Ray Paulk
Ray Paulk is the Founder and CEO of ProjectAI, which develops and invests in a range of technology products and solutions for project and portfolio management. Additionally, Ray provides coaching, facilitation and advisory services to clients around the world.
Ray previously served as Senior Manager, Project Services for BHP Billiton, the world’s largest diversified resources company. In this role, Ray was responsible for leading the global Project Services function, ensuring best-in-class processes, systems and organisational capability are embedded to support BHP Billiton’s world-wide capital portfolio, spanning various commodity sectors (Petroleum, Coal, Copper, Iron Ore and Potash).
Ray also directed numerous initiatives to standardize and simplify project and portfolio management systems. He was a driving force behind the creation of OneWay, BHP Billiton’s Knowledge Management system for Projects, improving replication and uptake of best practices, and promoting collaboration across the global network of project practitioners.
During his tenure, BHP Billiton’s project performance showed dramatic and sustainable improvements, moving from 5th to 1st industry quintile in cost performance, and from 2nd to 1st industry quintile in construction schedule performance, as measured by Independent Projects Analysis, Inc.
Prior to joining BHP Billiton, Ray held various senior line and functional leadership roles in BP, one of the world’s “supermajor” oil and gas companies. During his time at BP, he led numerous successful functional initiatives within the Global Projects Organisation, and served in Project Services leadership roles for some of the largest projects in the Gulf of Mexico deep-water portfolio. Ray’s passion for collaborative problem solving, his structured approach to innovation and his inspirational leadership style have yielded exceptional results for some of the most complex challenges in global business transformation.
Ray holds a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Houston (USA), and completed post-graduate work in project management at the Manchester Business School (UK). He is based in Perth, Australia, where he enjoys reading, swimming and cycling. Ray is multilingual (English, French and German), an accomplished pianist, and volunteers at the Perth Observatory, sharing his love of science and astronomy with the community.