E-NEWS

PMI Sydney

November 2021

Chapter Update

October was a happening month for the Chapter. While Sydneysiders were starting to enjoy the newfound freedoms that luckily coincided with some very good weather, we were completing the Board elections, welcoming new Board Members, updating the Chapter By-Laws, and starting some of the activities that would lift us out of probation.

I am happy to announce that the expansion is now complete and we have a fully functioning Board with seven members. We welcome Himadri Sekhar Chowdhury, Mulalo (Sydney) Mudau, Naivasha Safaya and Wayne Smithson as our newest Board Members. Sydney will be the Director for Membership and Himadri will be the Director for Marketing. Naivasha and Wayne will be the Secretary and Treasurer of the Board respectively. All four bring with them a wealth of diverse professional experience to the Chapter and have started working on setting up their portfolios. Learn a little more about our newest Board Members below and please feel free to reach out to them in upcoming chapter events or on social media. There are also a range of Assistant Director and Volunteer roles that the Board will be seeing to fill over the coming months, this will be put up on the VRMS as we move forward.  

In membership news, we are aware of the issue that impacted auto-renewals. This is now resolved after working with PMI Global. Please ensure your auto-renewal is turned on in your 'myPMI' section. If not, then it can be turned on by adding Sydney Chapter again in your cart. 

We also have two upcoming events open for registration on the Chapter website over the coming days, including the much-awaited PMI Sydney Chapter End of the Year Event on 3^rd December 2021. On 11^th November, we have Leo Coco talk about how project management professionals should manage their health. We look forward to seeing you at both these Chapter events and professional development sessions.

And finally, it’s Movember! Millions around the globe, and Sydney buses, are trying grow a mo to raise awareness and money for men’s health issues. Movember, as the website explains, “fund groundbreaking projects all over the world, engaging men where they are to understand what works best and accelerate change.”

PMI Sydney Chapter Board supports this cause and encourages all members to think and act to support men’s health in crisis. As they say, whatever you grow, will save a bro. For more, check out https://au.movember.com/?home.

Omer Iqbal

President - PMI Sydney 

09^th November 2021

Chapter Leadership Update

Himadri Sekhar Chowdhury

A consummate project management professional, Himadri Sekhar Chowdhury has worked closely with Fortune 500 companies globally for over 15 years to understand their requirements and design and develop training solutions addressing those. Currently in a global Project Management role with CAE Inc., Himadri collaborates with aircraft manufacturers in the Civil and Defence space, eVTOL manufacturers, Airlines, Governments and Defence Departments to create deliverables for the future of global aviation.

Himadri has over 20 years of professional experience and has previously worked as an instructional designer and as a sports, education and financial journalist. Himadri holds a PMP, a Diploma in International Business Management and a Certificate IV in Training and Design. Himadri has been a PMI volunteer since 2017. He has held various roles with the PMI Bangalore chapter, most recently an editorial board member for the chapter’s monthly newsletter PM Essence and the AVP for Marketing. 

Naivasha Safaya

Naivasha is a seasoned Safety Professional with expertise in Risk Management, Enterprise Risk Governance, Governance and Assurance frameworks and Training. Throughout Naivasha's professional career, she has gained extensive experience in Aviation, Maritime Defence, Construction, NSW Health and NSW Government. 

With her background in Law and Legal Practice combined with her safety expertise, Naivasha provides succinct risk mitigation advice to the Board, reviews the Sydney Chapter's Charter and assists in developing continuous improvement activities. Naivasha holds Bachelor of Medical Science (Radiation Therapy), Juris Doctor (Master of Law and Legal Practice), Diploma of Occupational Health & Safety and Mental Health First Aid. 

Mulalo (Sydney) Mudau

Mulalo (Sydney) Mudau is a principal project manager with over 20 years of experience in major civil engineering infrastructure project delivery, currently working for AECOM Australia Pty Ltd.. He has been involved in diverse projects spanning across four countries namely South Africa, Mozambique, England and Australia, with comprehensive contributions to all project lifecycle stages including bids/tenders, design management, contract management and stakeholders engagement.

Sydney has achieved Project Management Professional (PMP) certification from Project Management Institute (PMI) crediting his contributions to project management practices in the construction industry. Sydney has been volunteering with Mentorloop and PMI Sydney chapter, promoting project management. He is also enthusiastic about continuous improvement processes in infrastructure delivery. 

Wayne Smithson

Wayne has held a number of senior finance positions including Finance Director for a number of national and international companies over a commercial career extending in excess of 40 years. Most notable senior positions that Wayne has held include National Finance Director for Ernst & Young and Finance Director for the Bank of New Zealand in Australia. While his primary industry focus was in the financial services and insurance industry, Wayne has experience across many industries including manufacturing, services and logistics.

In addition to 40 years of commercial experience, Wayne has had an extensive career in teaching at Higher education level. Wayne began to focus on a teaching career in 2008 accepting a sessional lecturer position at Sydney University in 2008. Wayne is currently a member of the Academic senate for UBSS, a member of the Course Advisory committee and Chair of the Academic Integrity Committee and is a Finance Director for a performing Arts organisation.

 Events 

 Register Here

 Register Here

The DA Journey So Far:

Lessons and Insights from DA's Co-founder

Thursday 11^th November 2021

12:01 pm (AEDT) | 2:01 pm (NZDT)

Agile transformations are taking shape across many industries and will shape the new project economy for the rest of this decade. Some transformations are working and others can be improved. DA presents as one of these opportunities for improvement.

As senior or aspiring PM leaders, come along and hear about the lessons and insights from DA’s co-founder Mark Lines on how DA can be applied to existing or future transformations. 

Mark Lines will also give his take on the opportunities that DA has to offer organisations.

The talk will be followed by a discussion/interview co-facilitated by:

• Peter Moutsatsos, Head of Integration Program at Bank of QLD and Industry Lead at DA SIG Australasia; and
• Divya Pasupuleti, Executive Manager at NBN Australia and Volunteering Director at PMI Melbourne.

Register Here

About PMI Sydney

PMI Sydney purpose is to serve our membership base and making Project Management Indispensable for Business Results in New South Wales. Through this, we aim to support the professional growth of our members, corporate organisations and communities

©2019 PMI Sydney. All rights reserved. “PMI,” the PMI logo, “PMP,” “PMBOK,” “Project Management Institute” are registered marks of Project Management Institute, Inc. For a comprehensive list of PMI marks, please contact the PMI Legal Department.