2025 Speakers

Leo Yip

Head, Civil Service, PS (PMO, PMO (STRATEGY) AND NSIC), Singapore

Leo Yip joined the Singapore public service in 1982 as a police officer. He holds degrees from Cambridge University, Warwick University and Harvard University.

In 2000 he was appointed Principal Private Secretary to Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew till 2002 when he joined the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) as Deputy Secretary. He served concurrently as Chief Executive of Singapore Workforce Development Agency from 2003.

Mr Yip was appointed Permanent Secretary of MOM in July 2005. He was concurrently appointed Deputy Chairman of the EDB in 2008 and became full-time Chairman from 2009 to 2014.

Mr Yip was appointed Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in December 2014 and was concurrently appointed as Permanent Secretary (PMO and NSIC) in 2016. Mr Yip relinquished his MHA appointment on 1 September 2017 to become Head, Civil Service and PS (PMO, PMO (Strategy) and NSIC).

Jamie Ang

Deputy Secretary (Transformation), Public Service Division, Prime Minister’ Office, Singapore

Ms Jamie Ang is the Deputy Secretary (Transformation) at the Public Service Division. As an officer in the Singapore Administrative Service, Ms Ang has previously served in the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Health and Ministry of National Development. Prior to her appointment at PSD, she held the role of Chief Executive Officer at the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA). ECDA is the regulatory and developmental authority for the early childhood sector in Singapore, overseeing key aspects of children’s development below the age of 7, across both kindergartens and childcare centres.

Ms Ang graduated with a Bachelor of Science (Econs) from the University of London, London School of Economics and Political Science, United Kingdom in 1999 and obtained a Masters in Science (Engg-Economic System & Operations Research) from the Stanford University, USA the next year. In 2014, she completed the Masters in Public Management at the National University of Singapore.

Ryan Alvin R. Acosta

Commissioner, Civil Service Commission, Philippines

Atty. Ryan Alvin R. Acosta is currently one of the Commissioners of the Philippine Civil Service Commission. His appointment was confirmed by the Commission on Appointments on 02 February 2022 and he assumed office on 09 February 2022.

Without conscious planning, Atty. Acosta’s career before his appointment to the Commission seemed to be a fitting preparation for his current responsibilities. Atty. Acosta was the Deputy Executive Secretary for Legal Affairs (DESLA) at the Office of the President (OP) from 01 July 2016 to 08 February 2022. As DESLA, he supervised the OP’s Legal Office, Legislative Office, and Investigative and Adjudicatory Divisions. He acted as the recommending authority to the President, through the Senior Deputy Executive Secretary and the Executive Secretary, on matters within the OP’s jurisdiction including the OP’s exercise of its quasi-judicial functions and formulation of national government policies. An advocate of a corruption-free bureaucracy, Atty. Acosta, as representative of the OP, had also tirelessly worked with the Office of the Ombudsman in implementing the government’s flagship anti-corruption program – the Integrity Management Program – during his entire stint at the OP.

Atty. Acosta’s foray in government service actually began much earlier. Upon the encouragement of his professor in consular and diplomatic relations, he pursued and was accepted as a Research Specialist at the Foreign Service Institute (FSI), the research and training arm of the Department of Foreign Affairs. He stayed at the FSI for six (6) years, firmly believing that government service is his modest way of paying back to the Filipino people whose sweat, blood, and tears have subsidized his education.

After leaving the FSI and before heeding once again the call of public service in 2015, Atty. Acosta honed his technical skills as a lawyer and gained extensive experience in administrative, criminal, and civil law from his stints as Corporate Counsel for an energy company and an Associate of two (2) well reputed full-service law firms for more than eight (8) years.

Eklavya Bhave

Head of Asia, Coursera

Eklavya Bhave is an experienced Business and technology executive. He currently serves as Head of Asia at Coursera. He leads a team that is committed to providing equal access to the world’s best education. His responsibilities include driving Sales and GTM strategy for Coursera’s enterprise business in the APAC region. This includes working closely with enterprises & universities in the region.

Eklavya has close to two decades of experience in Sales and Business Development in the technology space. He has held leadership positions in companies such as Citrix, Oracle, Microsoft etc. Prior to Coursera, Eklavya was the Head of Channels and Alliances for South Asia for Citrix. In this role he was responsible for building and executing business strategy for the region by leading cross functional teams.

Eklavya is an Engineering graduate with masters in Management.

Dr Gordon de Brouwer

Public Service Commissioner, Australia

Gordon de Brouwer is the Australian Public Service Commissioner. Before returning to the public service, Gordon was Professor of Economics at the Australian National University, and a member of various public and not for profit boards. Gordon has over 35 years’ experience in public policy and administration in Australia, including as Secretary for Public Sector Reform, Secretary of the Department of the Environment and Energy, and senior roles in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Treasury, ANU and the Reserve Bank of Australia.

