Building a global PMO and delivering 15+ ADS-B surveillance systems across EMEA.
Situation
Era a.s. was delivering ground-based ADS-B, WAM, and MLAT surveillance systems to major ANSPs and aviation authorities across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Demand was growing, but delivery performance was inconsistent. Several projects were behind schedule, vendor coordination was fragmented, and there was no PMO to manage a complex, multi-country portfolio. Engineering was strong and Sales was active, but the organisation lacked a global PMO, a repeatable delivery model, a pre-sales planning and estimation function, a unified approach to managing vendors and ANSP stakeholders, and any portfolio-level view of risk, schedule, and delivery performance.
Mandate
Build a global PMO from zero to manage the entire delivery portfolio. Rescue failing ADS-B/WAM/MLAT projects, lead delivery of larger and more complex surveillance deployments, create a repeatable multi-country delivery process, integrate the PMO with Sales for pre-sales planning and estimation, and manage vendors, subcontractors, and aviation-system suppliers across EMEA. Hands-on operational and programme leadership — not advisory work.
Actions
- Designed and implemented Era's first global PMO — governance, portfolio management, risk/schedule/budget controls, customer-acceptance processes, and cross-functional alignment across engineering, QA, manufacturing, and deployment
- Rescued failing ADS-B and WAM deployments by rebuilding plans, re-establishing ANSP customer confidence, re-negotiating vendor commitments, and clearing critical-path blockers
- Led delivery of 15+ ADS-B/WAM/MLAT systems across multiple countries — engineering integration, site prep and installation, testing and commissioning, customer acceptance, and regulatory compliance
- Built a pre-sales planning and estimation function inside the PMO so Sales could scope, price, and defensibly propose complex surveillance deployments aligned to delivery capacity
- Coordinated hardware suppliers, installation subcontractors, civil works teams, aviation-system integrators, local regulators, and logistics/customs partners across EMEA to a single delivery standard
Outcomes
- Era's first global PMO built from zero — a scalable delivery organisation
- 15+ ADS-B/WAM/MLAT surveillance systems delivered across EMEA over several years
- Failing projects rescued and ANSP customer confidence restored
- Repeatable, aviation-grade delivery model established across countries
- Sales and Delivery integrated into a single operating rhythm with improved estimation and proposal quality
- Delivery predictability up, schedule risk down — Era operating as a global aviation technology provider
ImpactThe PMO and delivery model became Era's foundation for global surveillance system delivery — transforming a company struggling with delivery inconsistency into a global leader in ADS-B/WAM/MLAT deployment, with a delivery engine built to last.