NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pennsylvania, January 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Project Management Institute (PMI), the world's leading professional membership organization for project managers, today announces three distinguished plenary speakers on innovation, strategy and leadership in project management for its biennial Research and Education Conference 11-14 July 2010 at the Gaylord National Hotel and Conference Center in suburban Washington, DC. Highlighting the event will be Kathleen Eisenhardt, Ph.D.; Lisa Lahey, Ph.D. and; Charles Pellerin, Ph.D.

Professor Eisenhardt is the Stanford W. Ascherman, M.D. Professor at Stanford University and co-director of the Stanford Technology Ventures Program. Her work centers on strategy and organization primarily for technology-based companies across a wide spectrum of industries. As co-author of Competing on the Edge: Strategy as Structured Chaos, her presentation will focus on the use of case studies to improve the challenges of management theory. Eisenhardt was recently noted as most cited research author in the management field over the past 25 years.

Professor Lahey is associate director of the Change Leadership Group at Harvard University's Graduate School of Education. The author of three books on education in organizations she works with leaders and leadership teams in both for-profit and not-for-profit organizations and comes to the conference with a deep understanding of organizational psychology. Her presentation will look at the strategies for closing the gap between intentions and behavior in personal and organizational transformation, a key element in successful project and change management.

Professor Pellerin is a former director of astrophysics for NASA and a well known expert and thought leader for project management. Since retiring from NASA in 1995, Pellerin has developed a leadership and cultural assessment learning system that focuses on the resolution of project management issues as they arise. His presentation will provide a closer look at the importance of leadership and communication skills on projects.

As project management continues to grow as a leading-edge profession, it also has become fertile ground for management research crossing a wide span of theoretical and practical concern, said Edwin Andrews, Ph.D., director of academic and educational programs and services at PMI. Our three plenary speakers are evidence of the impact project management is having within the academic setting and will provide our attendees a truly thought provoking and enlightening experience.

This premier research and education conference gathers thought leaders in project management to share new research findings and shape future directions for the profession. In spite of the current economic climate, project management continues to be an area of growth for many organizations and a catalyst for research.

Participation in the event is limited to 500 scholars, senior practitioners and students of project management and allied disciplines. The program will include upwards of 60 sessions and with feature traditional paper presentations, as well as two new interactive session formats; symposia and student poster sessions. Attendees will also use the latest in social media networking to further their participation and enhance their experience.

About Project Management Institute (PMI)

The world's leading professional membership organization for project managers, PMI shares knowledge with nearly 500,000 members and credential holders in over 185 countries. Since 1969, PMI has impacted more than one million practitioners, businesses, governments, students and training organizations. Today, PMI's products and services range from world-class standards for project, program and portfolio management to five professional credentials, including the gold standard Project Management Professional (PMP)(R). PMI's exclusive Global Corporate Council and European Corporate Networking Group engage large multinationals and government organizations in endorsing the value of project management. The only project management association with an established academic research program, PMI has invested more than US$14 million in support of dozens of research projects since 1997. Learn more at PMI.org.

SOURCE: Project Management Institute

CONTACT: Megan Maguire Kelly, +1-610-356-4600 x7030, Megan.Kelly@pmi.org,or Glenn R. Boyet, +1-610-356-4600 x1112, Glenn.Boyet@pmi.org , both of PMI