Sergio Ponce de Leon
What current project(s) are you working on?
As the lead product manager for NetPoint, I focus on defining the strategy for the product, translating the strategy into the development roadmap, and gathering requirements for and prioritizing corresponding features. We’re also currently evaluating alternative platforms, architectures, and designs for the next generation of NetPoint.
What is your career highlight at PMA, so far?
My highlight at PMA has been the opportunity to be involved in the design and development of all three of our products: NetPoint, NetRisk, and Schedule MD. I’ve been able to spec and design features on the cutting edge of the project planning and scheduling industry.
What is something new or innovative happening in your industry?
With advances in processing hardware and machine learning algorithms, in conjunction with reductions in data collection and storage costs, the 2010s finally ushered in a wave of near-human level performance in many artificial intelligence tasks. Meanwhile, as the construction industry finally seems ready to embrace the types of technologies that have disrupted most other industries by now, the confluence of these two developments provides an exciting context for where we can take NetPoint, NetRisk, and Schedule MD in the years to come.
What university or college did you graduate from?
I received a B.S. in Environmental Science and an M.S. in Human-Computer Interaction and Applied Data Science from the University of Michigan.
What is your favorite local establishment/feature (restaurant, museum, stadium, etc.)?
The Raven’s Club, an early-20th-century speakeasy-style cocktail bar & restaurant on Main Street in Ann Arbor.
Fun Facts?
I’ve traveled to 50+ countries (and counting!), where I’ve seen the Great Wall of China and the Taj Mahal in India; hiked to the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro (at 5,895 meters) in Tanzania; been chased by a rhinoceros and stepped on by an elephant in Nepal; seen the critically endangered mountain gorillas of Rwanda and gone great white shark cage diving in South Africa; been bungee jumping (x2), sky diving (x2), and SCUBA diving (x50+) in the Galapagos and Great Blue Hole; and camped overnight in the Amazon rainforest, where I swam with pink river dolphins and caught piranhas for dinner!