No episode playing
Have you ever wondered why 80 percent of major programmes are late and over budget? Are you skeptical about the pace of adoption of technology in the infrastructure industry? Is your leadership as a major programme professional different from leadership of other professions? Welcome to the Navigating Major Programmes podcast, the elevated conversation dedicated to the world of infrastructure and major programme management. Join Riccardo Cosentino, a Major Programmes Senior Executive with over 20 years experience, along with the industry’s thought leaders as they delve into your disconcerting questions on programme design, delivery, governance, risk management, stakeholder engagement, along with the most controversial subjects facing infrastructure professionals today. As misconceptions are dismantled, industry standards questioned and fresh ideas are shared, you’ll walk away with new perspective. The conversation doesn’t stop here—connect and converse with our community via LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cosentinoriccardo/
In this special Master Builders episode of Navigating Major Programmes, Riccardo Cosentino and co-host Shormila Chatterjee are joined by Marianne Smith, a distinguished partner at Blakes National Infrastructure Group, to celebrate her remarkable career and pay tribute to Judy Wilson, a trailblazer in Canada’s infrastructure industry. Judy, a world-renowned procurement lawyer and a champion for diversity, left an indelible mark on the sector before her passing. This episode honors her legacy while highlighting Marianne’s own contributions as one of Judy’s closest mentees.
With over 20 years of experience in infrastructure and procurement law, Marianne has played a pivotal role in shaping public-private partnerships (P3s) across Canada. She shares her journey from working alongside Judy to becoming a leader in the field, emphasizing how mentorship and advocacy for diversity have been central to her success.
"Judy was a champion of diversity. She was an ally before we had the nomenclature of what an ally is. She used her power, authority, influence. Not just selfishly, but also to promote, women, people of color, anyone who might've felt, that they didn't belong in the boardroom or around the table, talking about tough, infrastructure type issues. She really did impact so many people in that way." – Marianne Smith
Key Takeaways:
The conversation doesn’t stop here—connect and converse with our LinkedIn community:
Music: "A New Tomorrow" by Chordial Music. Licensed through PremiumBeat.
DISCLAIMER: The opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints expressed by the hosts and guests on this podcast do not necessarily represent or reflect the official policy, opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints of Disenyo.co LLC and its employees.
In this episode of Navigating Major Programmes, Riccardo Cosentino sits down with Mikaila Kukurudza to explore the significance of thought leadership—and some of the biggest mistakes professionals make on LinkedIn.
Mikaila Kukurudza, founder of Colada Marketing Ltd., has been instrumental in helping both people and brands tell their stories, including working with Riccardo over the last three years. If you’ve come across any of Riccardo’s LinkedIn articles, chances are, Mikaila is the pen behind them. Is hiring a ghostwriter unethical? Why does personal branding matter for the infrastructure industry—and beyond? And how do social media platforms shape major programs? Riccardo and Mikaila dive into all this and more.
“You already have a personal brand, whether you like it or not. It’s just a matter of whether you’re going to define and refine it into something you’re happy with. For anyone listening—even if you’re not actively posting on LinkedIn—you already have a personal brand. It’s up to you to shape it into how you want to be represented online.” — Mikaila Kukurudza
Key Takeaways:
The conversation doesn’t stop here—connect and converse with our LinkedIn community:
Music: "A New Tomorrow" by Chordial Music. Licensed through PremiumBeat.
DISCLAIMER: The opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints expressed by the hosts and guests on this podcast do not necessarily represent or reflect the official policy, opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints of Disenyo.co LLC and its employees.
In this episode of Navigating Major Programmes, Riccardo Cosentino sits down with Annie Goodchild, a passionate advocate for inclusivity in major projects. As a trans, non-binary professional in the infrastructure industry, Annie shares insights on industry resilience, stakeholder management, and the value of diverse perspectives in shaping successful projects. The duo discusses all this, plus the role of public inquiries in major projects.
