Top 12 Project Management Experts to Follow in 2026
If you're a project manager or project leader and want to change how you think, plan, and deliver, the voices you follow can make all the difference. From practical frameworks and hard-won lessons to fresh perspectives on modern delivery, I've rounded up the experts worth your attention. These are the people who will speak directly to the challenges you face and help you lead projects with more confidence.
Top 12 Project Management Experts
Below are the profiles of the top project management experts, covering who they are and the impact they've made in this space.
Elizabeth Harrin
Elizabeth Harrin is a senior project manager, author, trainer, and creator of Rebel’s Guide to Project Management, with experience delivering change in healthcare and teaching practical PM skills.
Through her books and…
Elizabeth Harrin is a senior project manager, author, trainer, and creator of Rebel’s Guide to Project Management, with experience delivering change in healthcare and teaching practical PM skills.
Through her books and Rebel’s Guide to Project Management, Harrin turns day-to-day delivery problems into practical advice on stakeholders, teams, communication, planning, and managing multiple projects. Her practitioner perspective keeps the guidance grounded in the realities project managers face.
Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez
Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez is CEO and founder of Projects & Company, an author and former PMI chair whose work centers on project leadership, strategy execution, and organizational change.
His books and teaching frame…
Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez is CEO and founder of Projects & Company, an author and former PMI chair whose work centers on project leadership, strategy execution, and organizational change.
His books and teaching frame projects as engines of strategic change, with emphasis on prioritization, governance, leadership, and execution. His work helps executives and project leaders connect portfolios and initiatives to outcomes rather than treating project management as a purely operational discipline.
Mike Clayton
Mike Clayton founded OnlinePMCourses after a career leading projects at Deloitte and has built a broad body of books, training, and educational content for project managers and change leaders.
Clayton teaches the…
Mike Clayton founded OnlinePMCourses after a career leading projects at Deloitte and has built a broad body of books, training, and educational content for project managers and change leaders.
Clayton teaches the core craft of project management alongside risk, stakeholders, leadership, and change. Through OnlinePMCourses, books, articles, and videos, he breaks methods into clear, usable lessons for practitioners building stronger judgment and delivery skills.
Ricardo Viana Vargas
Ricardo Viana Vargas is managing partner of Macrosolutions and a project leader, author, and educator whose career spans major initiatives, risk, transformation, and strategy execution.
Vargas translates complex delivery challenges into practical…
Ricardo Viana Vargas is managing partner of Macrosolutions and a project leader, author, and educator whose career spans major initiatives, risk, transformation, and strategy execution.
Vargas translates complex delivery challenges into practical guidance on project, program, portfolio, and risk management. His work also explores AI, transformation, and the future of the profession, giving project leaders a broad view of how strategy becomes execution.
Laura Barnard
Laura Barnard is founder and CEO of PMO Strategies, creator of the IMPACT Engine System, and an author and speaker with decades of experience in PMO leadership, transformation, and strategy delivery.
Barnard’s…
Laura Barnard is founder and CEO of PMO Strategies, creator of the IMPACT Engine System, and an author and speaker with decades of experience in PMO leadership, transformation, and strategy delivery.
Barnard’s IMPACT Engine approach pushes PMOs beyond process and reporting toward measurable business outcomes. Her training, consulting, podcast, and speaking focus on strategy delivery, governance, executive alignment, and helping project leaders prove the value of the work they lead.
Eric Kimberling
Eric Kimberling is CEO and founder of Third Stage Consulting Group, an independent advisory firm focused on digital transformation, ERP implementations, organizational change, and project delivery.
Kimberling examines why large technology initiatives…
Eric Kimberling is CEO and founder of Third Stage Consulting Group, an independent advisory firm focused on digital transformation, ERP implementations, organizational change, and project delivery.
Kimberling examines why large technology initiatives succeed or fail, with particular attention to governance, implementation risk, change management, business processes, and vendor decisions. His work gives project leaders a practical enterprise view of complex transformation programs.