He has been part of several major reviews including the Australian Public Service, the Reserve Bank of Australia, and the Woomera Prohibited Area.

Gordon is committed to public value, high-quality policy and implementation, and effective government.

Gillian Dorner

Deputy Director, Public Governance Directorate, OECD

Gillian Dorner is Deputy Director in the Public Governance Directorate of the OECD. She has served at the OECD since December 2020, first as Senior Counsellor in the GOV Director’s Office and then as Deputy Director. The Directorate for Public Governance works to help governments at all levels design and implement strategic, evidence-based and innovative policies to strengthen public governance. This includes regulatory policy; open, innovative and digital government; public employment and skills; public sector integrity; budgeting and public expenditures; infrastructure and public procurement, monitoring and evaluation, risk management.

Gillian has an extensive knowledge of the work of the Public Governance Directorate, as well a strong strategic vision of its priorities, having led work to structure and enhance the Directorate’s impact over recent years, including through the design and delivery of the Public Governance Committee’s Building Trust and Reinforcing Democracy Initiative.

Prior to joining the OECD, Gillian served as a UK senior civil servant as Deputy Director Financial Services Regulation at Her Majesty’s Treasury. She also has deep international experience, having represented the UK on multiple boards and committees, including as Vice Chair of the OECD Financial Markets Committee and having held several positions focused on International and EU economic and finance policy, including as an Advisor to the OECD Secretary-General and in several positions in HM Treasury and the UK Cabinet Office, as well as a period on loan to the French Treasury.

Ms Dorner, a British national, holds a Master’s degree in French and European Studies from the University of Edinburgh (UK) and a Diploma in EU Construction from the Institut des Hautes Etudes Internationales (France).

Mircea Esanu

Director, Public Services Agency, Republic of Moldova

Mr. Mircea Eșanu has over fifteen years of experience in mid-senior and senior managerial roles across the public sector, international organizations, and civil society. For the last three years, he serves as the Director of the Public Service Agency (PSA) of the Republic of Moldova, the largest public service provider in the country, employing 2,700 staff and operating 44 one-stop-shop offices nationwide. PSA is the holder of critical state registers and information systems, including those of population, legal entities, vehicles, drivers, and civil status documents. PSA is also responsible for issuing IDs, passports, residence permits, handles citizenship, driving licenses, and vehicle registrations, as well as registration chamber of commercial and non-commercial entities, including political parties.

Previously, Mr. Eșanu notable held positions were Chief of Cabinet to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova and Executive Director of the Moldova Social Investment Fund. His experience extends to working with international organizations, like KfW, World Bank, Konrad Adenauer Foundation and UNDP. Additionally, he has served as Chairman of the Board of the Open Society Foundation Moldova and as a member of the Press Council Moldova.

Mr. Eșanu holds a BA and MA in Sociology.

Marie-Chantal Girard

President, Public Service Commission, Canada

Marie-Chantal Girard was appointed President of the Public Service Commission of Canada on January 2, 2024, the organisation dedicated to building tomorrow’s public service that is based on excellence and is representative of Canada’s diversity. It safeguards non-partisanship, promotes and protects merit in all staffing and recruitment-related decisions.

She had previously served as Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, responsible for the negotiations and legislations pertaining to Employee Relations and Total Compensation at the Treasury Board Secretariat of Canada.

Ms. Girard also held several senior leadership positions in the public service to support key policy priorities, program development, and communications in departments centered around economic and labour market development as well as income security support.

Over the course of her career, Ms. Girard has developed a regional, national and international perspective, including as Canada’s representative at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Regional Development Policy Committee as well as a member of several commercial missions.

GOH Wei Boon

Chief Executive, Government Technology Agency, Singapore

Wei Boon is Chief Executive of the Government Technology Agency of Singapore (GovTech), the lead agency driving Singapore’s Smart Nation initiative and public sector digital transformation. He is passionate about enhancing the digital ecosystem to accelerate Singapore’s digital transformation.

Prior to joining GovTech, Wei Boon served as the Chief Executive of Centre for Strategic Infocomm Technologies (CSIT) at the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF), where he led R&D in infocomm and infosecurity technologies for government agencies to support national security needs. He also held  several key positions within MINDEF, including Director of Technical Projects, where he helped deliver critical capabilities for the defence and security sector. In recognition of his contributions, he was awarded the Public Administration Medal (Silver) in 2015.

Wei Boon is a PSC scholar with a Master of Information Systems Management (Highest Distinction) from Carnegie Mellon University, USA, and a Bachelor of Information Science from the University of Tsukuba, Japan. In 2022, he completed the Stanford Executive Program. 

Kathy Hall

Chief Operating Officer, Blavatnik School of Government, Oxford University

Kathy Hall is Chief Operating Officer. Kathy works closely with the Dean and senior faculty to set the School’s strategic direction. She leads the School’s professional staff in implementing the strategy and in supporting the teaching, research, and policy engagement activities of the School.