Annie Goodchild brings a wealth of experience in communications and stakeholder outreach, driving strategic initiatives for complex infrastructure projects across Canada. As the Director of Communications and Stakeholder Outreach at Kiewit, they currently lead efforts on Ottawa’s Confederation Line extensions, focusing on building essential relationships for project success. Known for their commitment to teamwork, learning, and connection, Annie believes that true progress happens when everyone moves forward together.
“We are the eyes and ears in many ways of how the project's going to do everywhere else, but in the very boardroom that it's executed from, and that those outside forces, the climate around the boardroom affects the boardroom more than sometimes they'd like. So let us help. Let us be in the room. Let us share our understanding of what's coming and help us plan a mitigation around any problems we might see, because that's our ultimate benefit to the major project." – Annie Goodchild
Key Takeaways:
Mentioned Links:
The conversation doesn’t stop here—connect and converse with our LinkedIn community:
Music: "A New Tomorrow" by Chordial Music. Licensed through PremiumBeat.
DISCLAIMER: The opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints expressed by the hosts and guests on this podcast do not necessarily represent or reflect the official policy, opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints of Disenyo.co LLC and its employees.
In this episode of Mastering Major Projects, Riccardo Cosentino and co-host Shormila Chatterjee sit down with Marni Dicker, a dynamic and bilingual senior executive recognized as one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women and one of the Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers in the country. Marni’s accolades include the General Counsel Award for Business Achievement and the Premier’s Award of Excellence from the Province of Alberta for her groundbreaking work on the Calgary Courthouse Public-Private Partnership.
With an impressive background in corporate law and a strategic leadership role in the Canadian Premier League, Marni shares her extraordinary journey from criminal law to becoming a transformative figure in infrastructure and business strategy. Known for her ability to deliver projects on time and within budget, she discusses the importance of diversity and inclusion in leadership and her commitment to mentoring the next generation of female leaders.
"Remember, I knew nothing about construction and infrastructure engineering, and they would ask me a very substantive question. What would you do if this happened on one of your sites? And I did the following. I would certainly call external counsel who is specialized in that area, and I would ensure that we got the best advice. Basically, I was punting it down the line because I had no idea, none, how to answer their questions. What I quickly learned is that's what they liked. No one is expected to know everything you are supposed to be able to know how to use your resources, how to get the right expert advice." – Marni Dicker
Key Takeaways:
The conversation doesn’t stop here—connect and converse with our LinkedIn community:
Music: "A New Tomorrow" by Chordial Music. Licensed through PremiumBeat.
DISCLAIMER: The opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints expressed by the hosts and guests on this podcast do not necessarily represent or reflect the official policy, opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints of Disenyo.co LLC and its employees.
In this episode of Navigating Major Programmes, Riccardo Cosentino dives into an engaging conversation with AI visionary Dev Amratia, uncovering how AI is revolutionizing the infrastructure industry. Together, they explore the game-changing potential of harnessing data from over 760,000 global projects to forecast outcomes with precision, drastically improving risk management and efficiency. Dev reveals the untapped possibilities of AI, from smarter decision-making to reshaping the very way projects are delivered, offering insights that challenge traditional approaches and inspire a bold new future for infrastructure.
"What if we had the experience of 760,000 projects between the two of us and then worked on a project, wouldn’t we be hundreds of times more effective than we currently are?" – Dev Amratia
Dev is the Co-Founder and CEO of nPlan, where he is at the forefront of rethinking how project outcomes are forecasted and addressing risk in the built environment. With an aerospace engineering background and 9 years of capital project management experience, he combines both technical and commercial expertise to tackle complex challenges. Dev also co-authored the UK Government's AI Review (2017) and is a Chartered Engineer (CEng) through the Royal Institute of Mechanical Engineers.
Key Takeaways:
The conversation doesn’t stop here—connect and converse with our LinkedIn community:
Music: "A New Tomorrow" by Chordial Music. Licensed through PremiumBeat.
DISCLAIMER: The opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints expressed by the hosts and guests on this podcast do not necessarily represent or reflect the official policy, opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints of Disenyo.co LLC and its employees.
