Keynote Speakers

Abstract:

The construction industry is entering a new era where digitalization, data integration, and advanced collaboration redefine how projects are delivered. This lecture explores how the convergence of BIM, Lean Planning, Business Intelligence, and AI-powered insights is transforming project management into a smarter, more efficient, and more collaborative process.
The role of the common data environment (CDE) is highlighted as the backbone of integrated project delivery, ensuring that all stakeholders – project managers, superintendents, planners, subcontractors, designers, BIM managers, and coordinators – operate within a single source of truth, fostering seamless communication, clearly-distributed responsibilities, and efficient collaboration.
By leveraging a multi-domain approach that integrates design analysis and data management, lean planning, cost and resource estimations and operational takt planning, combined with direct data flows between CDE, BIM and ERP systems, projects gain unparalleled transparency and control.
Lean principles and the Last Planner® Method within the Takt Planning that is integrated with project data and directly into the project communication, offer flexibility while mitigating risks, stimulating timely actions, and ensuring predictability at both strategic and operational levels. This integration empowers teams to minimize waste, optimize sequencing, and adapt reliably to on-site dynamics while maintaining clear communication across roles. A critical emphasis is placed on safety risk mitigation, embedding safety considerations directly into BIM-driven planning and monitoring processes. By identifying and analysing risks early, organizations can prevent hazards, protect workers, and ensure compliance while improving overall project performance. Advanced Business Intelligence dashboards enhance decision-making, by providing reliable project insights, and going beyond individual projects to portfolio-wide analytics, enabling organizations to make data-driven strategic choices. Finally, the lecture demonstrates how AI-powered insights, drawn from vast project and portfolio databases, unlock new possibilities for predictive analytics, benchmarking, and proactive decision-making. This capability elevates project management from reactive problem-solving to forward-looking strategy, improving both short-term efficiency and long-term competitiveness. Through practical applications, real-world examples, and measurable outcomes, this session offers a comprehensive perspective on the future of project delivery — where BIM, Lean Planning, data-driven collaboration, BI and AI converge to create safer, smarter, and more sustainable construction.

Biography:

Veljko Janjić is an esteemed BIM expert and lecturer, and creator of the BEXEL Manager platform. He founded BEXEL motivated by the high-cost overruns, delays, and productivity issues of construction projects. Being a member of Stanford University’s CIFE Industry Advisory Board and Technical Advisory Committee since 2009, he believed that developing comprehensive BIM project management processes and state-of-the-art software for their implementation would be a solution.
Veljko is a Steering Committee member of buildingSMART International Construction Domain and a Vice-Chair of the FIDIC EFCA BIM and Digitalization Committee, monitoring the developments in regulations, normalization like ISO and CEN, open BIM standards, software market, etc. He is also the President of BIM Serbia (buildingSMART Serbia Chapter) and one of the founding members of siBIM (buildingSMART Slovenia Chapter).
He lectured at many high-profile professional conferences in the field of BIM and project management including multiple buildingSMART International Summits (Tokyo (2018), Dusseldorf (2019), Beijing (2019), online summits (2020, 2021), Montreal (2022), Rome (2023), Lillestrom (2023), Valencia (2024), Marrakesh (2024)). He has been a guest lecturer at a number of universities worldwide, at BIM A+ European Master in BIM, and also within the European Council of Engineers Chambers (ECEC). He maintains collaboration with academic institutions, educating companies and individuals regarding the benefits, potential and multiple ways BIM can be implemented and utilized.
Veljko has been co-author of the Strategic Plan for Digitalization of Construction in collaboration with the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology of the Republic of Slovenia and was the official reviewer of BIM Guidelines within the Slovenian Chamber of Engineers. Also, he has been a co-author of a Booklet on ISO standard 19650 Information management using BIM published by EFCA.

Abstract:

Just a stone’s throw from the birthplace of passenger rail in 1825, Hitachi is building the foundations for the next 200 years of rail. Join the speaker in retracing the journey across the past two decades for Hitachi Rail as it has evolved from a distinctly Japanese enterprise into a global rail leader.
Guided by its core values of harmony, sincerity, and pioneering spirit, Hitachi has been able to overcome significant adversity while transforming the customer experience of project delivery and embedding lessons learned into the value chain.
At the close of Japan’s, “Lost Decade”, Hitachi Rail recognised that its business could not rely solely on domestic orders. The company embraced its pioneering spirit to re-enter the Western economy, finding opportunity in the UK—a market seeking safety, reliability, and innovation, but also new partnerships built on trust and collaboration.
The project delivery journey begins with the arrival of the iconic Class 395 “Javelin” trains and continues through the delivery of various fleets of rolling stock that have cemented Hitachi Rail’s home in Britain. Poised to leverage Digital, AI and Battery core technologies across its portfolio via HMAX, its hyper-mobility-asset-expert platform, Hitachi Rail is pioneering the future of mobility.

