New Members Introductions

Matthew Shaw - July 2022

Matthew Shaw

Matthew is originally from New Jersey, United States. He has a mechanical engineering degree. Matthew started his career in the industrial products and automotive industries. Project management became Matthew’s passion during his automotive experience where he was managing new product launches as a Tier 1 supplier to OEMs and other Tier 1 suppliers. Matthew came to Switzerland in late 2018 to be with his significant other (also from the USA originally) where he continued his automotive industry career before switching over to medical devices. Matthew is currently working as an associate project manager in the medical device field, managing the program on the EU Medical Device Regulation for his company.

Matthew obtained his CAPM in May 2022 and his goal is to obtain the PMP by the end of 2023. He is interested in developing in the Agile space as well and obtaining the DASM certification.

Matthew joined the Swiss Chapter to improve his project management knowledge and he wants to be able to learn from others in the field and to be involved in the community.

In his free time Matthew enjoys outdoor sports, skiing, running, cycling and 3D printing.

You can learn more about Matthew by visiting his LinkedIn profile.

Werner Gygax - June 2022

Werner Gygax

Werner is specialized in positions where change happens. His holistic mindset creates value that others can’t. Cross-functional roles as combinations of customer focused, innovative & digitally transformative work brings his project management skills and lean-agile leadership best into play.

Since his profile uniquely combines project management skills, agile techniques and military crisis management experience in conflict areas, he spent the last 18 months as the Project Consultant for the Covid-19 task force of the canton of Aargau in the role of deputy leader for the Covid-19 programm (vaccinate-test-trace-certify) serving 700'000 inhabitants from the 4th largest canton in Switzerland .

His initial interest in concepts such as customer experience, customer journeys and service design have been triggered during an exchange year studying in Sweden, a country widely known for its digital thought leadership. His passion for enabling change became apparent when he took on a driving change management role in a large-scale global IT implementation project. In recent years, he has widened his interests to include agile ways of working, for which he holds 3 of the worldwide most recognized certifications (SAFe SPC, PSM I and PMI-ACP).

The ventures he has been part of range from product development to market entry, from the introduction of IT systems and tools to large-scale IT-transformation programs, from conflict management on team level to crisis management in foreign civil conflict, from the establishment of new partnerships to small-scale ecosystems and from routine work to iterative complex delivery using agile practices.

You can learn more about Werner by visiting his LinkedIn profile.

Undina Tavares Varela - May 2022

Undina Tavares Varela

Undina is a French national living in Colmar, 38 years old and a happy mum of 2 children: 5 years old and 2 and a half.

Undina is a mechanical Engineer who took a PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) specialization.

She has been working 2 years as a Business Analyst consultant and since 2012 for Jet Aviation in Switzerland. During her career, Undina has had the chance to gain more and more experience as a Business Analyst. As a logical step forward, she extended her skills to Project Management.
Undina preferred to join the Swiss chapter instead of the French chapter because the professional network she has built over the past 10 years is around Switzerland.

Undina really enjoys working with different teams and stakeholders. She always tries to be a sample for her co-workers and for her running club teammates. She has practiced running and trail running for years, and she loves it. Undina even had the chance to fly to Sri Lanka in March for a 10-day sport raid and last year she participated in the French championship of short trail running distance.

Undina also loves gardening, which connects her with nature and keeps her calm. She intends to have 2 chickens in her garden, so it will be fun for her kids.

You can learn more about Undina by visiting her LinkedIn profile

Ben Finnigan - May 2022

Ben Finnigan

Ben is a technical project manager, specializing in vehicle powertrains, but he is also very interested in broadening his scope to other technical challenges. Currently Ben is working on a fuel cell development and industrialization project and he is a great believer in the potential cleansing role of Hydrogen in our society going forward.

Ben enjoys the challenges of project leadership and management and has developed his skills over his career. PMP certification was a great way for Ben to check his progress and at the same time demonstrate this in a meaningful way. Ben joined the Swiss chapter, because it makes sense to him networking and keeping up to date from a local perspective.

Ben is originally British and he has found his home in Switzerland, close to the high alps, where the connection to the planet is strong and he can generate his mental and physical stimulation and motivation. He is a keen mountain hiker, biker and skier (all forms) and a big fan of cheese and beer.

You can learn more about Ben by visiting his LinkedIn profile.

 

 

Elisabet Amanatidou - May 2022

Elisabet Amanatidou

Elisabet holds a MSc in Business and Finance and moved to Zurich in 2008 where she joined ABB. During this time she had taken the responsibility as Project Management where she was leading projects of automating some of the processes in the internal reporting, and decided that this was a career path she wanted to follow.

Elisabet is Swedish with Greek origin and has a wide international experience and solid cultural awareness, having lived in different countries as China and Egypt.

In her free time, she regularly practicing meditation. She also enjoys dancing tango, snowboarding, kitesurfing, and spending quality time with friends.

She joined the PMI local chapter to connect with other local PM as well as to exchange valuable knowledge.

You can learn more about Elisabet by visiting her LinkedIn profile.