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Bertrand GUERARD

CEO at PROPRISM

Waterloo, Belgium

With 20+ years leading project controls, PMO, and predictive scheduling across complex CAPEX portfolios in life sciences, energy, infrastructure, nuclear, and offshore industries, I help organisations transform how they plan, govern, and deliver major projects.

Founder of PROPRISM, I advise project leaders, engineering directors, and PMO heads on turning project controls into a strategic advantage — integrating schedule, cost, risk, change, and contracts into true decision intelligence.

My work sits at the intersection of data, behaviour, and strategy: building systems where visibility drives trust, trust drives predictability, and predictability accelerates CAPEX delivery.

I’ve supported multinational organisations (GSK, UCB, Takeda, MSD, Jan De Nul, Sweco, DPS Group…) and mentored PMO leaders globally. I teach Project Management at Université Paris-Saclay, speak on schedule-risk integration and high-maturity controls, and publish daily insights to 20,000+ project professionals on LinkedIn.

Creator of the Strategic Controls Framework™, I specialise in:
• Predictive & AI-enabled scheduling
• Portfolio governance & decision velocity
• Schedule–cost convergence
• Integrated risk & Monte Carlo analysis
• Controlled change & scope governance
• PMO design for large CAPEX environments

My mission: help 100 million managers build reliable, confident, data-driven projects, and reduce the €2T lost every year due to poor project controls.

Areas of Influence: Project Management, Project Controls, PMO, Portfolio Governance, Predictive Analytics, AI in Projects, Schedule Risk Analysis, Project Leadership, Planning & Scheduling, CAPEX Strategy.

Available For: Advising, Authoring, Consulting, Influencing, Speaking
Travels From: Brussels
Speaking Topics: AI Governance, Strategic Project Controls & Decision Intelligence, Predictive Scheduling & AI-Driven Risk Analysis, PMO Excellence & CAPEX Delivery Pe

Speaking Fee $1 (In-Person), $1 (Virtual)

Bertrand GUERARD Points
Academic 40
Author 15
Influencer 143
Speaker 0
Entrepreneur 20
Total 218

Points based upon Thinkers360 patent-pending algorithm.

Thought Leader Profile

Portfolio Mix

Company Information

Company Type: Company
Minimum Project Size: $100,000+
Average Hourly Rate: $150-$199
Number of Employees: 1-10
Company Founded Date: 2015
Media Experience: 10

Areas of Expertise

AI
AI Governance
Change Management
Coaching
Construction
Data Center
Energy
Engineering
Healthcare
Leadership 30.79
Management 32.24
Procurement
Project Management 33.26
Risk Management
Transformation

Industry Experience

Chemicals
Cross Industry
Engineering & Construction
Healthcare
Manufacturing
Oil & Gas
Pharmaceuticals
Professional Services
Real Estate
Utilities

Publications & Experience

15 Article/Blogs
Float doesn't disappear randomly? Decisions consume it
LinkedIn
April 22, 2026
Float rarely disappears by accident. It is usually consumed by delayed decisions, unmanaged change, unresolved interfaces, and risks that never make it into the schedule.
By the time the finish date moves, much of the recovery space is often already gone.

See publication

Tags: Leadership, Management, Project Management

The 7 governance blind spots that make complex projects present as controlled until it is too late
LinkedIn
April 21, 2026
A project can be reviewed regularly, reported professionally, and still be poorly governed.

That is the uncomfortable truth.

In complex projects, governance rarely fails in one visible moment.

It fails earlier.

It fails when signals stop becoming decisions.
When decisions stop becoming interventions.
And when dashboards continue to present control that no longer truly exists.

That is the theme of my latest article:

The 7 governance blind spots that make complex projects present as controlled until it is too late

In it, I explore why governance should be understood not as a reporting ritual, but as a decision system.

Because projects are not saved by visibility alone.

They are saved by the ability to detect drift early, escalate meaningfully, and intervene before recoverability disappears.

The article introduces a lens I believe matters more than most governance frameworks admit:

The Governance Conversion Chain
signal → decision → intervention → outcome

When that chain breaks, governance may still look active.
But it is no longer protecting the outcome.

If you lead projects, PMOs, controls, portfolios, or capital delivery, this article was written for you.

I would value your perspective:
Where do you think governance usually fails first in real life?

See publication

Tags: Leadership, Management, Project Management

Can I see your risk-to-schedule link?
LinkedIn
April 20, 2026
That is one of the fastest ways to test whether a project is truly under control.

Because almost every project can show you:
a risk register,
a schedule,
and a status report.

Far fewer can show you the link between them.

And that is where false confidence starts.

See publication

Tags: Leadership, Management, Project Management

Baseline Approved ≠ Baseline Adopted.
LinkedIn
April 17, 2026
Baseline Approved ≠ Baseline Adopted.

One of the biggest governance mistakes in projects is this:

We confuse baseline approval with baseline adoption.

A schedule gets approved.
A cost baseline gets frozen.
The governance pack says: baseline established.

And everyone assumes control is now in place.

See publication

Tags: Leadership, Management, Project Management

The quiet phase before claims start
LinkedIn
April 16, 2026
By the time the first formal claim is written, the project has often been rehearsing it for months.

Most people think claims begin with a letter.
They do not.

They usually begin earlier.
In a quiet phase.
When control is weakening, but the project still looks manageable.

