Leadership in practice
Michael Kaplan builds delivery organizations, hires and develops staff, manages performance, and leads through Project Managers, workstream leads, and site superintendents. He connects portfolio governance, project financial controls, integrated planning, and delivery accountability across enterprise technology, cybersecurity, transformation, and capital projects.
Enterprise Portfolio & PMO Leadership
Senior Portfolio Manager · Enterprise PMO Leader · Senior Program Manager
Executives need clear priorities, accountable delivery owners, resource visibility, and reconciled financial information across competing initiatives. A PMO must connect that portfolio view to standards, dependencies, decisions, and execution.
At Morgan Stanley Finance and Controllers, Michael led the design, build, and deployment of a $4.5M enterprise PPM system serving 400 users and representing 500 projects and $1B in annual project spend. He hired engineering talent and managed delivery specialists within the global team. At MetLife, he built the nine-country international IT PMO and financial reporting. At NYC Health + Hospitals, he established the shared-services PMO framework. His AXA Equitable work covered portfolio requirements, vendor evaluation, and a recommended implementation roadmap.
His governance method connects changing evidence and investment assumptions to dependencies, financial exposure, decision authority, and the next proof required to support a commitment.
Technology & Transformation Delivery
Senior Technical Program Manager · Cybersecurity Program Manager · Technology Transformation Leader
Enterprise technology programs need delivery leaders who can align application owners, infrastructure teams, security, vendors, Finance, and business stakeholders while managing readiness, changes, and operational handoff.
At Ameren, Michael led delivery and recovery across a $25M cybersecurity portfolio and personally ran Oracle project financial controls. At Illumio, he led enterprise Zero Trust customer delivery, including JPMorgan Chase. At VMware, he managed 27 total infrastructure projects and specialist capacity. At CatalystRx / Catamaran, he sourced and hired specialists and managed the full multidisciplinary team mobilizing a $50M technology integration within a $523M acquisition. His TD Ameritrade work recovered technology-design integration for trading-floor and on-site data-center infrastructure.
Evidence review helps teams identify unresolved readiness assumptions, cross-functional dependencies, vendor commitments, and decisions that could affect implementation and operating continuity.
Capital Projects, Infrastructure & Controls
Senior Program Manager · Project Controls Manager · Senior Project Risk Manager
Capital programs need capable teams and credible plans connecting design, construction, procurement, technical interfaces, costs, risk responses, commissioning, and operational readiness.
At Home Depot, Michael built the PMO and delivery organization for a 275-store program, hired and managed functional and site leadership, and contracted and organized 125 contingent field staff. At the Pentagon, he created the master integrated schedule and hired and managed the scheduling team. At Hamilton Air Force Base, he managed a $10M federal construction and remediation contract, changes, commissioning, and turnover. His Exxon Chemical work connected engineering-hour estimates, design progress, remaining effort, and forecasts.
His governance approach links schedule and cost assumptions to delivery evidence, response options, decision owners, and approaching commitments. Project Mesquite demonstrates this workflow in a clearly identified synthetic data-center case.
Selected delivery experience
Independent project and program management practice. Selected career experience below includes consulting engagements, contract assignments, and employee roles.
Morgan Stanley Finance and Controllers
500 projects / $1B annual project spend
Led the design, build, and deployment of a $4.5M enterprise project portfolio management system for 400 users. Hired engineering talent and managed delivery specialists within a global team, giving Finance and Controllers visibility across the represented project portfolio.
Ameren
$25M utility cybersecurity portfolio
Led cybersecurity, identity and access management, privileged access management, and governance, risk, and compliance delivery and recovery. Ran Oracle funding and baseline reconciliation, monthly forecasts, labor and vendor cost controls, purchase-order and invoice reconciliation, accrual tracking, and variance reporting. Managed annual project initiation and closeout and $5M in cumulative scope and funding adjustments.
Home Depot Millwork Remodel Program
275 stores / estimated $30M program
Built the program PMO and delivery organization linking design approval, manufacturer and procurement coordination, scheduling, and field execution. Hired and managed planning and site leadership, including site superintendents, and contracted and organized 125 contingent field staff.
Pentagon Renovation Program
$5.3B program context
Created the master integrated schedule connecting construction, telecommunications, procurement, swing space, occupant moves, testing, and turnover. Hired and managed the scheduling team and integrated workstream dependencies in an occupied, mission-critical facility.
MetLife Travelers Integration
Nine-country IT program / approximately $140M IT budget
Built the international IT project management office, work breakdown structure, master schedule, and financial and procurement reporting supporting the $11.8B Travelers acquisition. Consolidated country-level planning and financial information with country CIOs and managed PMO planning and procurement staff.
VMware Professional Services
27 total infrastructure projects
Managed professional-services delivery across virtualization, network modernization, and cloud automation. Matched specialist capacity to customer commitments, controlled scope changes, and tracked financial forecasts and delivery progression throughout the engagement.
Illumio
Customer delivery across 13 enterprises
Led strategic customer delivery, coordinated application-owner approvals and production change controls, and brought customer blockers to Product and Engineering for resolution. His JPMorgan Chase delivery work supported a Zero Trust implementation that reached 400,000 agents.
Hamilton Air Force Base Remediation and Construction
$10M federal construction and remediation contract
Managed project delivery, Primavera controls, field coordination, and quality under U.S. Army Corps of Engineers protocol. Hired and managed project-controls and site leadership. Connected changed field conditions to documented change-order recovery, coordinated landfill closure and treatment-facility construction and commissioning, and created the operations and maintenance control system for turnover.
TD Ameritrade / thinkorswim
53,000-square-foot facility expansion / $3.2M technology budget
Led an 18-person cross-functional recovery team to complete the integrated technology design package for trading-floor, on-site data-center, network, and broadcast infrastructure. Scoped engineering support and helped develop subcontractor contracts covering low voltage, racks, furniture and equipment, and data-center network buildout.
Exxon Chemical Design Program
$750M design-program context
Estimated engineering hours with discipline leads and tracked design work products, labor consumption, remaining effort, costs, forecasts, and variance. Connected engineering progress with the effort and financial resources required to complete the design work.
Current applied work / Project Mesquite
Project Mesquite applies the questions in Michael Kaplan’s books to a fictional 56 MW modular data-center commitment. It connects factory production, site construction, long-lead procurement, utility power and commissioning to the dates, financial exposure and decisions leadership must own.
Examine the Mesquite case →Books and applied research
Michael developed the Sentient PMO and Forensic Capital Governance operating model and ontology, authored The Sentient PMO and the two-volume Forensic Capital Governance work, and designed and delivered executive workshops and forensic simulations. The method connects evidence, assumptions, delivery dependencies, and financial exposure to accountable decisions.
Houston-based and open to full-time senior project, program, portfolio, and PMO leadership roles across enterprise technology and capital projects, with relocation considered.
Contact Michael →