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| Spotlight on Dr. Anamaria Popescu PE |
 Anamaria Popescu was born in Bucuresti, Romania, grew up in Austin, Texas, and attended the University of Texas at Austin. In 1993, she obtained her Bachelors degree, and then started the Construction Engineering and Project Management (CEPM) program in civil engineering for her MS and PhD. She received her masters in 1994, with the specialization in crew synchronization for linear projects. In 1998, she finished her doctorate dissertation titled, Improvements to Construction Delay Analysis Techniques.
After graduation, she worked in Houston, Texas, for a large offshore oil and gas corporation in project controls and contract management. As her responsibilities increased and career developed, Dr.Popescu became a project manager for billion dollar gas pipeline projects in Asia and the Middle East. After four years, she relocated to Denver, Colorado, where she became the project controls director for Enron’s national telecommunications network. After spending eight years on the proactive side of project management, Anamaria decided it was time to focus on the area of her dissertation, schedule delay analysis, the reactive forensic side of project management. For the next several years she performed various schedule delay analysis techniques, prepared deposition questions, and wrote expert reports for mediation, arbitration, and trial for various claims construction firms.
In 2001, she founded CPM Consulting, Inc., a project management and construction claims firm (www.cpmconsulting.net) tailored to handle both the proactive and the reactive side of construction projects. CPM Consulting has grown to an alliance of over 13 members that share the same goal in providing quality project controls and construction claims services at the best possible value to the client.
Recently, Dr. Popescu was part of the AACE International committee responsible for the development of the Recommended Practice on Forensic Schedule Analysis (29R-03), that was published in June 2007.
Dr. Popescu pursued this career path, starting at a young age. Being an only child from Eastern European parents, Anamaria recognized the sacrifices they made to come to this country and how highly they valued education above all else. Therefore, choosing a profession that would make them proud was very important to her. Anamaria’s father was her mentor and responsible for introducing her to project management and project controls in the engineering industry. As a professor of civil engineering - project management, he helped her develop her first schedule for an 8th grade math project, using Primavera DOS version. She really enjoyed working on that project and it peaked her interest to learn more. She was fascinated by the stories her father told of managing large construction projects and the drama that surrounded the day-to-day activities. Not only did her father help mold her interests and future career, but also encouraged her to pursue her doctorate degree.
Anamaria’s parents taught her to be self sufficient as a woman and encouraged her to pursue a career in construction engineering and project management. Her ability to work with people, number crunch, and handle delicate situations with diplomacy makes this line of business a perfect fit for Anamaria. She is a person who needs to see tangible results; so managing a construction project means she can physically see her contributions come to fruition on a daily basis. This is very rewarding and exciting for her.
Dr. Popescu talked about the benefits of getting involved with AACE International. She recently stated,
“While pursuing my doctorate, the only place I could find experts in schedule analysis (my doctorate area) was going through the AACE International directory. I would never have been able to complete the dissertation without the input from those AACE International members. In addition, every time I have to do research, my primary reference source is the AACE International website which has the most wealth of knowledge in the project controls industry. Writing papers or finding suggestions on how to perform a new aspect of project controls
is much easier for me since I can search the database or ask a question to a specialized committee; I usually have my question resolved in a few days. No other organization that I have been a part of could have done that for me.
Also, the contacts and job opportunities I have had starting my consulting firm have been tremendous through my relationships with AACE International members.
Every time I present a paper at a conference or speak at a meeting, I either get a client or get offered a job helping other AACE International members on specific projects.
It is definitely worth getting into AACE International, it was a huge career boost for me. But you need to make the effort to get involved. You cannot just wait for things to happen. There are plenty of opportunities in AACE International for involvement and advancement. If you can't find them, you are simply not trying hard enough."
When asked if AACE International has added value to her professional development, Anamaria answered,
“Since I have been able to work with different AACE International members on projects and in committees, I learned new things about the industry. For example, one member taught me new schedule analysis techniques for construction claims. Another asked me to come teach a training course on schedule analysis for their firm after they heard me speak. After speaking at
these conferences and meetings, I feel validated. It makes me feel very proud that the work I do is of high interest to others and that encourages me to grow my firm and continue learning more in the project controls and claims arena.”
Anamaria is also active in the Women in Project Controls Committee. The Task Force was created by AACE International to encourage and mentor the growing number of women entering
the project controls profession. Anamaria believes there are many opportunities out there for women and she tells other women to “jump right in!” She says,
“Don’t be intimidated -- think of women in this field as a breath of fresh air. Present a paper, they will come and listen. Everyone wants to be exposed to new ideas and to hear people excited about the industry; so don’t be afraid to speak out or write a paper. You may think your topic is “common sense” and not worth presenting, but that is not true. For you it may be intuitive, but for others it is an eye opener to a new way of doing things. The more you present and get involved with AACE International, the more your confidence will grow and you will be a stronger individual because of it.”
Dr.Popescu has achieved many milestones in her career — receiving her doctorate, obtaining a P.E. license, becoming a project manager for a large oil and gas corporate, presenting papers at international conferences since the age 24, and starting her own consulting firm. Her mindset is to never allow fear or self-doubt to stop her from achieving her goals. She comments,
“Every time self-doubt crept into my mind, I just worked harder until the task at hand was accomplished. Don’t hang around negative people. They will destroy your self-esteem and your drive. Even when you feel there is no one to believe in you, there always is, YOURSELF! In the end, that is all that matters, your attitude is the driving force that will always help you accomplish anything you set your mind and heart on.”
article by Valerie Venters CCC
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