Speakers of the 9th edition (2024)

Jennifer Tharp is Chair of the Board of Directors of the Project Management Institute. Along with her fellow directors, she takes a guiding role in shaping the future of PMI with long-term strategic thinking and transformational leadership. Embracing a broad view of approaching issues through a global lens, Jennifer leads the board in guiding PMI to create new and better ways for the organization to be successful.

A long-time PMI volunteer, Jennifer previously served on the PMI Board of Directors for eight years as the Audit Committee chair and vice chair. During her PMI Board service, she has guided the Institute through global expansion and acquisitions, diversity efforts, rebranding, and organizational transformation. Jennifer has also previously served as the president of PMI San Francisco Bay Area Chapter and is a 2008 Leadership Institute Master Class (LIMC) graduate. She has also served on the boards of a financial institution and strategy organization.

As president of Mastodon Consulting, Jennifer Tharp works closely with boards, counsels, and the executive leadership of large, public companies and startup technology firms to increase fiduciary oversight, transparency, and accountability. She partners with companies worldwide to drive organizational transformation and leverages technology to meet the needs of communities and society. She has also developed strategic plans for public companies, municipalities, and the state of California.

She is an author and editor of the book “Sustainability Integration for Effective Project Management”, which examines how projects can be executed more sustainably. As a popular keynote speaker, she has delivered presentations on six continents on topics including project leadership, privacy and security, diversity, strategy, and risk.

Jennifer holds a BSBA from Indiana Wesleyan University and has taught leadership and project management at the University of California, Berkeley. She is an Institute of Directors (IoD) Chartered Director, National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) Board Leadership Fellow, and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) qualified financial expert.