TOP 100 MAGAZINE

Justin MacBale

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Justin MacBale has built a reputation in project management by stepping into the kinds of situations most professionals avoid; projects already months behind, politically sensitive initiatives, and high-stakes programs where executive confidence is fading fast. Where others see chaos, he sees clarity. Where others see stalled momentum, he sees opportunity.

 

With more than 15 years of experience spanning business and IT, Justin has led digital transformations and post-merger integrations totaling more than $600 million in value. As a full-time senior manager with a Fortune 500 company, he works daily at the center of strategic data initiatives, helping organizations restore alignment, strengthen governance, and drive execution. It is work that has earned him a nickname that clients still use today: “The Closer.”

 

But Justin’s impact extends far beyond corporate boardrooms. Through his company, Pragintion PM, he provides pragmatic and intentional program and project management consulting, delivery, and coaching services built around one principle: business advocacy. Rather than focusing only on timelines and methodologies, Justin helps organizations maximize intended business value by ensuring projects serve real business outcomes. His expertise is especially valuable in technology, digital transformation, manufacturing, and complex post-merger integration work, where project failure can carry enormous consequences.

 

Yet for Justin, consulting was only part of the larger mission. He saw a growing disconnect in the project management profession itself. Too many talented professionals were being trained to manage tasks, but not taught how to lead strategically. Traditional project management education often focused heavily on methodology while overlooking the business acumen, political awareness, and emotional intelligence required to truly influence outcomes.

 

That realization led to the creation of PM Career Growth, the modern project management learning platform he co-founded with Elizabeth Dworkin. While Elizabeth also leads her own company, Peak Transformation, their shared vision for PM Career Growth was clear: build something that teaches professionals what traditional project management programs often miss.

 

The platform is designed for entrepreneurs, analysts, executives, vice presidents, and managers across industries including software, technology, manufacturing, retail, and consumer goods. Many are already signed up, seeking practical, real-world skills that help them move faster and lead better.

 

Instead of teaching project managers to simply “run projects,” PM Career Growth focuses on helping them become business partners. Lessons are built around eight critical lenses: communication, business acumen, data presentation, executive presence, emotional intelligence, systems thinking, relationship and influence, and political awareness. It is a philosophy Justin knows firsthand.

 

Earlier in his career, Justin served as a district sales manager for Frito-Lay, managing $8.5 million in business and leading a team of 30 people. That experience sharpened his ability to read people, understand organizational dynamics, and influence outcomes; skills that would later become foundational in both consulting and coaching.

 

Justin’s greatest professional accomplishments are not measured by revenue or large-scale integrations, but by helping others land jobs, because in his world, project management is not about managing tasks. It’s about creating trust, driving decisions, and delivering results that matter.

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Q&A with Justin
 

Tell us a bit about you.

 

When I was younger, I used to play video games for ten hours a day. I’ve converted that same focus and energy into my career. Today, I work full-time as an IT consultant for a Fortune 500 company, where I operate as a program manager on strategic data initiatives. At the same time, I run Pragintion PM and co-founded PM Career Growth with Elizabeth Dworkin.

 

What inspired you to start your companies?

 

Pragintion PM came from my consulting experience. About 60% of my work involved rescuing projects that were dead or significantly behind schedule and getting them back to successful delivery. Clients kept asking me to teach their project managers how I was doing it. I realized the problem wasn’t talent, it was perspective. People were managing projects without understanding the business behind them. I built Pragintion PM around business advocacy and helping organizations realize intended business value. PM Career Growth came next. Elizabeth and I connected through LinkedIn, worked together, and realized there was a bigger gap to solve.

 

What is the Modern Project Management Learning Platform?

 

It teaches what project managers actually need to succeed in modern business environments. We focus on business acumen, political awareness, emotional intelligence, executive presence, systems thinking, communication, data presentation, and relationship building. Most project management education doesn’t teach those things. It teaches methodology. But methodology alone doesn’t make you influential or strategic. We wanted to build a platform that helps people become true business leaders, not just task managers.

 

Why are these skills so critical?

 

Projects exist to support business goals; revenue growth, cost reduction, risk mitigation, market position. If project managers only speak in project language, they get treated like coordinators instead of business partners. When you can speak the language of the business, people trust you more. They involve you earlier. They give you better information. If a project manager doesn’t have information, they’re dead. These skills move you into strategic conversations and accelerate career growth.

 

What makes your platform different?

 

We teach project leadership in layers. How people behave under stress, how to manage change, and how to navigate organizational politics. Projects are collaborative, and leadership happens through people. We also focus heavily on project strategy and governance. Strategy defines how delivery happens. Governance defines how decisions are made. Without both, projects eventually fail. Our goal is simple: help project managers move beyond execution and become the kind of leaders businesses rely on most.

 

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​​Justin MacBale
Founder: Pragintion PM
Co-Founder: PM Career Growth
Website: www.PragintionPM.com  

Website 2: www.pmcareergrowth.com

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/justinjmacbale

Instagram: www.instagram.com/pmcareergrowth
Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@pmcareergrowth

Elizabeth Dworkin
Founder: Peak Transformation
Website: https://peaktransformationservices.com
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/ElizabethDworkin