become leaders in their respective industries.

Specialties: Strong consultancy skills, Building Business focussed Teams, Negotiations, Sales Management, Leadership and Strong Communication.

Janelle Delaney, IBM

Janelle Delaney is a Partner at IBM Consulting, where she has built an exceptional career leading large-scale consulting and delivery excellence across the Asia Pacific region. In her current role as Asia Pacific Delivery Excellence Lead, Janelle oversees more than 4000 projects across the consulting services portfolio, ensuring quality delivery, strong client outcomes, and organisational success.

Passionate about people and leadership, Janelle is also the Asia Pacific Project Management Profession Leader, focused on growing and empowering project management capability across the region.

Beyond her corporate achievements, Janelle is a mother of two young adults, a 10-time Masters Athletics World Champion and world record holder, a member of the Athletics NSW Risk Committee, and a Non-Executive Director on the board of ImpediMed.

Kate Flint, Mace Consult

Kate Flint is the Country Director for Australia at Mace Consult, bringing over two decades of global experience in delivering complex infrastructure and construction projects and programmes.

While Kate calls Australia home, her career has spanned continents, with significant roles in Australia, the United Kingdom, and South America. She has led high-profile projects such as the Lima 2019 Pan American and Parapan American Games and Peru’s national Reconstruction Programme, demonstrating her expertise in managing large-scale, multidisciplinary teams and driving impactful outcomes.

Kate has been recognized for her strategic leadership, client-focused approach, and commitment to building resilient infrastructure that benefits communities for generations. Now leading Mace Consult's business in Australia, she is dedicated to transforming the built environment through fostering collaboration and innovation, and empowering her teams to deliver excellence across the project life cycle.

Omer Iqbal, Sydney Water (Panel Facilitator)

Omer Iqbal is a senior executive and Non-Executive Director (GAICD) with 18+ years of leadership experience across regulated utilities, infrastructure, transport, defence and telecom. He is the Senior Portfolio Manager at Sydney Water, leading the enterprise Project Controls and Portfolio Management function for a $34.5B regulated capital portfolio.

Omer brings formal governance leadership as the former President and Chairman of PMI Sydney Chapter (2019–2023), where he oversaw a governance transformation and led the organisation to 600% membership growth and 10x workforce expansion. His expertise spans project controls, portfolio governance, strategy, risk and operating model design across capital-intensive and regulated sectors. Omer will also facilitate the panel conversation.

Event flow