Biography:

Upon completion of a degree in Mechanical Engineering at Imperial College London in 2005, Paul headed to Japan for six weeks, hosted at the Tokyo Institute of Technology as an exchange student, funded by the Royal Academy of Engineering, Engineering Leadership Awards. Visits arrange to both Hitachi Rail and JR Central opened Paul’s eyes to the leading technology and operational excellence in the Japanese Railway. Upon return to the UK, presented with an opportunity to be the first Hitachi Rail graduate overseas, Paul’s career was launched in support of the delivery of Hitachi Rail technology to the UK Railway Rolling Stock Industry. Over the past twenty years Paul has ridden both highs and lows as Hitachi worked through the growing pains of moving from a newcomer to a leading global player in Mobility. Starting out in project delivery, covering the full range of project roles Paul is well placed to share the lessons of building a project portfolio in a complex and changing environment. His unique experience of working in Tokyo for four and a half years before the onset of covid, experiencing the business culture and its tricky interface with the western business world serves as insight towards achieving true one Hitachi, the ultimate shape of a business determined to power good, and drive social innovation to address planetary boundary resilience. Paul loves to build community around innovation, one of the founders of the growing Young Rail Professionals network, and Sponsor of the Ethnic Diversity and Multifaith Employee Resource Group at Hitachi Rail. Now with an expanding business and geographical spread, Paul continues to work to bring Harmony, Sincerity and Pioneering Spirit to the forefront of our Digital Mobility Future.

Abstract:

Sustainability is the largest and more challenging project in mankind history, and this global transformation is reshaping the role of the Project Profession.
Sustainability is not the implementation of “green” overhead processes within the Project but is the proactive implementation of forward-looking perspectives that have a positive impact on Business, while considering Planet and People benefits.
The application of the concept of sustainability in Project Management is becoming the critical factor that determines the success, or the failure, of the Project, and a specific set of competence are identified to complement and strengthen the Project Management profession.
IPMA is on the forefront of this challenge with clear Vision, Standards, Tools for Project Professionals and Organizations.

Biography:

Max Michele Panaro graduated in Management Engineering at Politecnico of Milan in 1998 and he took a Master in Business Administration at Bocconi University in 2005.
He worked in USA in a manufacturing company and in a specialized organizational research and consultancy firm until November 2000 when he joined T-Systems Italia. He left this Deutsche Telekom Group’s company in 2006 when holding the role of Business Development & Planning Manager – BPO Operations.
From 2006 to 2015 he was in Bain & Company and Boston Consulting Group where, as a core member of the global Oil and Gas Practice, he acquired a strong knowledge focused on large capital project management for Oil Companies and EPC Contractors.
Since October 2015 he is leading Organization, Information and Communication Technology & System Quality for Maire Tecnimont Group. Since May 2018 he is also Chairman of IPMA Italy (International Project Management Association)

Abstract:

In an era of accelerated transformation, delivering uninterrupted, high-quality services has become a defining measure of organizational resilience and leadership. As enterprises adopt artificial intelligence, modernize legacy systems, and manage increasingly complex hybrid environments, ensuring secure and reliable service availability is critical to sustained success.

Biography:

Steve Rodriguez is a delivery executive with over 30 years’ experience, specialising in service delivery best practices and crisis/Major incident management. Steve works at Kyndryl and recently took on the role of Global Core Enterprise and zCloud Delivery VP, leading global delivery that provides services across Mainframe and IBM i (iSeries) systems. Previously, Steve was Kyndryl Global Delivery Excellence VP (2022–2025), driving adoption of Delivery best practices worldwide and engaging into complex customer programmes. At IBM, he created and led the EMEA Service Assurance team (2018–2022), orchestrating cross technology deep dives and leading critical customer service outages, including cyber incident recoveries. Earlier roles include EMEA IBM Storage Practice Delivery Leader (2016–2018) and a progression through service delivery leadership across multiple customers (2004–2016), following his start as a Mainframe technician in 1994 and subsequent technical leadership roles. Looking ahead, Steve is focused on evolving resilient delivery models that harness automation and AI to keep critical systems dependable in an era of rapid change.