Author

He has recently released his engaging book, ‘The Knowledge Cafe: Create an Environment for Successful Knowledge Management,’ for the curious project and knowledge managers, innovators, and professionals. ‘Bold, Fresh, Wine: A Cry for Sustainable Transforming Revival’ was his first book. He is also a Journal of Knowledge Management reviewer, and his work and contributions have been recognized locally and globally.

Growing up

Benjamin took leadership seriously right from a young boy. He founded, organized, and led both the successful Junior Debating Society and Igbo Cultural Society in the middle and high school at the Atta Boys Secondary School, Atta, Ikeduru, Imo State, Nigeria. He then went on to lead one of the most innovative students Government as the president and chairman of the Supreme Students’ Council at the Federal Polytechnic Nekede from 1993 to 1994 and served twice as the State President of the Nigerian Fellowship of Evangelical Students (1989 and 1993), leading all the groups in all universities in the State. Benjamin helped organize the National Association of Nigerian Youth Corps Members as the spokesman and General Secretary in 1995 while doing a national service at the Central bank of Nigeria, Abuja.

International Speaker & Host

As an international motivational speaker, Benjamin has delivered Keynote speeches and presented research papers, presentations, and more original content, at over 60 national and global conferences, including PMI Global conferences and LIM, NASEM-TRB, AASHTO, university commencements, and symposia. He also co-hosted Austin Arise! Radio/TV shows from 2007 to 2009.

Project Management Professional (PMP®)

As a passionate, quintessential Project and Portfolio Management Professional, PMBOK/ Agile pedagogue, and knowledge management (KM) cognoscente, Benjamin has been a champion of project, program, and portfolio management excellence. He was the president of the Project Management Institute (PMI), Austin Chapter—overseeing branding, communications, public relations, social media, community outreach, and job opportunities in the region. PMI Austin is a professional organization of 3500+ project, program, and portfolio managers in central Texas. In 2018, he led the board to increase NPS from 6.6 to 8.6, membership by 12.11% and gained 97% overall CS. Earlier, as VP – Marketing, he spearheaded the marketing team in creating a winning brand, doubling the chapter’s online presence and sponsor engagement, increasing public relations, and creating a solid marketing infrastructure.

He has also conducted portfolio strategic alignment and optimizations, driven the development of an OPM program, and institutionalized PM principles and methodologies, at the flagship state agency, Texas Department of Transportation, as a senior project manager. He had managed an OPM program (enterprise-wide development project) that created 11 million dollars in savings. Benjamin mentored an initial 43 PMPs in the PM development program, which in turn mentored hundreds of Project Managers, of which 100+ have become PMP certified since 2016. He received a certificate of achievement for Outstanding Honorable Performance for High Standards of Excellence in PM, 2016, by TxDOT Executive Director. As the enterprise Knowledge Management Lead, Benjamin guides this agency on the Knowledge Management Program, designing several techniques, and mentoring 50+ Communities of Practice admired by peers nationally. He is a $375M Campus Consolidation Project’s Change Champion.

Benjamin previously initiated and executed a state-wide Diversity Management System (B2GNow application) that replaced several legacy applications, having served as a section interim director at the TxDOT Office of Civil Rights. He serves and is a voting member on several national and global boards, committees, and project panels such as the National Academy of Science, Engineering, and Medicine-TRB’s Information and KM Committee (AJE45), NCHRP project panel chair and panel member, AASHTO’s Committee on KM, and more. In fact, he was the chair of the AASHTO Committee on Knowledge Management Research Sub-Committee till August 2022.

‘Philanthropreneur’

Benjamin is a missionary, relational “bridge-builder” and the Founder and Executive Director of the Apostolic Bridge Builders (ABB), Inc, an organization that connects hundreds of businesses, churches, local governments, and NPOs in Texas, for regional transformation, through city impact roundtables, and citywide prayer gatherings of leaders. He is also a Founding Advisory Board Member of the Austin Disaster Relief Network (ADRN)—the largest disaster relief network in central Texas. ADRN has recruited and trained 13000+ volunteers/crisis managers with over 170 affiliated local organizations.

Additionally, he leads two global NPOs, Leaders and Thinkers and Non-Profit Management Professionals, with 40K+ memberships from global leaders from over 150 countries. He also pastored and oversaw two “new wine gathering” churches in Austin, Texas, from 2010 to 2015 and was an Adjunct Instructor at Park University and ITT Technical Institute in Austin.

Educational Background

Benjamin is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP®). In 1995, he earned his HND (B.Sc. equivalent) in Banking and Finance from Federal Polytechnic, Nekede, Nigeria. He also obtained a Bachelor’s and Masters of Business Administration, Global Business concentration, in 2005 and 2007, from St. Edward’s University, Austin, Texas. In 2015, the Juliana King University, Houston, where he also serves as a Board of Trustee member, conferred upon him the Honorary Doctorate in Leadership.

He is also a certified Restorative Therapist and Crisis Chaplain, and a Texas Family Wellness Instructor.

Benjamin is a runner, lives in Austin, Texas, with his wife, Precious, and two teenage children, Ben and Amara.