Latest news with #projectmanagement
Telegraph
2 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Construction execs who lost £4m accused of ‘tickling each other's b------s'
Two construction executives were asked if they had been 'tickling each other's b------s' by their boss after their project made a £4 million loss. Donal Coppinger and John McInerney were sacked on the spot by Jason Carey, the group chief executive of the civil engineering and construction contractor Careys, when they revealed their costs had skyrocketed, an employment tribunal heard. Mr Carey had believed the project was on course to make £3.3 million but learnt it was actually expecting a £4 million loss. The civil engineering boss then 'lost his temper' and asked his senior executives: 'What have you two been doing for the last 12 months? Tickling each other's b------s?' Mr Coppinger and Mr McInerney – who earned £120,000 and £145,000 respectively – were told: 'Get out of my sight and leave today.' Now, the pair have won an unfair dismissal case after a judge ruled their sacking was unfair as there had been no proper investigation. However, they were told they would be awarded no compensation from Careys because of their 'extremely serious failures' over company finances. The hearing in central London was told the pair were overseeing the Riverside Waste to Energy plant in South East London. The project, which they took over in 2023, had a tender cap of £39 million and Careys hoped to generate a profit of £4.9 million. However, by May 2024, they realised costs had soared, but blamed a colleague who had left that month to have been in charge of finances. In June 2024, a meeting was called with the company's top bosses, including Mr Carey. The CEO asked for an update on final figures, to which Mr Coppinger stated that, as things stood, it was approximately a £7.3 million negative swing from the target profit due to increased costs. The tribunal heard he was told he did not need to continue presenting his slides. 'Dodgy, shifty and untrustworthy' Mr Carey then said: 'What the f---?' He asked: 'How was this possible... how could this happen?' Mr Carey called Mr Coppinger a 'c---' and then said, 'I always knew you were dodgy, shifty and untrustworthy' while pointing his finger at him. He then made the remark about ticking each other's b------s. The pair were immediately sacked and told that the next contact would be through HR. The tribunal was told the costs eventually soared to over £14 million. The two men won their unfair dismissal claim as Employment Judge Kara Loraine said there should have been an investigation for it to have been a fair process. But, Judge Loraine said they will not be awarded compensation as a result of their 'grossly negligent' failure to scrutinise the project's finances.
Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Times
HS2: Labour to confirm delay until 2033 after ‘litany of failure'
Angela Rayner is to face questions from the shadow home secretary Chris Philp as the prime minister is travelling back from the G7 summit in Canada. The UK has been turned into an international 'laughing stock' over the failure to control the HS2 rail project, a minister acknowledged. The housing and planning minister Matthew Pennycook said there were 'serious problems' with HS2 'in terms of accountability, project overruns, costs'. He told LBC the way HS2 and other infrastructure projects had been handled 'reflect very poorly on us' as a country. Pennycook said the Planning and Infrastructure Bill includes a number of changes that will 'speed up the consenting process for nationally significant infrastructure' and this week's infrastructure strategy 'seeks to reverse the frankly erratic decisions and underinvestment we've seen over the past 14 years'. Mark Wild, chief executive of HS2 Ltd, is understood to have been astounded by his findings after he took control of the government-owned company in December last year. The source said: 'Alexander wants to turn the tide on the whole thing. Wild has been tasked with looking at the entire project and the speech today is designed to tackle these fresh revelations and look at how we move forward. 'There has been a total lack of ministerial oversight in the past and we need to change that so the same mistakes are not made on Northern Powerhouse Rail or the Lower Thames Crossing.' In December HS2 Ltd estimated the cost of building the railway would be between £54 and £66 billion in 2019 prices and between £67 and £83 billion in current prices. Revelations last year that HS2 had spent £100 million of taxpayers' money to build a bat tunnel shocked Westminster. Wild said that he could not apologise for complying with the law but conceded that an 'extraordinary amount of money' had been spent on the barrier, in ancient woodland in Buckinghamshire, to comply with the law on protected species. The transport secretary Heidi Alexander will tell the Commons that she is 'drawing a line in the sand' over the embattled rail project as the government tries to wrestle it back into order. The remaining section of the high-speed line between London and Birmingham will no longer be completed by 2033 and a delay of at least two years is now expected, according to reports. Alexander will present the findings of an interim report by Mark Wild, chief executive of HS2 Ltd, the company responsible for the delivery of the project at 12.30pm.
