Over the past several decades, owner organizations across every sector—including the Chemical Process Industry (CPI) — have continued to re-engineer themselves to remain competitive in a landscape shaped by globalization, rapid technological change, fluctuating business drivers and shifting workforce expectations. Modern owner engineering structures are flatter, more networked, and increasingly dynamic, placing greater decision-making responsibility on employees at all levels.

Capital projects continue to grow in complexity and strategic importance, making the factors that influence their success more relevant than ever. In this issue, we examine one of the most critical—yet often overlooked—drivers of successful project outcomes: active executive sponsorship. Drawing on decades of industry research, we explore why sponsorship matters and what organizations stand to gain when this role is truly engaged.

Pathfinder recently completed another highly productive three-day session as part of an ongoing yearly Project Management Training Program for a major U.S.-based refining company. This latest session was held at one of the company’s refining sites and included project engineers from both the host location and other regional facilities.

Erik brings more than 30 years of experience leading complex engineering, project management, and operational excellence initiatives across industries, including pharmaceuticals, medical devices, food and beverage, energy, and advanced manufacturing. 

Pathfinder soundly believes that knowledge sharing and collaboration of experiences and new ideas is an essential part of bringing clarity and confidence to process industry project teams across a multitude of industries.