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PMI-Arabian Gulf
Chapter History
After an initial
survey of interest of PMI members in Saudi Arabia and the Arabian
Gulf Region in late 1991, Richard Hauptmann filed a letter of intent
to form the Arabian Gulf Chapter on April 10, 1992.
An initial explanatory discussion was held in Al-Khobar on April 23,
1992 among Richard Johnson, Cliff Newcomb and Richard Hauptmann to
plan formation of the chapter. Following this meeting, a membership
campaign was launched featuring both individual contact and
mailings.
As a result of this, on August 27, 1992, sixteen people met for
dinner at the Meridian Hotel in Al-Khobar, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,
to discuss the formation of a Project Management Institute Chapter
in the Arabian Gulf area. It was agreed to proceed with a formation
of a Chapter and interim officers were elected:
Richard C. Hauptmann - President
Saleh A. Al-Yami - Vice President
Edward H. Heard - Treasurer
Mohammed Abdulrahim - Secretary
Mike Roberts - Director of Membership
High interest in a Gulf Chapter was and continues to be apparent and
with the second meeting in October, 1992, the membership committee
was demonstrating results in increased registrations and attendance
at the meetings. Thirty-six professionals attended this meeting. Our
first speaker, Mr. W.A. Wenger, Vice President and Program Manager
of John Brown, Inc. spoke of their organization and approach to
project management. As an indication of corporate support for the
prospective chapter, Saudi Aramco sponsored this meeting.
The third meeting in December featured Mr. George Hull of Bechtel,
Inc. who first came to Saudi Arabia in the late 1940's. He spoke on
the development and construction of Jubail, a planned industrial
city which was recently listed in "The Guinness of World Records" as
the largest public works project ever built.
By December of 1992, we reached the minimum requirements of 25 PMI
members building professionalism through project management, and by
early 1993, we had 42 PMI members, two-thirds of whom have joined
PMI as a direct result of the prospective Arabian Gulf Chapter's
organizational efforts.
In keeping with the Chapter's Gulf wide intentions, the first
meeting of 1993 was held in the State of Bahrain on 21 January and
29 potential and registered members attended. Mr. Abdullah G. Al-Ghanim,
Senior Vice President, Engineering & Project Management.
Saudi Aramco, spoke on Aramco's "Quality Improvement Program". The
proposed constitution, by-laws and financial plans were presented in
final draft form and discussed. An informal meeting was convened in
Riyadh in late February 1993, to develop further interest in that
area. This gathering was attended by the membership director,
president, eight other current members and seven other interested
professionals.
In March 3, 1993, the chapter application was submitted to the Vice
President, Region I, Project Management Institute, in Vancouver,
Canada, for the proposed Arabian Gulf Chapter of the Project
Management Institute. In accordance with the by-laws, and upon
review of the petition to form a local organization, the board of
directors of the Project Management Institute approved this charter
in March 1993.
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