Abstract
There is a role called "Executive Sponsor" in the project management world. The "Executive Sponsor" is defined that who has an executive power and is responsible for a program, which has been composed of some projects. He/She helps project manager mainly by using his/her power to promote stakeholders to collaborate with project and to support project manager. But in some cases, the line between what project managers are expected to do and what executive sponsors are expected to do is unclear and sometimes confusing. In this paper, we tried to clarify what project managers want to have from executive sponsors and suggest the role model of an executive sponsor. We sought the role model that is valid and operative in the actual IT projects in Japan. In addition, we tried to clarify the characteristics of an IT vendor's position in the IT projects, regarding the role and responsibility of an executive sponsors.
