Dave Garrett

“I had the pleasure of working with Dave for several years, and he’s tough to describe. He came to PMI after we acquired a company that he founded. His employees came with him, and one of the most notable things was how deeply loyal they were to Dave, and how much they trusted him as they made this big change. Dave got his team positioned and integrated into our organization, and many years later, most of them are still here. When Dave started, he commuted three hours one way from another state, but was still in office most days of the week. Since he spent so much time in meetings, he declined the offer of having his own office. You could find him working in all sorts of spots in the building, and as he did so, he got to know every area of the business and built connections that gave him a holistic understanding of the organization. Dave was soon asked to take an executive role as VP of Transformation, as the organization considered an overhaul of every area of the business. One thing to note about Dave as an executive is that he will make time for any employee that has a fresh idea and he treats employees as experts in their fields. Even if he doesn’t ultimately agree, he always asks questions and listens carefully to others. All that question-asking and listening turns into Dave making connections that turn into new business ideas. As a VP of Transformation, Dave realized that the staff needed a mindset shift and to feel empowered to drive change. To enact this, he kicked off a MVP challenge, in which teams within PMI competed to build a MVP that would meet a certain goal. During the competition, people formed cross-functional teams, and worked in new ways and in very tight time frames using agile methods. At the end, employees felt empowered to contribute to the transformation, work in new and creative ways, and to break down siloes. Dave has gone on to hold three more executive positions at PMI. I’ll always look forward to seeing what he’s going to do next.”

“Dave is a unifying leader. His relationships internally with key leaders and staff coupled with his strong ties to the community (Volunteers, Members, ATPs, etc.) allow him to lead collaboratively, quickly remove barriers, and realize growth objectives quickly. His ability to bring all stakeholders together builds enthusiasm in both the development and execution around critical initiatives. Additionally, Dave’s is a thought leader playing a leadership role across a variety of internal initiatives and organization / Government clients. His strong subject matter expertise allows him to credibly speak in depth across topics; genuinely helping others improve their PM infrastructure and performance. Dave is also a great team and people leader. He encourages debate and discussion to continuously improve upon concepts, his focus on results allows for his teams to both buy-in and see the tangible impact of their work. Dave also offers clear, constructive, honest feedback allowing his indirect and direct reports the opportunity to consistently grow and develop into strong leaders. Dave is a great leader, mentor, and supervisor and I have grown significantly in my time working for and with him.”