Jack Duggal

Author & Global PMO Transformation Changemaker

Closing Keynote

Reframing Creativity: Unlock Fresh Thinking in Your PMO

Creativity is not the reserve of artists or those making ‘art.’ This session will explore creativity not as a noun, a thing we make, but rather as a verb, an activity, that you can apply to anything. In this way, creativity becomes a way of reinvigorating work, discovering new (and better ways) of achieving aims, and connecting more meaningfully with stakeholders. In this active session we’ll use the concept of ‘framing’ to wake up your creative muscles! Please bring your smartphone (if you have one) to the session.

Creativity isn’t just for artists, it’s a skill you can use every day in your PMO. In this energising closing keynote, we’ll explore creativity not as something you have but something you do. Through the idea of ‘framing and reframing,’ you’ll learn how to uncover fresh perspectives, spark new solutions, and re-energise how you approach challenges. This isn’t a sit-back-and-listen session, you’ll get hands-on, wake up your creative muscles, and leave with practical tools to reinvigorate your work and strengthen connections with stakeholders. Bring your smartphone and be ready to play!

Terry Vick

Shockwave Medical PMO

Johnson and Johnson MedTech

Framing PMO: Speak Their Language, Show the Value

Leaders don’t need a lesson in project models. They want to know the direct value PMO brings and how it helps them achieve what matters. This session shows how to frame PMO so leaders understand and value it in their terms. It starts with listening: what do they care about, how do they make decisions, and how do they like information shared? From there, PMO can be translated into clear, practical language that makes sense in the room. Using real examples, I’ll show how adapting conversations unlocks engagement and trust, so leaders see PMO as a partner in solving business problems and making confident decisions.

Greg Bailey

Vice President Resource Planning

ProSymmetry

PMOs and Hybrid Delivery: Making Agile & Waterfall Work Together

While the PM industry discusses Hybrid value extensively, the “How” to mix methodologies remains elusive. We risk declaring “Hybrid works!” without understanding what it means for each project or how it should be supported from a PMO perspective.

This session moves beyond theory through real-life examples from diverse project environments, including how PMOs can support or enable hybrid delivery models. We’ll explore when methodologies clash and when they complement, and what that means for governance, assurance, and resource planning in a hybrid context.

Participants will discover proven frameworks for effective methodology mixing – practical tools with clear guidance for immediate application. Understanding key distinctions between “philosophy,” “framework,” and “methodology,” attendees will learn to craft hybrid approaches tailored to their specific project contexts, while also understanding the PMO’s role in embedding and sustaining those practices.

Elaine Hennessey

Senior PMO Analyst

Gallagher

AI Agents: Your New Virtual PMO Team Members

AI is moving beyond copilots that answer prompts, toward autonomous agents that can act, monitor, and decide on our behalf. In the world of project portfolio management, this shift could feel like adding new “virtual team members” to the PMO. Imagine an agent that tracks overdue tasks, flags cross-project dependencies, or assembles risk information without being asked.

But what does this mean for the role of project managers and portfolio leaders? Can an AI agent truly make decisions, or is it just automating the grunt work? And crucially — if an agent recommends a course of action that turns out to be wrong, who is accountable?

This session will:
• Explain what AI agents are in the Microsoft ecosystem
• Highlight how they differ from today’s copilots, chatbots or automated workflows
• Explore practical scenarios where agents could augment PMO activities
• Critically examine the limits of AI Agent autonomy
• Offer a framework for PMOs to start experimenting safely with agents while setting guardrails for governance.

By the end, you’ll see how AI agents might soon become indispensable “virtual colleagues” in your PMO — but only if we define their role wisely.

Mandy Magee

PMO Manager

University of Glasgow

with

Elizabeth Rooney

PMO Analyst

No Blame, Big Gain: The Power of Psychological Safety

Psychological safety is no longer a “nice to have”, it’s a delivery essential. In this session, we’ll explore how creating a no-blame culture can unlock better performance, sharper decision-making, and stronger project outcomes. When people feel safe to challenge, question, and contribute without fear of embarrassment or punishment, teams become more innovative, accountable, and resilient, exactly what high-pressure delivery environments demand.

Drawing on lived experience in complex, real-world delivery environments and grounded in academic research, this session will demystify psychological safety and show how to build it into the fabric of your PMO or project culture. We’ll cover the practical behaviours, leadership mindsets, and governance tweaks that move teams from silence and fear to trust and momentum.

Whether you lead a PMO, manage projects, or support change, if your teams don’t feel safe, they won’t perform. Let’s fix that.

Ross Mardell

Chief Product Officer

Verto

From PMO to VMO: Building a Valued, Respected and Capable PMO Function

Too often the PMO is seen as an administrative necessity – governance-heavy and output-focused. But what if your PMO was viewed as a high-performing, value-adding business function? One that leaders trust, teams rely on, and executives actively seek out for insight, challenge, and strategic delivery?

In this engaging and candid session, Sean Kirk draws on a wealth of hands-on experience leading PMOs across complex, regulated environments, from financial services to fintech and mutuals. He shares what it really takes to evolve the PMO into a valued internal consultancy, where business acumen, delivery expertise, and data intelligence meet.

Through real-world stories and honest reflections, Sean will explore:

• How to build a PMO that executives value
• Reputation-building skills
• Establishing team capability
• The importance of data
• Getting the PMO ‘valued’ by the business
• Working with execs

This session is ideal for PMO leaders looking to shift perception and performance, whether you’re building a function from scratch, repositioning an existing team, or reigniting purpose in a mature setup.

Sean’s takeaway message: “When the PMO is respected as a business function – not just a project one – you know you’re delivering real value.” 

Michael Campbell

Founder

Precision PMO

Consulting Skills for PMO Professionals

This session explores how successful PMO professionals, whether they work as employees of an organisation or as external advisors, need to be successful consultants. Using the speaker’s perspective of how PMOs matter to the full range of simple and complex portfolios of programmes and projects, the participants will explore insights into the value-adding consulting skills that successful PMO professionals develop and employ. Lessons learned from research and practice will be used to illustrate key points.