Synergy 2026 speakers

Assess · 09:10

Lucila Dotto

Head of Sustainability and Enablement at the Project Management Institute

Sustainability and the Future of Project Leadership

Lucila is Global Head of Sustainability and Enablement at the Project Management Institute. Her work connects sustainability with project leadership, helping the profession translate ambition into business capability and positive social, environmental and economic outcomes.

Advance · 09:45

Dr. Penny Pullan

Director, Making Projects Work

Making Chaos Human: Facilitative Leadership when the Plans Stop Working

Penny works with Making Projects Work and is the author of Virtual Leadership. Her work covers facilitation, strategic alignment and practical approaches to leading and collaborating in remote and hybrid environments.

Adapt · 10:20

James Louttit

Founder and Lead Trainer, Impactful Project Management

Built for Chaos: How to Deliver More Value Without Breaking Yourself or Your Team

James Louttit is the founder of Impactful Project Management and author of Leading Impactful Teams: Achieving Low-Stress Success in Project Management. His career has taken him from developer and business analyst, through complex programme delivery, to Project Management Competency Lead and ultimately CIO. His work now focuses on a deceptively simple question: how can we deliver more valuable outcomes without creating unnecessary work and stress?

Assess · 11:10

Giles Lindsay

Chief Information Officer, Agile Delta

The Decision Gap: Why Organisations Move at the Speed of Their Decisions

Giles Lindsay is a board-level CIO and CTO with over 30 years of experience spanning technology, digital transformation, software engineering, delivery, and executive leadership across financial services, SaaS, and high-growth organisations. An award-winning technology leader, he has been recognised as a Global CIO 200 winner, a World 100 CIO & CTO leader, and a UK CIO 100 award recipient. Giles helps organisations connect technology, leadership, and execution to meaningful business outcomes, with a particular focus on AI, enterprise transformation, decision-making, and organisational agility. He is the creator of the CLEAR Model® and author of two Amazon bestselling books, Clearly Agile and The Adaptive Leader.

Advance · 11:45

Dr. Joachim Dehais

Enterprise Information Technology Architect and Leadership Coach, Swiss Federal Archives

Workplace politics, suffer or master your destiny

Joachim is an enterprise architect, executive coach and independent consultant specialising in organisational improvement. With a doctorate in biomedical engineering focused on AI, he brings experience in leadership development, negotiation, project management and organisational transformation.

Assess · 12:20

Andy Murray

Executive Director of the Major Projects Association

Governing through Chaos: Turning Assurance into Confident Decisions

Andy Murray is Executive Director of the Major Projects Association. He brings 30 years’ experience delivering, advising and assuring complex projects. A governance and capability specialist, he has contributed to PRINCE2, P3M3, the IPA Routemap and APM governance guidance.

Advance · 13:50

Nigel Smith

Agility Coach for Project Professionals, Nigelsmith Coaching

Speak with Confidence, Lead through Chaos: PMI UK’s Two Toastmasters Clubs*

Nigel is an Agile Project Professional Coach and former PMI UK Director of Professional Development. A longstanding Toastmaster and founder of PMI UK Changemakers, he helps project professionals develop communication, leadership and confidence through practice and constructive feedback.

Advance · 14:25

Karina Singh

Director, National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority

Equipping Project Leaders for Chaos: People, Capability and Public Value*

Karina is Government Head of the Project Delivery Profession, with leadership experience across IPA, NISTA and major transformation programmes. Her work spans professional standards, capability and leadership development, strengthening the people and disciplines needed to deliver complex change.

Adapt · 15:15

James Garner

Head of AI and Data at Gleeds and host of the Project Flux podcast

From AI Curiosity to Confident Delivery: Practical Tools for Navigating Chaos*

James Garner: James is Head of AI and Data at Gleeds and host of the Project Flux podcast. His career bridges quantity surveying and digital innovation, helping project and construction teams apply AI and analytics to practical delivery challenges.

Adapt · 15:15

Nermeen Latif

Technical Director at WSP

From AI Curiosity to Confident Delivery: Practical Tools for Navigating Chaos

Technical Director at WSP, Chartered Project Professional and APM Fellow. She brings 25 years’ experience in project management, PMO leadership and project controls, integrating AI and data to improve delivery while championing mentoring and inclusion.

Adapt · 15:50

Martin Paver

Chairman, Projecting Success

Beyond the Dashboard: Reimagining Project Delivery with Data and AI*

Martin founded Projecting Success and the Project Data Analytics movement. His work explores how data, AI and new approaches to project cognition and assurance can transform delivery, helping professionals build practical capability and make better-informed decisions.

17:00

John Grimshaw

Director Professional Development, PMI UK

John Grimshaw is the Director of Professional Development for the PMI UK Chapter, an operational transformation leader and grassroots rugby coach. He leverages Lean systems thinking to eliminate waste, empower teams, and turn strategic vision into measurable value.