Rate My Professor Pepijn Wyffels

Pepijn Wyffels serves as Head of the Enterprise Project Management Office (EPMO) at the University of Otago, leading initiatives to strengthen enterprise-wide project portfolio management capabilities and establishing a Centre of Excellence for project management, governance, and benefits management. Originally from Belgium, his professional journey includes roles in multinational organisations spanning fast-moving consumer goods, industrial waste management, dairy, and food production, where he worked as Category Manager, Sales Controller, and Operations Manager. Prior to joining the University, he functioned as a project management consultant in the Otago region. Pepijn holds a Master's Degree in Bioscience Engineering from Belgium and a Master's Degree in General Management from France, complemented by numerous accreditations in portfolio, programme and project management, process improvement, and change management.

Integral to the EPMO since its inception in 2018, initially as Enterprise Portfolio Manager and now as Head, Pepijn ensures the optimal selection of projects aligned with the University's strategic objectives, maximising value for money. His expertise covers benefits management, long-term capital planning, project recovery, and quality assurance. He has developed multiple high-profile business cases and instituted robust portfolio management processes, contributing to a P3M3 Maturity Assessment score exceeding 3.0 in 2021. The EPMO, part of the Operations Group, supports the University's priorities of enabling its vision and mission, stakeholder engagement, and delivering outstanding experiences through transparent resource allocation. Under his leadership, the EPMO secured the PMO of the Year award at the 2024 Project Management Institute New Zealand awards for exemplary benefits realisation and maturity development. It was also a national finalist for the award and received acclaim in a 2022 Crystal Consulting review, ranking the University among the global elite for project selection and management in building, IT, and transformation domains—achieved in 3.5 years versus 6-8 years for most benchmarks—with superior performance in 20 of 21 P3M3 elements against peers and all 21 against the New Zealand state sector.