National Post
5 days ago
- Business
- National Post
97% of Agencies Faced Major Creative Campaign Challenges, According to New PMI Survey
Article content Article content As campaign complexity surges, new research spotlights how project professionals are powering marketing creativity and business impact Article content Article content CANNES, France — Creative leaders today face mounting pressure to deliver bold, fresh experiences that boost brand awareness and keep customers engaged in an increasingly saturated market. A new survey from Project Management Institute (PMI) highlights that 97% of respondents faced at least one major campaign challenge in the last year, including: Article content Going over budget (55%) Overdue deadlines (54%) Constraints on creativity (47%) Article content The survey, conducted among 130 U.S. marketing and advertising agency professionals, also found that a third of campaigns (34%) don't resonate with their target audience or generate new leads (35%). Article content In a tough marketing climate, with rising demands, tighter budgets, and shorter timelines, the execution side of creativity has never been more critical. The survey reveals that 9 in 10 (90%) creative professionals agree: 'Great creative campaigns do not happen without great project management.' Creative leaders also say project management professionals: Article content Allow the organization's leaders to focus on driving growth (52%) Ensure campaigns contribute positively to the brand over time (52%) Get all the different parts of the campaign working together (50%) Manage increasingly complex campaigns (45%) Ensure campaigns are long-lasting (45%) Article content By keeping teams aligned, stakeholders engaged, timelines on track, and encouraging creative momentum, project management helps strong ideas grow into powerful brand activations. Article content 'Today's CMOs are juggling more platforms, priorities, and pressure than ever before—and it's easy for even the strongest campaigns to lose focus and veer off-track,' said Menaka Gopinath, Chief Marketing Officer at PMI. 'Effective project management provides the structure and clarity creative teams need to drive momentum, work collaboratively, and deliver results that align with business goals. By bringing order to complexity, project management empowers marketing leaders to stay focused on strategy and turn complexity into opportunity.' Article content Project Management Professionals Drive Creative Momentum Article content Project management professionals are no longer viewed as back-office schedulers—they're emerging as team motivators and strategic leaders. While most agencies rely on them to keep projects on track (60%), more than half (52%) say their greatest impact lies in energizing creative teams. Article content As creative work grows more complex, expectations for project managers are shifting. Inhouse marketing teams and agencies now prize strategic skills like innovative thinking (67%), growth strategy (60%), and adaptability (57%) over budget and resource management (49%). Project managers today aren't just delivering campaigns—they're helping teams evolve. Article content This is why, despite the rise of AI and automation, agencies are doubling down on people. Nearly all (98%) say they're growing their project management capabilities —primarily through talent, not tools. 32% are training current staff, and 28% are hiring—reinforcing the belief that successful campaigns begin with skilled, empowered professionals. Article content Yet their contributions often go unnoticed. Nearly half (48%) of creative leaders say project managers are the unsung heroes of campaigns – delivering critical, behind-the-scenes value, from steering complex activations, to aligning teams and keeping everything on track. Article content The survey also found that sharpening project management skills gives marketing teams the edge. Teams led by certified project managers outperform those without certification, delivering stronger results and audience-aligned campaigns. Article content 'Marketing matters more than ever, but it also has to perform, in spite of its increasing complexity', said Pierre Le Manh, President and CEO of PMI. 'Every dollar must drive measurable impact, and every great idea must scale. That's where project professionals become a force multiplier. They don't constrain creativity, they operationalize it. They fight waste, play an essential role in managing complex assets, teams, cultures, tech stacks – and turn ideas into results. Ultimately, they drive more execution efficiency and speed, which translates into more profit for both agencies and clients.' Article content PMI will be on the ground at Cannes Lions to share how project professionals are reshaping creative outcomes—connecting campaign strategy to business impact. To see how you can connect with PMI at Cannes Lions, visit Article content About the Survey Article content Commissioned by the