Background
A rapidly growing e-commerce operator based in Dubai had scaled its operations significantly over a three-year period, expanding from a single-category retailer into a multi-vertical marketplace. With growth came complexity — multiple simultaneous technology, logistics, and commercial projects were being run in silos across different departments, with no centralised oversight or governance framework.
The company's leadership recognised that continued growth required disciplined project execution. Without a formal Project Management Office, initiatives routinely ran over budget and behind schedule, and there was limited visibility at the executive level into project status, risks, or interdependencies.
The Challenge
Catalyst PMO was engaged to design and stand up a centralised PMO capable of managing the company's growing portfolio of strategic projects. Key challenges included:
- No existing project governance frameworks or standardised methodologies
- Siloed departmental ownership with limited cross-functional coordination
- Executive team with limited bandwidth to maintain oversight of the full project portfolio
- A need to deliver a near-term technology platform migration in parallel with PMO establishment
Our Approach
We took an embedded approach — placing a senior advisor directly within the executive team for the initial six-month engagement. This allowed us to build relationships, understand the existing culture, and design a PMO framework that would be adopted organically rather than imposed.
In the first phase, we conducted a full audit of the active project portfolio — mapping all initiatives, assessing current status, identifying risks, and establishing a project registry. This gave the executive team immediate visibility for the first time.
In the second phase, we designed and implemented the PMO governance framework: standardised project templates, a stage-gate approval process, a weekly portfolio review cadence, and an escalation protocol for risks and issues.
In the third phase, we worked with internal team leads to build internal capability — training project owners on the new frameworks and coaching department heads on their roles within the governance structure.
Results
- Full project portfolio visibility established within 6 weeks of engagement
- PMO governance framework designed, piloted, and fully deployed within 4 months
- Technology platform migration delivered on time and within budget
- Executive team reporting cadence reduced from ad-hoc to a structured weekly rhythm
- Internal PMO capability embedded — framework sustained after engagement concluded
Conclusion
A centralised PMO is not simply an administrative function — it is a strategic enabler. For this Dubai-based e-commerce operator, the establishment of a disciplined project governance framework provided the visibility, accountability, and execution rigour required to support continued growth at scale.
The success of this engagement illustrates what is possible when strategy and execution are brought together under a single, embedded advisory model.