From PERT/CPM to AI: Four Decades
of Project Management in Brazil
Interview with João Carlos Boyadjian
Founder of PMI São Paulo Chapter,
the Largest in Latin America
São Paulo, Brazil
by João Henrique Pettená do Carmo
Project Manager (PMP ®) & PMWJ International Correspondent
MBA, University of São Paulo (USP)
Electrical Engineer, University of São Paulo (USP)
LL.B., Salesian University Center of São Paulo (UNISAL)
São Paulo, Brazil
Introduction to the Interviewee
joão Carlos Boyadjian, MSc, PMP is widely regarded as one of the influencing figures of the project management profession in Brazil. He has been a member of the Project Management Institute since 1982, when the discipline was virtually unknown in the country, and registered with PMI in the United States in 1987. In 1998, he was one of leaders of the movement that established the PMI São Paulo Chapter, which grew to become the largest PMI chapter in Latin America. He later served as a mentor in the establishment of PMI chapters in Minas Gerais (1999), Mato Grosso (2013), and Armenia, and currently holds the title of Fellow of PMI São Paulo, the chapter’s highest recognition.
Boyadjian holds a Master’s degree in Naval and Ocean Engineering from the Polytechnic School of the University of São Paulo (POLI-USP), Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, and specializations in Finance from New York University, Industrial Planning from Fundação Getulio Vargas, and Data Science from USP/ESALQ. He is PMP certified and was a PMI accredited Authorized Training Partner (ATP) Trainer until 2024, combining academic depth with over three decades of hands-on consulting and training experience.
As a professor, he teaches project management practices at some of Brazil’s most respected institutions, including FIA-USP, Fundação Getulio Vargas, USP/ESALQ-PECEGE, UFSCar, FATEC, FECAP, PUC Minas, and Senac — where he currently contributes to one of only six PMI GAC-accredited postgraduate programs in Latin America. He is also the author of books and project management systems, and notably the creator of a theatrical work on project management — an unconventional approach that reflects his belief in making the discipline accessible beyond the corporate boardroom.
Beyond his professional career, Boyadjian is now a volunteer, having served for more than 10 years as President of the Armenian Fund of Brazil until July 2025, an organization linked to the global Hayastan All-Armenian Fund, dedicated to humanitarian and educational projects supporting the Armenian diaspora. This interview, conducted for PM World Journal, represents his first in-depth profile published in English for an international audience.
About this Interview
This interview was conducted over multiple sessions between February 23 and February 28, 2026, in Portuguese, the native language of both the interviewee and the interviewer. The transcript was subsequently translated into English.
The interview goes beyond the founding of the PMI São Paulo Chapter, revisiting Boyadjian’s early exposure to project management tools in the 1970s and the institutional/cultural barriers to building professional associations in Brazil. It also highlights his role in supporting the creation of other chapters in Brazil and abroad. Finally, it discusses certifications and academic accreditation, the evolution of methodologies (predictive, agile, and hybrid) and student profiles, the direction of the PMBOK® Guide, and how AI is reshaping what can be automated versus what remains essentially human in project leadership.
The Interview
Q1. What was the first concrete situation in which you tried to apply PMI practices in Brazil in the 1980s/1990s and heard “that doesn’t exist here”? What did you do, and what did you learn about organizational resistance?
Boyadjian: In fact, my first exposure to project management came in 1972 (PMI had existed for 3 years) when the organization where I worked as a service provider won a bid to manage the construction of one of the largest office centers in the city of São Paulo, the Centro Empresarial de São Paulo, CENESP (6 office blocks, each block with 8 floors, with 96,000 m² per block, plus Block G, which was an integrating block for all the blocks and had a computing center and services and a shopping center; externally there is also a belvedere with a helipad), totaling about 200,000 m² of construction [1]. An IBM team trained me in the PERT/CPM technique and the PCS software (Project Control System), running on an IBM 1130 with 16K of memory.
Q2. In 1998, you helped found PMI São Paulo, which became the largest chapter in Latin America. What was “mature” at that moment, and what was still missing? What motivated the creation of the chapter, and what were the main obstacles in the early years?
More…
To read entire interview, click here
How to cite this report: do Carmo, J. H. P. (2026). From PERT/CPM to AI: Four Decades of Project Management in Brazil. Interview with João Carlos Boyadjian, Founder of PMI São Paulo Chapter, the Largest in Latin America. PM World Journal, Vol. XV, Issue III, March. Available online at https://pmworldjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/pmwj162-Mar2026-do-Carmo-Interview-with-Joao-Carlos-Boyadjian.pdf
About the Interviewer
João Henrique Pettená do Carmo
São Paulo, Brazil
João Henrique Pettená do Carmo is a Project Manager (PMP®) based in São Paulo State, Brazil, with 19 years of experience across the energy, infrastructure, engineering, and industrial sectors. Holds an MBA in Project Management from the University of São Paulo (USP), a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering (USP), and an LL.B. from UNISAL/SP. Six Sigma Green Belt, with additional project management specializations from the University of Colorado System and the University of Leeds; currently pursuing Six Sigma Black Belt certification.
João contributed to projects for organizations including AGCO, Boticário, CPFL, General Electric, GLP Properties, Jacuzzi, JBS Seara, Nissin Foods, and Zongshen Machinery. He is a member of the Brazilian Association of Technical Standards (ABNT) Special Study Committee CEE/093 on Project, Program and Portfolio Management. He has authored academic research and international peer-reviewed papers on project, program, and portfolio management. João can be contacted at pettena.joao@pm.me
Visit his author profile at https://pmworldlibrary.net/authors/joao-henrique-pettena-do-carmo/
[1] Roughly 2.15 million square feet.
