Leading Major Infrastructure Project Delivery

Facilitator

Harout Chitilian is a seasoned executive and public policy strategist, currently serving as General Manager of the Association du Transport Urbain du Québec (ATUQ). In this role, he oversees strategic initiatives that shape sustainable urban mobility across Quebec. As a senior advisor to local governments and institutions, he provides expert guidance on urban and real estate development, helping officials implement forward-thinking policies that foster economic growth and community well-being.  

Until September 2023, Mr. Chitilian was Vice-President, Corporate Affairs, Development, and Strategy at CDPQ Infra, where he played a pivotal role in the execution of the Réseau express métropolitain (REM), Montreal’s landmark light rail project. He was responsible for developing and implementing corporate strategies, managing stakeholder relations, and leading public affairs, communications, and media teams.  

His public service career includes two consecutive terms as a Montreal City Councillor (2009–2017) for the borough of Bordeaux-Cartierville. From 2013 to 2017, he served as Vice-President of the Executive Committee of Montreal, overseeing administrative reform, operational excellence, information technology, and the Smart City portfolio. Previously, he was Speaker of the Montreal City Council (2011–2013) and chaired the Commission for the Presidency of the Council, spearheading initiatives in governance and civic engagement. He also played a key role in advancing youth programs for the city.  

Before entering public office, Mr. Chitilian worked as a consulting engineer in the information technology and telecommunications sectors. He holds a degree in computer engineering with a specialization in telecommunications from École Polytechnique de Montréal and has pursued executive education at McGill University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).  

Committed to fostering leadership and community development, he serves on the boards of the Polytechnique Montréal Foundation and the Old Brewery Mission. Mr. Chitilian’s career reflects a deep commitment to urban innovation, public policy, and sustainable infrastructure, positioning him as a thought leader in shaping the cities of tomorrow. 

Facilitator

Over the past two decades, Professor Lavagnon Ika has taught project management to project managers and senior business leaders in many universities and schools in countries throughout America, Europe, Australia, Africa, and the Middle East.  

Dr Lavagnon Ika is Professor of Project Management and Founding Director of the Major Projects Observatory at the Telfer School of Management at the University of Ottawa. He is also an Extraordinary Professor at both the Graduate School of Technology Management and the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) of the University of Pretoria. He is a Carnegie African Diaspora Fellow, an Associate Editor of the International Journal of Project Management and the Canadian Journal of Development Studies, and a past or current member of the Academic Boards of the international project management associations PMI and IPMA.  

Professor Ika’s research has been widely published in prestigious outlets such as International Journal of Project Management, Project Management Journal, World Development, Public Administration and Development, Journal of Development Studies, IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, Production Planning and Control, Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Journal of Business Strategy, Journal of African Business, Harvard Business Review France and The Conversation, to name a few.  

His ideas have been presented at many international conferences, including the Academy of Management (AoM), the European Academy of Management (EURAM), the International Research Network on Organizing by Projects (IRNOP), and the PMI Research and Education Conference, Making Projects Critical (MPC), and the International Academy of African Business and Development (IAABD.  

Professor Ika's work has earned him three Emerald Publishing House Awards of Excellence (Best Reviewer Award in 2018, Outstanding Paper in 2017 and Highly Commended Paper Award in 2011), as well as three IPMA Global Awards of Excellence (Research Award in 2017 and 2022 and Contribution of a Young Researcher Award in 2012). He was awarded the Telfer Innovative Researcher Award in 2017 and the Telfer Established Researcher Award in 2021. He is the co-author of Managing Fuzzy Projects in 3D, which won the PMI Book of the Year in 2024, and the co-editor of the Cambridge University Handbook of Project Behavior.  

Professor Ika’s work appears in the press including in outlets such as Ottawa Citizen and La Presse. Professor Ika has provided guidance for the World Bank as external advisory panel member on their Results and Performance of the World Bank Group 2023 and for PMI as a lead scholar on how to measure project success.