See publication

Tags: Leadership, Management, Project Management

79% cost overrun. 52% schedule delay.
LinkedIn
April 15, 2026
79% cost overrun. 52% schedule delay.
That was the average in a study of more than 500 major projects.
Which means most projects do not fail suddenly.

They drift out of control long before the dashboard admits it.

Most projects do not fail when the milestone slips.

They fail earlier.

See publication

Tags: Leadership, Management, Project Management

Why project controls fail long before the dashboard turns red
LinkedIn
April 14, 2026
Most projects do not lose control when the dashboard turns red.

They lose it earlier.

When the schedule is still updated, but no longer trusted.
When risks are still documented, but no longer converted into forecast or action.
When cost and schedule still exist, but no longer tell the same delivery story.
When governance keeps reviewing tension, but decisions arrive too late to protect the outcome.

That is the pattern I explored in my latest LinkedIn article:

Why project controls fail long before the dashboard turns red

It is a strategic view on the hidden breakdowns that weaken predictability before visible KPI deterioration appears.

If you work in project controls, PMO, CAPEX delivery, or executive governance, this is the question worth asking:


Is your control system still helping leaders act early, or only helping them explain problems later?


Read the article here. And if this is your world, follow my work for deeper thinking on project controls, governance, and delivery predictability.

See publication

Tags: Leadership, Management, Project Management

Can I see your float strategy?
LinkedIn
April 13, 2026
Can I see your float strategy?

Not your schedule.
Not your milestone slide.
Not your dashboard.

Your float strategy.

Because that is where project maturity often reveals itself first.

See publication

Tags: Leadership, Management, Project Management

The schedule everyone trusted... Until it failed silently
LinkedIn
April 11, 2026
The Schedule Everyone Trusted… Until It Failed Silently
I learned this the hard way.

The most dangerous schedule is not the one people challenge.

It is the one everyone trusts.

I have seen schedules that looked solid in every meeting.

See publication

Tags: Leadership, Management, Project Management

Your schedule isn't late. It's ignored
LinkedIn
April 10, 2026
Schedules get ignored for 4 reasons.
I have seen this on more projects than I would like.

Not failed projects.
Important projects.
Well-funded projects.
Projects with smart teams and weekly updates.

And still, the schedule was ignored.

See publication

Tags: Leadership, Management, Project Management

Who approved your baseline and when?
Linkedin
April 09, 2026
One of the most revealing questions in project controls is not:
Do you have a baseline?
It is:
Who approved your baseline, and when?

Because a baseline is not just a planning file.
It is a governance commitment.

See publication

Tags: Leadership, Management, Project Management

The Schedule Adoption Matrix
Linkedin
February 12, 2026
Approval is not adoption.
A schedule becomes real the moment it starts influencing decisions.

See publication

Tags: Leadership, Management, Project Management

The WBS.
Linkedin
January 26, 2026
Most project failures start with a document everyone thinks they understand.

See publication

Tags: Leadership, Management, Project Management

Project Controllers don't just wear one hat
Linkedin
December 05, 2025
This model can help you assess, develop & elevate project control capability.

See publication

Tags: Project Management

Mastering Time Contingency in Project Scheduling: Best Practices and Practical Insights
Project Management Global
March 19, 2025
Time contingency is the most misunderstood and misused field of project scheduling. Schedules are too often built on the basis of unrealistic assumptions rather than actual risks, and the result is delayed deadlines, cost overruns, and firefighting in reaction to the situation.

77% are behind schedule by 40% or more, and 98% of the projects exceed their original cost estimates, according to McKinsey & Company. The Standish Group’s CHAOS Report further indicated that only 29% of the projects are delivered on time and within budget. These facts point to the need to make detailed contingency plans to overcome delays and cost overruns.

Some organizations rely on a flat percentage allocation (e.g., 10%) as a contingency buffer, while others use quantitative risk analysis (QRA) to take a more data-driven approach. But contingency isn’t just about adding extra time; it’s about strategic risk management.

A well-defined contingency strategy involves structured governance, precise allocation methods, and proactive monitoring to keep projects on track. According to the Risk Engineering Society’s Contingency Guideline, contingency should be considered at multiple levels throughout a project’s lifecycle—from initiation to execution—to mitigate risks effectively and support better decision-making.

This article offers guidelines for the incorporation and management of time contingencies into project schedules. We shall discuss common methodologies, common pitfalls to be aware of, and professional advice for the use of contingency to ensure the project’s success rather than a random buffer.

See publication

Tags: Project Management

1 Founder
Founder | Head of Project Management | Project Planning & Controls
PROPRISM
January 01, 2015
Founded a project planning niche consultancy business and run and manage all day-to-day matters of the business. Spearhead clients’ project management, strategic business planning, and performance against customers’ projects implementing systems and processes. Orchestrate delivery of high-quality lifecycle projects for clients such as Jan De Nul, GlaxoSmithKline, MSD, and Sanofi.

See publication

Tags: Project Management

1 Professor
M2 Protection and Management of Innovation in Health
Universite Paris Saclay
January 01, 2020
The Master 2 PIMS provides a unique professional program at the crossroads of science, law, and economics. It prepares graduates to manage health innovation projects by combining expertise in R&D, regulatory affairs, intellectual property, and business strategy. The curriculum integrates lectures, case studies, and internships, fostering strong connections with industry and research

See publication

Tags: Leadership, Management, Project Management

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