Nicolas De Dobbeleer

Short Biography

I have been managing projects since the start of my career, 28 years ago, handling a wide variety of projects across different scales: from small, few man-months projects worth tens of thousands of Euros to large, hundreds of man-years projects valued at tens of millions of Euros.

I've worked across the value chain, from R&D, Marketing, Procurement, and Manufacturing to Sales and support functions like HR, IT, and Finance. My experience spans various industries, including private sectors like Automotive, Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals, as well as public sectors like Utilities and Transportation. I've managed projects in companies of all sizes, from startups and scale-ups to large multinationals, and have worked across different countries and cultures, including Europe, Brazil, China, and the US.

Over the years, I've developed a passion for strategic projects. At 36, I reached a turning point in my career and decided to become a freelance project manager. Why? Because:

- I'm an independent spirit and wanted to avoid relying too much on internal politics for career advancement.
- I have a passion for results and learning opportunities rather than power.
- I wanted to turn my passion for Project Management into a profession, which was not a common path back then.
- I love change, and freelancing ensures I never get bored.

Thus, I founded The Project Gold Mine in 2008, 16 years ago already, with the mission of transforming customers' projects into their "gold mine." Today, with over 20 years of experience as a PMP veteran, I consider myself a Strategy Implementation Swiss Army Knife, having gained and healed some scars on the project battlefield.

I've gradually evolved from a Project Management Evangelist—building several PMOs and delivering numerous projects and programs on both business and IT sides—to a Strategy Implementation Evangelist. I believe the greatest leverage in organizations lies in portfolio management and change management.