Gregory Balestrero (born July 16, 1947 in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

) is an American

industrial engineer Industrial engineering is an engineering profession that is concerned with the optimization of complex processes, systems, or organizations by developing, improving and implementing integrated systems of people, money, knowledge, information a ...

, and CEO emeritus of the

Project Management Institute The Project Management Institute (PMI, legally Project Management Institute, Inc.) is a U.S.-based not-for-profit professional organization for project management. Overview PMI serves more than five million professionals including over 680,00 ...

. He has a record of overseeing administrative, financial and internal affairs for professional associations.NASA Project Management Challenge 2007.
. Accessed 2 December 2008.

Biography

Gregory Balestrero is the son of Christopher Emmanuel and Rose (Giolito) Balestrero. His father's arrest in a case of mistaken identity was the subject of a book by

Maxwell Anderson James Maxwell Anderson (December 15, 1888 – February 28, 1959) was an American playwright, author, poet, journalist, and lyricist. Background Anderson was born on December 15, 1888, in Atlantic, Pennsylvania, the second of eight children to ...

and of

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...

's 1956 movie ''

The Wrong Man ''The Wrong Man'' is a 1956 American docudrama film noir directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Henry Fonda and Vera Miles. The film was drawn from the true story of an innocent man charged with a crime, as described in the book ''The True Sto ...

''. In 1970 Gregory Balestrero earned a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering from the

Georgia Institute of Technology The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

. From 1994 to 2002, he served as executive director of the

Construction Specifications Institute The Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) is a United States national association of more than 8,000 construction industry professionals who are experts in building construction and the materials used therein. The institute is dedicated to ...

(CSI), an organization for construction professionals in non-residential building construction, based in

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Downto ...

, US. He previously held the position of executive director at the

Institute of Industrial Engineers The Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE), formerly the Institute of Industrial Engineers, is a professional society dedicated solely to the support of the industrial engineering profession and individuals involved with improving q ...

(IIE), headquartered in Norcross, Georgia, where he has been serving as acting executive director since 1987. Between 2002 and 2010 he was president and CEO of the

. Balestrero served as the 2003-2004 board chairman of the Greater Washington Society of Association Executives (GWSAE) and an active member and former president of the Council of Engineering and Scientific Society Executives (CESSE). Balestrero also is a member of the Committee of 100, of the

U.S. Chamber of Commerce The United States Chamber of Commerce (USCC) is the largest lobbying group in the United States, representing over three million businesses and organizations. The group was founded in April 1912 out of local chambers of commerce at the urgin ...

. He is a current member of the

American Society of Association Executives The American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) is the membership organization and voice of the association profession. Founded in 1920 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., ASAE has more than 42,000 association CEOs, staff professionals, ...

(ASAE), where he serves on the board of directors for ASAE’s Center for Association Leadership (CAL); the Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE); and the

American Society of Mechanical Engineers The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) is an American professional association that, in its own words, "promotes the art, science, and practice of multidisciplinary engineering and allied sciences around the globe" via "continuing ...

(ASME). Balestrero was honored with a fellowship in the World Academy of Productivity Scientists and is an honorary member of

Alpha Pi Mu Alpha Pi Mu () is an American honor society for Industrial and Systems Engineering students. All chapters are based in the United States, with the exception of one university in Puerto Rico which is an unincorporated territory of the United S ...

, an industrial engineering honor society. In 2004 he received China's 2004 Friendship Award at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. In March 2012, Balestrero joined International Institute for Learning, where he serves as a Strategic Adviser for a new program addressing Corporate Consciousness, Leadership and Sustainability.

Project Management Institute

Gregory Balestrero moved to the

(PMI), when in 2002 he became its president and CEO. He succeeded Virgil R. Carter, former executive director of the Institute. Balestrero continued the rapid expansion started during Carter's tenure, almost tripling the number of members in seven years. His two primary goals for PMI were: building a superior project management practice and gaining global acceptance for the profession. During his tenure, PMI has grown from 93,000 in 2002 to over 260,000 members in 2008 in over 150 countries worldwide. On January 15, 2011, he retired and became CEO emeritus at the Project Management Institute. He was succeeded by Mark A. Langley, former executive vice president and chief operating officer at PMI.

Organizational survival

After retiring from the Project Management Institute in 2011, Balestrero traveled around the world delivering keynote addresses and consulting with business leaders about the challenges of a global business economy faced with instability and limited resources. His experiences led Greg to co-author ''Organizational Survival: Profitable Strategies for a Sustainable Future'' with business strategist Nathalie Udo.

References

External links

Gregory Balestrero, Chief Executive Officer
at pmi.org
GregoryBalestrero.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Balestrero, Gregory American industrial engineers Living people Project Management Institute 1947 births