It was a coming together of experience, knowledge, and camaraderie. The occasion was the annual meeting and Champion graduation ceremony in which Champion designates connected with existing Champions, members of the Champion Program Advisory Committee, and PMI India staff.

The one-and-a-half day event that saw the graduation of the fourth batch of Champion designates was held on 19-20 December at Taj Land’s End, Mumbai. PMI also hosted an award function to celebrate the program’s success and recognize the best performers.

Thirty Champion designates graduated this time, and with that, the total number of Champions has reached 99 across 19 industry sectors. In all, 56 existing and 25 aspiring Champions, and their mentors attended the meeting. The collective project management experience of those gathered for the occasion was a few thousand years, across domains and industries.

This year’s Champion designate ceremony started on a different note, with a training session by Ameen Merchant, a 72-year old veteran who has established the Leadership Management Institute in west and south India.

PMI president and CEO Mark A. Langley’s video recorded message for the New Year welcomed the Champions. Managing director, PMI India, Raj Kalady, shared a video on small and simple ways to make a difference. Vivek Sonar, chair, Champion Program, gave an inspirational talk on “trust” in which he touched upon the value of relationships, whether it’s in the professional and personal sphere. Five new Champions and six current Champions shared their experiences, challenges, and how they overcame them.

Champion of the year	• Kalyan Sathyavada • Kiran Rajeshirke
Rising Star	• Jaydeep Chakraborty • Koti Reddy Bhavanam
Execution Excellence	• Yogesh Gupta • Avinash Agarwal • Ananth Vishakantiah
Best Mentor	• Dr. Sanjay Buch
Recognition Award	• Hariprasad K.V. • Duraideivamani Sankararajan • Sowmya Narayan Varadhan • Kush Kumar

Chapter representatives also offered their views and suggestions for the Champion program. Leaders of the project management community who attended the event were B.G. Jayaram, Region 11 mentor; Tejas Sura, member, Chapter Member Advisory Group); D.Y. Pathak, president, PMI Mumbai Chapter; Girish Kadam, president, PMI Pune-Deccan Chapter; and board members of Mumbai, Pune and Bangalore chapters.

The meeting provided PMI India an opportunity to update Champions on various initiatives that it has started. PMI India staff spoke about PMI’s expectations of the Champion program, the program’s governance framework, and the way forward.

The event ended with a session to find suitable mentors for the Champions, and the initial interactions were held the same day. Champion Partho Ghose presented the vote of thanks.

And in true project management style, the event was well executed and ended ahead of time.