The most useful current shortlist of project management voices comes from The Digital Project Manager, whose list was last updated on September 4, 2026. It places seven people at the top: Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez, Ricardo Viana Vargas, Laura Barnard, Brett Harned, Elizabeth Harrin, Cornelius Fichtner, and Jean Kang. Treat it as one editorial selection rather than a measured ranking of who is most followed or most influential. The positions reflect the editor’s judgment, not follower counts or engagement data.
How the list was selected
The Digital Project Manager’s editor, Kristen Kerr (a Certified ScrumMaster), describes the selection this way: “I selected the leaders on this list based on their relevance, demonstrated expertise and impact, professional credibility, and ongoing contributions to the field.” Examples of qualifying contributions include leading meaningful initiatives, developing influential ideas, publishing research or educational resources, speaking, and teaching.
Those criteria explain why the names were chosen. They do not show how many people follow each person on LinkedIn, YouTube, or any other platform, and no comparable audience figures for these seven were published alongside the list.
Do not confuse this with other leaderboards. Thinkers360 published a separate 2025 thought-leader leaderboard that scores people across roles and content types, using a patented algorithm that weighs the quantity and quality of thought-leadership content. Its scores are a different system and say nothing about this list’s order or about social reach.
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#1 Best Overall
The seven people and what they cover
Each profile below uses the focus areas the list gives for that person. Where a book or organization is named, it is the one the list or the person’s own official pages cite.
1. Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez: strategy execution and project leadership
Nieto-Rodriguez is a project management author, a former chairman of the Project Management Institute (PMI), and the founder of Projects & Company. His listed focus areas are strategy execution, project leadership, transformation, portfolio management, and AI. His official biography includes The HBR Project Management Handbook, published by HBR Press, which is the most relevant starting point if you want executive-level content on how projects connect to business strategy.
2. Ricardo Viana Vargas: strategy, risk, and delivery
Viana Vargas is the founder of PMOtto.ai and Macrosolutions and an author. The list notes that he has led PMI and the Brightline Initiative. His focus areas include project management, strategy execution, risk, business transformation, and AI. He is a good fit for readers who want to understand how risk and delivery discipline tie into larger business decisions.
3. Laura Barnard: PMO leadership and change
Barnard is the founder and CEO of PMO Strategies, the author of The IMPACT Engine, and the creator of the IMPACT Engine System. Her listed focus areas are PMO leadership, strategy delivery, transformation, governance, and change leadership. If you work in or alongside a project management office, or you are trying to get leadership to fund and govern projects more consistently, her material is the most directly applicable on this list.
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4. Brett Harned: digital project delivery and team communication
Harned is the author of Project Management for Humans, published by Rosenfeld Media in 2017 in paperback and ebook formats. He founded the Digital PM Summit and works as a consultant and coach, with more than 20 years in digital delivery and operations. He focuses on the day-to-day side of delivery: how teams communicate, make decisions, and keep work moving. That makes him a strong pick for people leading software, design, or other digital teams.
5. Elizabeth Harrin: stakeholder engagement and practical PM skills
Harrin is an author, speaker, trainer, and APM Fellow with more than 20 years of corporate project experience across IT, transformation, business change, and healthcare. The list gives her focus areas as managing multiple projects, stakeholder engagement, change, and project management careers. Her content tends to suit people who are early or mid-career and need practical, task-level guidance.
Rank #3
- book
- A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide) – Seventh Edition and The Standard for Project Management (ENGLISH)
6. Cornelius Fichtner: project management education and PMP preparation
Fichtner is the founder of OSP International and the host of The Project Management Podcast. His career spans consulting, retail, startups, and financial services. The list highlights PMP preparation, Agile, PMOs, and professional development. If your goal is certification or structured learning, his podcast and training work are the most obvious entry points on this list.
7. Jean Kang: program management and technology careers
Kang is the founder and CEO of Advice With Jean and an instructor for LinkedIn Learning. Before that she held strategic program roles at Figma, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and other technology companies. Her focus areas include program management, project management careers, AI, project leadership, and technology. She suits readers working in tech companies who want to understand how programs are run at scale.
Comparing the seven at a glance
The table groups each person by the reader goal they serve best. It uses only the focus areas and roles named in the list and the person’s own official material, so treat it as a navigation aid, not a quality score.
Rank #4
- Harvard Business Review Project Management Handbook: How to Launch, Lead, and Sponsor Successful Projects
- Harvard Business Review Press
- BLANK BOOK
| Person | Best fit if you want to learn about | Notable work named in the list |
|---|---|---|
| Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez | Strategy execution, portfolio management, transformation | The HBR Project Management Handbook |
| Ricardo Viana Vargas | Risk, delivery, and business transformation | PMOtto.ai and Macrosolutions; PMI and Brightline Initiative leadership |
| Laura Barnard | PMO leadership, governance, and change | The IMPACT Engine; IMPACT Engine System |
| Brett Harned | Digital delivery and team communication | Project Management for Humans (Rosenfeld Media, 2017); Digital PM Summit |
| Elizabeth Harrin | Stakeholder engagement and managing multiple projects | Author, speaker, and trainer; APM Fellow |
| Cornelius Fichtner | PMP preparation, Agile, and PMOs | OSP International; The Project Management Podcast |
| Jean Kang | Program management and tech careers | Advice With Jean; LinkedIn Learning instructor |
If you manage project budgets, business cases, or a portfolio of spending decisions, the governance and strategy material from Barnard and Nieto-Rodriguez connects most directly to financial trade-offs. That is an inference from their stated focus areas, not a claim the list makes.
Verifying accounts before you follow
The list does not provide verified social media links for all seven people, so confirm each account before you follow it. Use this sequence:
- Start with the person’s own website or the organization they lead, such as Projects & Company, PMO Strategies, Digital PM Summit, OSP International, or Advice With Jean.
- Look for the social links on that site. A link the person publishes themselves is more reliable than one found through a search result.
- On the platform, check that the profile name, photo, and recent posts match the person’s work. Be cautious of accounts with similar names.
- For authors, confirm the book details on the publisher’s page, such as HBR Press or Rosenfeld Media, before purchasing.
Choosing among them
Pick based on the problem you need to solve rather than the order on the list. A PMO lead, a software team manager, and someone preparing for a certification exam will get very different value from these seven. Start with two or three people whose focus areas match your current work, then judge them by whether their posts stay useful over several months.
Best Value
Keep in mind that the list reflects one editor’s selection as of September 4, 2026. Roles, companies, and social accounts change, so check the person’s current affiliations before you rely on them.
Next, see the frequently asked questions for context on what the list does and does not measure.
Note: the names and descriptions above come from The Digital Project Manager’s 2026 article. Book details come from the publisher and author pages referenced in the profiles.
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