Presentation: Achieving the Mission – How Leadership and Influence Can Move Project Portfolios Through the Bureaucracy
Presentation Date and Time: Friday, April 21, 2023, 12:30 PM
Abstract: Large groups of dispersed projects are necessarily managed by diverse groups of people at various levels of leadership. The sheer costs of large project portfolios and the number of people involved introduce the need for governance, and governance implemented at scale is a kind of bureaucracy. The bureaucracy itself is not inherently positive or negative, but a system with ethics and rules a leader must navigate carefully to be successful. Character, vision, and communication are attributes which must be practiced with skill. Additionally, achieving the right balance of will, empathy, and humility is a dynamic process which changes based on the needs of the team and phase of portfolio execution. We will discuss the leader’s role in creating the right culture for project success. We will also discuss how leaders must operationally balance capabilities and aspirations, create a culture of integrity and accountability, and uplift teammates to perform at their highest level.
Biography: Robert Warren is currently the Assistant Vice President of Facilities Operations for University of Miami Health System (UHealth), where he oversees facilities operations for 3 hospitals, 30 outpatient facilities, and more than 100 clinics.
Robert joined UHealth in 2021 after a 20-year career in the U.S. Navy Civil Engineer Corps. Robert has served as on-site project manager for projects in the United States, Spain, Cameroon, Afghanistan, and Italy. His experience in project management covers domestic, disaster relief, international peacetime, international contingency, and wartime construction projects for all phases of the project life cycle. During his career progressed to senior strategic and policy roles managing global portfolios. He led the development of a global $1.2B, six program facility portfolio of over 530 projects, which saved $235M per year in energy costs. His career in the Navy culminated with service at the Headquarters for the Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, where he led facilities operations and project delivery for over 1200 medical facilities, represented the Navy in efforts to consolidate and prioritize all Air Force, Army, and Navy medical facilities projects into one $3B Department of Defense portfolio, and served as an executive representative for the Navy critical facility energy and utilities infrastructure reform initiative, resulting in a $700M investment portfolio.
Robert holds a Master of Science Degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Maryland, Master’s in Business Administration from Boston University, and a Batchelor of Science Degree in Computer Engineering from Mississippi State University. He is a Professional Engineer, Project Management Professional, and Certified Energy Manager.
