Ricardo Viana Vargas

Passionate about transforming ideas into action, I am a chief advocate in the project economy. Specializing in implementing innovative global initiatives, capital projects and product development, I have directed dozens of projects across industries and continents, managing more than $20 billion in global initiatives over the past 25 years.

I share my expertise and passion with millions of professionals around the globe through “5 Minutes Podcast,” which I’ve hosted since 2007. I have written 16 books, translated into six languages and sold more than 500,000 copies. This influence led to me becoming the first Latin American elected as Chair of the Project Management Institute.

More than two decades ago, I founded Macrosolutions, a consulting firm with international operations in energy, infrastructure, IT, oil, and finance. My work as a venture capitalist and entrepreneur in artificial intelligence, blockchain, big data, chatbots, and machine learning resulted in tools and products revolutionizing how users bring agility and agile management into project management software.

Between 2016 and 2020 I direct the Brightline Initiative, a Project Management Institute thinktank bringing together leading organizations into a global coalition dedicated to helping executives bridge the expensive, unproductive gap between strategic design and delivery.

I led more than 1,000 projects and $1.2 billion in humanitarian and development initiatives as Director of the United Nations Office for Project Services Infrastructure and Project Management Group. Later, I collaborated to document the lives of the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan and create the treatment for the documentary, “Zaatari: Memories of the Labyrinth.”

A dual citizen of Brazil and Portugal, I hold a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from Federal Fluminense University, and a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering and master’s in Industrial Engineering from the Federal University of Minas Gerais in Brazil.