Profile of a project manager

Name: Andy Bawden

Membership grade: Associate member

Job title: European Product Development Manager

Company: Morningstar Inc.

Why did you become a member of APM?
The information, support and the access materials and events provided by the APM has been invaluable to me throughout my career, and I was keen to belong to a professional body that truly represents what is current and fresh in professional project management, and that it has support, development and networking at the heart of what it does.

How did you get into project management?
 I have been involved in project management in a variety of industries since I left university. It was certainly the element of my studies that inspired me the most, so I decided to start my career with a junior project management role in the public sector. Even though my current field of work is in website and digital project management, to get here I have worked managed projects in a variety of industries, such as education, retail insurance and eCommerce. Because of this journey I am firm believer in the transferable nature of solid project management skills and that you can never stop learning.

What would be your top tip to any aspiring project manager?
Prepare for future projects and business change management as early as possible. Pre-empt risks and challenges and work to mitigate them through creative and dynamic planning. Challenge and praise your team and co-workers, as they are a always a project manager’s greatest asset.

Describe yourself in ten words or less:
A motivator, organised, innovative, communicator, attention to detail, pro-active

If you had to spend the rest of your life on a desert island, what album, book, film and luxury item would you take with you?
Album: Folklore and Superstition, by Black Stone Cherry
Book: The books of ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’ by George R.R. Martin
Film: Top Gun starring Tom Cruise. A film I never get tired of watching.
Luxury Item: A Guitar

If you could have dinner with anyone, living or dead, who would it be and why?
It would be Neil Armstrong as he is symbol of human achievement, and the stories he could tell about the early days of the space race would be enthralling.

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