Financial Management Institute of Canada - Jim Durrell / Graham Bird / Patrick Kelly

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Successful Ingredients to Project Management

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“On Time and On Budget” is every Project Manager’s dream, yet seldom achieved. Against overwhelming obstacles, including four levels of government, an unstinting commitment to environmental issues and unparalleled infrastructural complexities, the 192,000 square-foot bold, bright and modern Ottawa Convention Centre opened in the spring of 2011, on time and not costing a dollar more than its $170 million-dollar allocated construction budget. Jim Durrell, Graham Bird and Patrick Kelly are responsible for accomplishing this impressive task. Together, they will provide their insights into the successful ingredients to project management.

Jim Durrell, President, Capital Dodge Chrysler Jeep

Jim Durrell is one of three community members appointed by the Provincial Government to serve on the Police Services Board; he was appointed for a three-year term, effective 12 July 2011.

Mr. Durrell is best-known for the significant contribution that he made as Ottawa's mayor from 1985 until retiring from public life in 1991. Since leaving public office, he has been active in the private sector as a successful business executive. Today, Mr. Durrell is president and owner of Capital Dodge Chrysler Jeep. He has had a long time involvement with Ottawa sports franchises, having served as the first president of the Ottawa Senators NHL organization and as the President for the CFL's Ottawa Rough Riders. He has served as a governor of the Canada Sports Hall of Fame and as President of the Ottawa Sports Hall of Fame.

Mr. Durrell has extensive governance experience having served on the Board of Directors of the Business Development Bank of Canada and as the Chair of the Ottawa International Airport's Board of Directors. He continues to volunteer his time and enthusiasm to numerous charities and organizations in the Ottawa community, such as the Ottawa Hospital, the United Way/Centraide Ottawa Campaign Cabinet, the Salvation Army and the Kiwanis Club of Ottawa for over 30 years. In October 2006, Mr. Durrell was appointed Chairman of the Ottawa Convention Centre. He resides in Ottawa with his wife 'Sam' and has two children, Melissa and Michael. His new passion in life is his grandchildren, Kennedy and Marcus.

Graham Bird, President, GBAssociates

Since graduating from Applied Science at Queen’s, Graham Bird has gained experience in the practice of engineering, politics, and the management of major real estate development. With 25 years of experience in the development business, he has managed a wide variety of multidisciplinary projects and related activities for both the public and private sectors, including the Ottawa Convention Centre.

Mr. Bird is noted for understanding the business requirements of development. He understands the need for building design solutions and processes, which are flexible and respond to the requirements of the client or market in a timely fashion.

During the past 15 years Mr. Bird has been an integral part of resolving and managing complex development projects using the ‘public private partnership’ or P3 methodology. He is President of GBAssociates, a development and project management company which focuses on alternative financing solutions. GBA has worked on many high profile projects including the Canadian Firefighters Memorial, the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre, the Ottawa Airport Authority, the Ottawa Chambers, and the World Exchange Plaza.

Patrick Kelly, President, Ottawa Convention Centre

Patrick Kelly is the President of the Ottawa Convention Centre (OCC). Mr. Kelly brings a vast amount of experience to this role having worked in the hospitality industry for over 30 years. He first began his career with Skyline and Westin Hotel corporations holding several management positions. His career allowed him to work and live in several countries such as Korea and South Africa where he was the General Manager of Westin Hotels in Pusan and Johannesburg. Mr. Kelly returned to Canada in 1988 and continued his relationship with Westin Hotels as General Manager in Ottawa and later as Managing Director in Toronto. In 1994, he joined Fairmont Hotels and Resorts as General Manager of The Fairmont Chateau Laurier hotel in Ottawa, before moving to Vancouver, British Columbia in 1998 to become Fairmont Hotels and Resorts’ Regional Vice President of the Pacific Northwest Region. In 2004, Mr. Kelly returned to Ottawa to open his own consulting organization under the title of Kelly Hospitality Consulting and to assume the position of Dean for the School of Hospitality and Tourism at Algonquin College. He welcomed the challenge of becoming President of the Ottawa Congress Centre in 2007 and was delighted to lead a team of dedicated and inspired colleagues in the design and construction of the OCC.