Project Management Institute (PMI), an online survey was conducted by PSB Insights from April 28 to May 6, 2025, among creative campaign professionals in the United States working at an advertising, marketing, creative, PR agency or in-house agency/department. Article content About Project Management Institute (PMI) Article content PMI is the leading authority in project management and is dedicated to guiding the way to project success. Since 1969, PMI has shone a light on the power of project management and the people behind the projects. With a global community, gold-standard professional certifications, and career-long learning opportunities, PMI empowers current and aspiring project professionals, as well as organizations, with knowledge and resources to lead effectively and create an impact in the communities they serve. Article content Article content Article content Article content Media Contact: Article content Article content Article content
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
97% of Agencies Faced Major Creative Campaign Challenges, According to New PMI Survey
As campaign complexity surges, new research spotlights how project professionals are powering marketing creativity and business impact CANNES, France, June 16, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Creative leaders today face mounting pressure to deliver bold, fresh experiences that boost brand awareness and keep customers engaged in an increasingly saturated market. A new survey from Project Management Institute (PMI) highlights that 97% of respondents faced at least one major campaign challenge in the last year, including: Going over budget (55%) Overdue deadlines (54%) Constraints on creativity (47%) The survey, conducted among 130 U.S. marketing and advertising agency professionals, also found that a third of campaigns (34%) don't resonate with their target audience or generate new leads (35%). In a tough marketing climate, with rising demands, tighter budgets, and shorter timelines, the execution side of creativity has never been more critical. The survey reveals that 9 in 10 (90%) creative professionals agree: "Great creative campaigns do not happen without great project management." Creative leaders also say project management professionals: Allow the organization's leaders to focus on driving growth (52%) Ensure campaigns contribute positively to the brand over time (52%) Get all the different parts of the campaign working together (50%) Manage increasingly complex campaigns (45%) Ensure campaigns are long-lasting (45%) By keeping teams aligned, stakeholders engaged, timelines on track, and encouraging creative momentum, project management helps strong ideas grow into powerful brand activations. "Today's CMOs are juggling more platforms, priorities, and pressure than ever before—and it's easy for even the strongest campaigns to lose focus and veer off-track," said Menaka Gopinath, Chief Marketing Officer at PMI. "Effective project management provides the structure and clarity creative teams need to drive momentum, work collaboratively, and deliver results that align with business goals. By bringing order to complexity, project management empowers marketing leaders to stay focused on strategy and turn complexity into opportunity." Project Management Professionals Drive Creative MomentumProject management professionals are no longer viewed as back-office schedulers—they're emerging as team motivators and strategic leaders. While most agencies rely on them to keep projects on track (60%), more than half (52%) say their greatest impact lies in energizing creative teams. As creative work grows more complex, expectations for project managers are shifting. Inhouse marketing teams and agencies now prize strategic skills like innovative thinking (67%), growth strategy (60%), and adaptability (57%) over budget and resource management (49%). Project managers today aren't just delivering campaigns—they're helping teams evolve. This is why, despite the rise of AI and automation, agencies are doubling down on people. Nearly all (98%) say they're growing their project management capabilities—primarily through talent, not tools. 32% are training current staff, and 28% are hiring—reinforcing the belief that successful campaigns begin with skilled, empowered professionals. Yet their contributions often go unnoticed. Nearly half (48%) of creative leaders say project managers are the unsung heroes of campaigns – delivering critical, behind-the-scenes value, from steering complex activations, to aligning teams and keeping everything on track. The survey also found that sharpening project management skills gives marketing teams the edge. Teams led by certified project managers outperform those without certification, delivering stronger results and audience-aligned campaigns. "Marketing matters more than ever, but it also has to perform, in spite of its increasing complexity", said Pierre Le Manh, President and CEO of PMI. "Every