Biography - Francis Hartman

While working in the Faculty of Engineering at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Dr. Francis Hartman made the mistake of complaining to the Dean of the Faculty that he was graduating engineers who knew too little about the business end of the profession. Before he knew what this would lead to, he was appointed as an Adjunct Professor at UBC.

Later on, Dr. Hartman moved to Toronto (via a fascinating stint helping to run a start-up business in California’s Silicon Valley) where he worked as an executive in a number of engineering, technology, and construction companies, while serving as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Toronto.

He joined the University of Calgary as Director of the Graduate Project Management Program in 1991, and studied for his doctorate part time, earning it in 1993. Since then, his research has been in the management of technological change, which has resulted in over 200 assorted publications including one authored and one edited book, book chapters, and papers. The results of this research and management approach have directly benefited Canadian industry, saving more than a recorded $200 million in the past five years. Dr. Hartman’s SMART Management™ approach is being adopted by companies and project management teaching programs in Canada, the United States, and Europe. He has been recognized through a number of teaching and mentorship awards, and with an NSERC/SSHRC Chair in Management of Technological Change, which was renewed in 1999.

Dr. Hartman was born in Tanzania of German parents, and then became a naturalized British citizen. He is now proud to be a Canadian citizen and lives with his wife, Margaret, and their four children in Calgary, Alberta. For entertainment, he draws cartoons that sometimes end up infesting his published work.