Simon Harris
Simon Harris, an instructor with ESI International, is a project management veteran with almost 30 years’ experience of leading IT and business change projects. Much of Mr. Harris’s experience derives from his work in technically complex, large-scale blue-chip environments in the finance and banking, defense, and oil and gas industries, as well as his work with the government and the “Big Four” management consulting firms.
Mr. Harris spent 11 years at the London Stock Exchange, where he was trained in formal data-processing practices. During that time, he became an early adopter of Unix-based technologies in a commercial environment.
Since leaving the London Stock Exchange in 1990, Mr. Harris has worked as a freelance consultant and trainer, running a consulting firm that delivers training, mentoring, and consulting services. As a consultant, Mr. Harris has established program offices for £100 million programs; he has developed rationalizations for mid-range service delivery in a retail bank; he has reorganized the management structure in a $6 billion GE-Capital subsidiary; and he has implemented an IT governance framework using ISACA’s COBIT™ 4.1 for a U.N. agency and followed up with a review of its strategic direction for its core information dissemination practices.
Mr. Harris has taught project management and software development topics to practicing professionals for several years. His expertise covers the full spectrum of project management disciplines, tools, and techniques, from establishing an initial basic structured approach to topics such as leading complex projects and performing project recovery. Mr. Harris focuses on good practice and the practical aspects of balancing value and rigor in a less-than-perfect world. His experience as a trainer includes a period as a PRINCE2 examiner (and current authorization to train in and administer the exams).
Mr. Harris is certified as a Project Management Professional (PMP®) by the Project Management Institute (PMI®), and he delivers APM exam training programs.
