Why Haven’t We Learned From Project Failures Yet?

Jaap has been a Project Manager & consultant since 1986, and an APMG Accredited Trainer since 1996. He began working for Philips Telecom in 1997 as hardware and software engineer. His work has taken him all over Europe, South Africa, Afghanistan, Russia and the Caribbean in public and private organisations, from SMEs to multi-nationals.

Jaap has authored a wide variety of articles in Project Management journals, magazines and workshops delivered at IPMA events. His latest publication is the 'Working In Small Projects" (WISP) guide, a project management framework for small and non-complex projects.

One of Jaap's proudest achievements was launching WISP in conjunction with APMG-International; a framework for small and non-complex projects. WISP is implemented in public and private organisation plus Educational Institutes, secondary vocational education and higher.

Richard is the founder of APM Group, an independent accreditation body and examination institute which partners with organisations to design and deliver best practice certifications and solutions. Richard is an experienced Civil Engineer and has worked on projects in the UK and the Middle East. He is passionate about people and skills development.

Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez is a global authority on project management and the most published author on the topic in Harvard Business Review, where his works include the HBR Project Management Handbook (2021) and the influential article “The Project Economy Has Arrived.” He received the PMI David I. Cleland Literature Award and was named to the Thinkers50 list in 2023 for his impact on modern management.

A trusted advisor to senior leaders at organizations such as Nestlé, Google, ING, and Vision 2030, Antonio has led major strategic and transformational initiatives worldwide. He served as global Chairman of the Project Management Institute in 2016 and was named a PMI Fellow for his contributions to the profession. He founded the Brightline Initiative, Projects & Co (where he is CEO), and co-founded the Strategy Implementation Institute.

Previously, he held senior roles at GlaxoSmithKline, BNP Paribas Fortis, Fortis Bank, and PwC, where he led project and change management globally. Antonio is also the author of Lead Successful Projects, The Project Revolution, and The Focused Organization, and has contributed to numerous other books.

A renowned speaker, he has delivered over 600 keynotes at events like TEDx, the President Summit, and the European Business Summit. He teaches at leading business schools including Hult, Duke CE, and Instituto de Empresa.

Born in Madrid and educated across Europe and the U.S., Antonio speaks five languages and holds an MBA from London Business School and executive credentials from INSEAD. He is also a member of the Marshall Goldsmith 100 Coaches.

Maedeh Molaei is a lecturer in Project Management at the Utrecht University of Applied Sciences. With a background in Civil Engineering, she obtained her PhD in Project Management of Engineering Projects from the Delft University of Technology, where she conducted a cross-sectoral study of project management processes across different industries. She is also a senior researcher at the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment at the Delft University of Technology. Her research interest include inter-organisational collaboration between public clients and supply partners, ranging from large companies to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), as well as multi-project approaches, such as inter-organisational programmes, within the construction industry.