Key Note Speakers 2020

Kathrin Köster [Vienna University of Business and Economics, Austria]
Kathrin is a transformation expert and faculty member of the Executive Academy at Vienna University of Business and Economics (Austria). She studied economics, Chinese Studies and Japanese Studies in Germany, China and Japan and earned her Ph.D. at Erlangen-Nuremberg University (Germany). Kathrin is an innovative academic, social entrepreneur and a seasoned international manager. Her research focusses on agile leadership, transformation management (https://www.koesterpartner.de/12alignments/) and awareness building in a global context. She is the author of the global standard textbook ‘International Project Management’.

Gilbert Silvius [LOI University of Applied Sciences, Netherlands]
Gilbert Silvius (1963) is professor of project and programme management at LOI University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands, visiting professor at the University of Johannesburg in South Africa and fellow at Turku University of Applied Sciences in Finland. He is considered a leading expert in the field of sustainability in project management and is a frequent and inspirational speaker on project management and sustainability events. As a practitioner, Gilbert has over 20 years’ experience in organizational change and IT projects and is a member of the international enable2change network of project management experts. He has published several books and numerous studies and articles. Gilbert holds a PhD degree in information sciences from Utrecht University and masters’ degrees in economics and business administration. He is also a certified project manager, scrum master and product owner [https://www.wittenborg.eu/gilbert-silvius.htm]

Donald Roy Lessard [MIT Sloan School of Management]
Donald Roy Lessard [MIT Sloan School of Management] Donald R. Lessard is the Epoch Foundation Professor of International Management, Emeritus at the MIT Sloan School of Management. His research interests are in global strategic management and large-scale project management. A member of the MIT faculty since 1973, Lessard has served as Deputy Dean of the Sloan School with responsibilities for research, international programs, and executive education. A leader in international management education, Lessard is a past President of the Academy of International Business and Dean of the Fellows of the Academy. An academic advisor to the Brattle Group, he has led major consulting assignments with firms, banks, and government agencies throughout the world. He is a founding advisor to Promethean Energy Corporation.

Franca Cantoni
Graduated in Economics at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Italy she holds a PhD in Information Systems at LUISS Guido Carli (Rome). The main topics of research are related to the micro and macro impacts organizational change and outsourcing. She teaches the courses of Business Organization, Human Resource Management and International Human Resource Managemnet both at the graduate and undergraduate level, she is author of several international pubblications on organizational issues.

Edoardo Favari
Edoardo is a chartered engineer with long experience in managing complex projects at international level. He got a doctorate at Politecnico di Milano on large international projects, he is certified Project Management Professional and an active member of the Project Management Institute, he is a university