In this episode of Navigating Major Programmes, Riccardo Cosentino sits down with Vickie Turnbull, a trailblazer in infrastructure finance with over 35 years of experience in the banking industry. Vickie shares her unique journey from corporate banking to becoming a key figure in infrastructure finance, shedding light on her extensive work with leading Canadian banks like TD Securities and RBC. Now, in what she calls "Vickie 2.0," she remains deeply involved in the sector, leveraging her expertise in advisory roles and as a board member for Infrastructure Ontario.
Vickie also dives into her commitment to mentorship and advocacy for women in infrastructure, reflecting on her role in founding the Women's Infrastructure Network (WIN) and Women in Energy Canada (WIECAN). She emphasizes the importance of diversity and inclusion in infrastructure and discusses how these networks have evolved to support and empower women in the industry.
"I think that's one of the things I really love about the whole infrastructure space is it takes a village to get these transactions done. I think that's been part of the fun part for me is that I have so many different people that I talk through as I'm working on a transaction. Right? And you've got all these people that you can interact with. And again, you get that whole diversity. People are looking at things from various different ways. And at the end of the day, we've got these fabulous assets that are getting built for the use of Canadians and replacing, you know, things that really needed to be replaced. There's a lot more that still needs to be done. So I'm a part of it, but I don't see myself, like I, it's hard and I don't know whether that's just how I think through things, how I look at it, but I do really, like, it does take a village to get these things done and I couldn't do it alone on my own. Absolutely not." – Vickie Turnbull
The conversation doesn’t stop here—connect and converse with our LinkedIn community:
Music: "A New Tomorrow" by Chordial Music. Licensed through PremiumBeat.
DISCLAIMER: The opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints expressed by the hosts and guests on this podcast do not necessarily represent or reflect the official policy, opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints of Disenyo.co LLC and its employees.
Host Riccardo Cosentino explores untapped knowledge in project management, drawing from his Oxford insights. This episode of Navigating Major Programmes delves into integrating social sciences and complex adaptive systems, addressing how minor changes can lead to significant impacts due to project complexity. Join Riccardo as he navigates through the complexities of project management, offering innovative solutions to embrace and manage these challenges effectively in a new mini series: The Science of Complexity. Could your approach to project management be outdated?
"I am convinced that, although we have achieved many incredible things already as project leaders and managers, there's something missing, something that's already out there in the world's knowledge that we're not using well enough." – Riccardo Cosentino
Steps for improving the management and understanding of complex, large-scale infrastructure projects:
Mentioned Links:
The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of The Learning Organization (Recommended Reading)
How Understanding Systems Thinking Changed My Career (Riccardo’s LinkedIn Article)
Organizing for Work (Recommended Reading)
Nassim Nicholas Taleb’s Published Works (Recommended Incerto Reading)
Digital Construction Ontologies
The conversation doesn’t stop here—connect and converse with our LinkedIn community:
Music: "A New Tomorrow" by Chordial Music. Licensed through PremiumBeat.
DISCLAIMER: The opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints expressed by the hosts and guests on this podcast do not necessarily represent or reflect the official policy, opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints of Disenyo.co LLC and its employees.
In this episode of Navigating Major Programmes, Riccardo Cosentino chats with fellow Oxford MMPM alumnus David Porter about the game-changing potential of artificial intelligence in construction and project management. David shares how AI can drastically improve project forecasts and decision-making, even in an industry slow to adopt new technologies. He also discusses innovative strategies from his company, Octant AI, that tackle data management challenges and boost project performance. The AI revolution is here—will you be ready? Should AI be considered a general-purpose technology (GPT)?
"So, you know, this is a huge, huge change that we are facing. And there is going to be massive disruption, you know, like, I mean, there just is. And so those who learn to use the tool, like those who learned how to use an internal combustion engine to put an airplane in the sky, those people are the people who are going to be our leaders." – David Porter
David Porter brings a wealth of experience from the construction industry, having spent his entire career in this field. As the co-founder of Octant AI, he has been at the forefront of developing AI tools that enhance project performance and decision-making. His insights into the challenges and opportunities of integrating AI into construction projects provide a compelling narrative for the future of project management.