dollar must drive measurable impact, and every great idea must scale. That's where project professionals become a force multiplier. They don't constrain creativity, they operationalize it. They fight waste, play an essential role in managing complex assets, teams, cultures, tech stacks - and turn ideas into results. Ultimately, they drive more execution efficiency and speed, which translates into more profit for both agencies and clients." PMI will be on the ground at Cannes Lions to share how project professionals are reshaping creative outcomes—connecting campaign strategy to business impact. To see how you can connect with PMI at Cannes Lions, visit About the SurveyCommissioned by the Project Management Institute (PMI), an online survey was conducted by PSB Insights from April 28 to May 6, 2025, among creative campaign professionals in the United States working at an advertising, marketing, creative, PR agency or in-house agency/department. About Project Management Institute (PMI)PMI is the leading authority in project management and is dedicated to guiding the way to project success. Since 1969, PMI has shone a light on the power of project management and the people behind the projects. With a global community, gold-standard professional certifications, and career-long learning opportunities, PMI empowers current and aspiring project professionals, as well as organizations, with knowledge and resources to lead effectively and create an impact in the communities they serve. Join PMI in elevating our world – one project at a time. Connect with us at on Instagram @pmi_org, and on TikTok @PMInstitute. PMI Trademarks:Project Management Institute and PMI are trademarks and/or registered marks of Project Management Institute, Inc., in the US and/or in other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. View source version on Contacts Media Contact: Rachael Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Mail & Guardian
11-06-2025
- Business
- Mail & Guardian
MBDA appoints seasoned town planning professional Zinhle Thwala-Zulu to spearhead catalytic programmes, urban revitalisation
Zinhle Thwala-Zulu. A city's transformation takes vision, leadership, skills and the requisite experience to progress. It is for this reason that the Mandela Bay Development Agency, an entity of the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality, is pleased to announce the appointment of Zinhle Thwala-Zulu to the key position of Executive Manager: Operations. The role oversees all MBDA project planning, preparation, implementation and total precinct management, also referred to as urban area management. Thwala-Zulu stepped into the role held, until recently, by Debbie Hendricks, who served in this key position from 2019. Thwala-Zulu is now at the helm of the portfolio that drives the long-term planning and implementation of catalytic projects within Nelson Mandela Bay. 'Zinhle is taking on a critical role within the agency,' says MBDA CEO, Anele Qaba. 'She will lead the responsibility of aligning urban renewal projects with the agency's strategic objectives and ensure that every initiative contributes to the city's broader development goals within the MBDA's mandate.' Thwala-Zulu has held several senior public and private sector roles over the course of her career, including serving as General Manager: Planning & Sustainable Development at the Mtubatuba Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal, and as Senior Town Planner within the Western Cape's Knysna Municipality. She has led major urban projects and overseen the implementation of policy, land use applications and infrastructure planning. She holds a BTech in Town & Regional Planning, a Post-graduate Diploma in Local Economic Development, and is currently working towards a Master's degree in Town and Regional Planning at the University of Pretoria. Qaba is confident in the new appointment: 'I am excited with Zinhle's depth and breadth of experience to provide leadership in driving the MBDA's mission, to contribute to the inclusive and equitable development of Nelson Mandela Bay as a world-class city to live in, and a destination of choice. The MBDA's core mandate is to achieve social, spatial and economic transformation in Nelson Mandela Bay.' 'She brings to the position her expertise in municipal governance, infrastructure development and spatial planning, and is very well-placed to drive long-term impact and bring a fresh momentum to both current and future initiatives of the MBDA.' As Executive Manager: Operations, Thwala-Zulu will work closely with all stakeholders and partners to build and promote inclusive economic growth in Nelson Mandela Bay. 'I am excited to have the opportunity to guide and shape the MBDA's transformative initiatives,' she says. 'I look forward to supporting and leading initiatives that bring long-term positive results and make a meaningful impact in Nelson Mandela Bay. We have all the plans, now we need to deliver.'
