Building Teams and Roller Coasters

In this episode, we talk with Mehul Shah, the Senior Director for the PMO and Operations at Universal Destinations and Experiences (Universal Studios). He started out in electrical engineering and found his way thru data analytics into project management. He’s worked at PMOs in many different industries at companies like GE, Siemens, Scholastic, and now Universal and is going to share about his superpower of "techno-functional leadership" in building great teams that deliver the best project success. He'll also dive deep into intersection of project management, data analytics, AI and machine learning. And you’ll hear a bit about what its like to work next door to roller coasters! Follow Mehul Sha Follow Trina Schaetz Follow Steve West Show Notes 2:00 - Intro to Mehul: Electrical Engineering background, PM leadership journey, and technical roles at GE and Accenture 3:00 - Modernizing legacy infrastructure and tech stacks 3:20 - Keys to team success: Collaboration and collective knowledge 4:17 - Transition from technologist to techno-functional leader 5:43 - Leveraging data insights for successful projects 6:00 - Modernization efforts: Driving business-critical initiatives 7:00 - Leadership programs at GE and early career growth 7:16 - Era of AI and NLP: Why data and AI are not optional 8:00 - Your data should do something for you: Making data actionable 9:00 - The three most important data points for any business 14:00 - The intersection of project management, data, and technology 15:00 - How project management has evolved over the past 20 years 19:00 - Reverting to spreadsheets when systems are disparate 20:00 - Change management and adapting to new tools