Key Takeaways:
The conversation doesn’t stop here—connect and converse with our LinkedIn community:
Music: "A New Tomorrow" by Chordial Music. Licensed through PremiumBeat.
DISCLAIMER: The opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints expressed by the hosts and guests on this podcast do not necessarily represent or reflect the official policy, opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints of Disenyo.co LLC and its employees.
Welcome to a special collaboration episode of the Navigating Major Programmes podcast featuring Henry Fenby-Taylor from the Digital Twin Fan Club. Joining them is Associate Professor Jenn MacArthur from Toronto Metropolitan University to discuss digital twins in major projects. They delve into complex programme management, emerging digital trends, AI's transformative power, and essential leadership for billion-dollar projects. The trio also explores the nuances of building information management (BIM), digital twins' practical uses, and sustainable practices shaping future cities.
“But what if you could actually transfer learning from previous buildings into that one, from previous genericized systems into a new system. And you built in this online learning capability, that your twin was actually capable of learning what was typical for the building as the data came in. And then adapting those algorithms to be able to tune them to that building, with very, very little human intervention.” – Jenn MacArthur
Key Takeaways:
Jenn MacArthur is an Associate Professor at Toronto Metropolitan University, specializing in mechanical engineering and sustainable infrastructure. Her career spans from energy and water management in India to leadership roles in design engineering and construction in Canada. In academia, she focuses on Building Information Management (BIM), AI, and digital twins, aiming to optimize building operations and energy use through advanced technology applications.
Henry Fenby-Taylor is the CEO of Athenophilia, where he assists clients on their digital transformation journey, creating software applications, digital twins, and information management capabilities. He also hosts the Digital Twin Fan Club podcast, exploring topics related to digital twins, AI, and the broader infrastructure industry. Henry is engaged in driving innovation and managing change within organizations, working closely with stakeholders to accelerate change and drive innovation.
The conversation doesn’t stop here—connect and converse with our LinkedIn community:
Music: "A New Tomorrow" by Chordial Music. Licensed through PremiumBeat.
DISCLAIMER: The opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints expressed by the hosts and guests on this podcast do not necessarily represent or reflect the official policy, opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints of Disenyo.co LLC and its employees.
Welcome to a very unique episode of Navigating Major Programmes, in which Riccardo Cosentino shares his biggest insecurities and how overcoming them kickstarted the turning point of his career in major programmes. As Riccardo shares his upbringing in Italy and how he ended up at an Oxford University graduation ceremony dumbfounded by how he got there, listen very carefully—and trust us, listen to the end for a shocking conclusion.
“My respect for Oxford diminished simply because I had fooled them into giving me a degree. How could the heart of world academics be so easily bamboozled by me?” – Riccardo Cosentino
Key Takeaways:
The conversation doesn’t stop here—connect and converse with our LinkedIn community:
Music: "A New Tomorrow" by Chordial Music. Licensed through PremiumBeat.
DISCLAIMER: The opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints expressed by the hosts and guests on this podcast do not necessarily represent or reflect the official policy, opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints of Disenyo.co LLC and its employees.
Amanda is a wife. A mother. A blogger. A Christian.
A charming, beautiful, bubbly, young woman who lives life to the fullest.
But Amanda is dying, with a secret she doesn’t want anyone to know.
She starts a blog detailing her cancer journey, and becomes an inspiration, touching and
captivating her local community as well as followers all over the world.
Until one day investigative producer Nancy gets an anonymous tip telling her to look at Amanda’s
blog, setting Nancy on an unimaginable road to uncover Amanda’s secret.
Award winning journalist Charlie Webster explores this unbelievable and bizarre, but
all-too-real tale, of a woman from San Jose, California whose secret ripped a family apart and
left a community in shock.
Scamanda is the true story of a woman whose own words held the key to her secret.
New episodes every Monday.
Follow Scamanda on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen.
Amanda’s blog posts are read by actor Kendall Horn.