Melissa Khan-Blackmore
Melissa Khan-Blackmore is an enterprise PMO and program leader with experience across technology, healthcare, education, operations, and growth initiatives, as well as coaching project professionals.
Khan-Blackmore brings a systems-minded approach to delivery,…
Melissa Khan-Blackmore is an enterprise PMO and program leader with experience across technology, healthcare, education, operations, and growth initiatives, as well as coaching project professionals.
Khan-Blackmore brings a systems-minded approach to delivery, using AI to reduce administrative work while keeping human judgment central to risk, prioritization, and stakeholder alignment. She also shares practical career and productivity guidance for project professionals.
Emily Luijbregts
Emily Luijbregts is a Director of Program Management Office and experienced project leader whose career spans strategic project management, Scrum, facilitation, coaching, and multicultural teams.
Her work combines delivery discipline with the…
Emily Luijbregts is a Director of Program Management Office and experienced project leader whose career spans strategic project management, Scrum, facilitation, coaching, and multicultural teams.
Her work combines delivery discipline with the people side of projects, including emotional intelligence, difficult team dynamics, risk management, and virtual teams. Luijbregts also coaches and trains project professionals, sharing practical lessons drawn from leading varied methodologies and environments.
Crystal Richards
Crystal Richards is principal and owner of MindsparQ, a project management trainer and practitioner with more than two decades of experience across healthcare, government, nonprofits, and business.
Richards focuses on the accidental…
Crystal Richards is principal and owner of MindsparQ, a project management trainer and practitioner with more than two decades of experience across healthcare, government, nonprofits, and business.
Richards focuses on the accidental project manager: professionals handed real projects without formal preparation. Her training covers traditional and agile delivery, PMP preparation, leadership, and practical ways to manage stakeholders, timelines, budgets, and outcomes with greater clarity.
Cornelius Fichtner
Cornelius Fichtner hosts The Project Management Podcast and is a longtime project management educator whose work covers professional training, certification preparation, and practitioner interviews.
Through The Project Management Podcast and related training,…
Cornelius Fichtner hosts The Project Management Podcast and is a longtime project management educator whose work covers professional training, certification preparation, and practitioner interviews.
Through The Project Management Podcast and related training, Fichtner has spent years translating practitioner experience into accessible learning. He dives into a range of topics, from predictive and agile leadership methods to certification and professional development, making his work useful across a project career.
Lauren Selley
Lauren Selley is Senior Director of Production at Code and Theory and a program management leader focused on delivering complex portfolios, aligning teams, and improving how organizations execute.
Selley focuses on the…
Lauren Selley is Senior Director of Production at Code and Theory and a program management leader focused on delivering complex portfolios, aligning teams, and improving how organizations execute.
Selley focuses on the operating realities of complex digital work: cross-team alignment, information overload, leadership, and scalable delivery. She has also shared how AI can reduce administrative drag so program leaders spend more time guiding people, strategy, and outcomes.
Mackenzie Dysart
Mackenzie Dysart is a Delivery Principal at Thoughtworks and a PMP- and CSM-certified project leader with more than a decade of experience across complex digital projects and programs worldwide.
She leads complex,…
Mackenzie Dysart is a Delivery Principal at Thoughtworks and a PMP- and CSM-certified project leader with more than a decade of experience across complex digital projects and programs worldwide.
She leads complex, cross-functional delivery while building scalable operating models, mentoring project and product leaders, and advancing privacy, accessibility, and quality by design. As a DPM Expert, she also teaches and shares practical guidance with the project management community.
Selection Methodology
We selected the leaders on this list based on their relevance, demonstrated expertise and impact, professional credibility, and ongoing contributions to the field.
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We look for evidence such as leading meaningful initiatives or delivering notable results within their organizations, developing influential ideas or practices, publishing research or educational resources, speaking or teaching, and other contributions that demonstrate impact within their work or the broader field.
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