Alan Harpham BSc MBA FAPM FCMC

Alan describes himself as being on his 4th career, as what Charles Handy calls ‘a portfolio manager’.  Alan is an independent management consultant; focused on programme management, project management and executive coaching – individuals and teams.

He is the Chairman of the APM Group, an Accreditation, Registration and Examination Certification Body for key elements of Best Practice in programme and project management, ITIL, and Change Management. It works with its main partners - the Office of Government Commerce (OGC), The Stationery Office and the Chartered Management Institute - to develop a wide range of activities that broaden the application of Best practice.  The Group was originally established as the trading arm of the Association for Project Management, but is now independent (see http://www.apmgroup.co.uk).  He is also a Strategic Assignment Consultant with the Office of Government Commerce (part of the UK Treasury).  He is helping his son start-up a new e-commerce business in the sport and leisure sector – The Sports and Leisure Community Limited, trading as majorsporty (see http://www.majorsporty.com ).  He is chairman of Workplace Ministry Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire (see http://www.workplaceministry.org.uk).  He is a Board Member of The International Center for Spirit at Work and also on the selection committee of the International Spirit at Work Awards (see http://www.spiritatwork.org).  He is chairman of Cranfield University’s Science & Engineering Ethics Committee and also chairs the SPD Research Ethics Committee (medical). 

He was co-owner and a founding director of P5 – the Power of Projects, a consultancy specialising in the application of project and programme management in owner/client organisations.  He was also an unpaid executive coach with Subject Matters, a consultancy specializing in organizing business-to-business events, conferences and exhibitions.  He is also a former trustee of a number of charitable organisations including MODEM, and The Friends of the Bedford Child Development Centre.  He was a founding member of the Jury for the IPMA International Project Management Awards and continued as such until 2006.

He is a former Managing Director and senior consultant of Nichols Associates (now part of The Nichols Group), one of the UK’s leading consultancies in project and change management.  Before this Alan was an early Director of Cranfield University’s MSc in Project Management and started his own project management consultancy.  Alan’s early career was as an engineer and line manager with John Laing, where he rose to become Overseas Contracts Manager for its M & E activities.  His M & E experience included construction of the UK’s first major North Sea oilrig, and a large contract for a PVC plant in Poland where he took a significant proportion of the workforce from the U.K.

Alan has been extensively involved in:

• Project Management assignments to review and develop strategies on behalf of owner/client companies for major capital projects and other strategic initiatives.

• Consulting assignments with many owner/client companies to help them review and develop the way in which they programme and project manage their own capital investment programmes.  This has included developing and implementing many ‘Project Improvement Programmes’; creating programmes of related ‘soft’ projects to change the investment management culture of the company concerned.  Alan has also worked with a number of suppliers and contractors to enhance their marketing and project management performance. 

• Personal development and Executive coaching programmes for over 100 major clients in many diverse sectors, including: aerospace, construction, financial services, health care, IS/IT, manufacturing, transportation and utilities.  He was also an assistant in the St Alban’s Diocese ‘Voluntary Self-Assisted Appraisal Scheme for Clergy’ for a number of years, a past Chairman of the Board of the St Alban’s Ministerial Training Scheme and past co-chair of the St Albans and Oxford Ministry Course and is a voluntary Mentor to CE’s of Charities with the Worshipful Company of Management Consultants.

• He has presented and written on – change management, inspirational leadership, managing successful programmes, management by projects, the Politics and politics of projects, managing cultural differences, the Project Context, Maturity Models, Life-work integration, Spirit at Work, Why would a businessman study theology?, and many other topics.

Alan’s personal interests include spirit in work (he is an editorial advisor of MODEM’s e-zine ‘Spirit in Work’), he was founding chairman of MODEM (see http://www.modem.uk.com), and a former Steward of Spirit in Business (http://www.spiritinbusiness.org).  He likes hill walking, scrambling, international travelling, good food and company, and watching rugby.