Prior to joining the School in 2023, Kathy was a senior UK civil servant with experience working in the Department of Health and Social Care, Cabinet Office, the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, and HM Treasury. She has also held roles in the National Health Service, including at Oxford University Hospitals. She began her career at the National Audit Office undertaking value-for-money studies for Parliament.

Kathy holds a BA in Politics and an MA in International Relations from the University of Nottingham.

Catherine Little CB

Chief Operating Officer for the Civil Service and Permanent Secretary to the Cabinet Office, United Kingdom

Cat started her career at the accountancy firm PwC, dedicated to Government and Public Sector finances, mainly working in assurance roles. Over more than a decade, Cat worked with clients across Health, Local Government, Higher Education and Central Government sectors.

Cat joined the Civil Service in 2013 first at the Legal Aid Agency where she worked on the digitisation of civil legal aid, and removing the long standing financial accounts qualification as the Director of Finance and Digital.

Cat went on to become the Group Finance Director at the Ministry of Justice overseeing all aspects of financial management and supporting prison reform, courts reform and transformation programmes. In 2017, Cat joined the Board of the Ministry of Defence as Director General Finance. In this role she was the primary financial advisor to ministers, the Defence Board and Accounting Officer and led the finance, commercial and analytical functions across Defence. During this time, Cat led the reform of Defence Acquisition and Procurement as part of the Modernising Defence Programme and instigated the Financial Improvement Programme. Cat led the oversight of the Defence portfolio, and was the Race Champion for the Department.

Cat joined HM Treasury in 2020 as Director General Public Spending. She took on the role of Acting Permanent Secretary in September 2022, and in October 2022 was appointed to Second Permanent Secretary. In this role Cat oversees public spending, international and national security policy. She combines this with her positions as head of the Government Finance Function and Chair of the Finance Leadership Group for Government. Cat is a chartered public finance accountant and represents the UK as a member of IFAC, PAIB and is also a co-opted member of CIPFA Council. Outside of work Cat lives in the Kent North Downs, enjoys running, cycling and walking the dog with her wife Ruth.

Tsedevsuren Lkhagva

Chairwoman, Civil Service Council, Mongolia

Ms.TSEDEVSUREN Lkhagva graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Law and Master’s degree in Public Administration. She also holds a Master’s degree in Law.

Her expertise lies in Public administration, particularly in Public service management. She has completed further professional training in Public administration, legal regulation, and Human resource management in the UK, Germany (2005), the Netherlands (2007), and South Korea (2016).

Her career started as a construction decorator from 1985 to 1987. She began her legal career in 1994 as an assistant to the Minister of Culture and later worked as a legal advisor at the Ministry of Enlightenment and the Ministry of Education, Culture, and Science. In 2004, she became the Director of the Public Administration Department and later served as Director of the Legal Department from 2017 to 2020. She also held the position of State Secretary then Minister at the Ministry of Education and Science from 2020 to 2021. Since January 2024, she has been leading the Civil Service Council of Mongolia.

Harri Martikainen

Director General, Government Strategy Department, Prime Minister’s Office, Finland

The Government Strategy Department is responsible for social policy foresight and planning and the Government’s analysis, assessment and research activities. It also coordinates the national implementation of sustainable development, supports the Government’s strategy work, reports on Government policy, and supports the Government in cross-administrative tasks requiring an understanding of the overall situation. The Director General manages the Department’s operations and is responsible for ensuring the effective discharge of its tasks and for the medium-term sustainability assessment of social policy.

Before Prime Minister´s Office Martikainen has worked more than 25 years in the service of the Ministry of the Interior and other public organizations. The most recent task in the Ministry of Interior was a Director of the Strategic Steering and Development Unit. The most important task of the Unit was to support the Ministry’s political decision-making and senior public officials’ management in the strategic planning, steering and decision-making of the Ministry and its branch of government, and to strengthen the political and strategic approach to performance management and decision-making.

Lord Gus O’Donnell

Former Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service, United Kingdom

Gus O’Donnell served Prime Ministers Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and David Cameron as Cabinet Secretary and Head of Civil Service from 2005 to 2011. He stood down from this position at the end of 2011 and was appointed to the House of Lords in January 2012. He played a leading role in the preparations for the 2010 election, which eventually resulted in the formation of the UK’s first coalition government since the Second World War. He was awarded the CB, KCB and GCB for his services to government.

Prior to his role as Cabinet Secretary, Lord O’Donnell served as Permanent Secretary of the UK Treasury from 2002 -2005 and as Press Secretary to Prime Minister John Major from 1990-1994 .

From 1997-98, he was the UK Executive Director on the boards of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

Lord O’Donnell spent most of his career with HM Treasury. In 1999 he was appointed Managing Director of Macroeconomic Policy and International Finance and was responsible for fiscal policy, international development, and European Union Economic and Monetary Union. During this period, he oversaw the production of the ‘five tests’ analysis for whether the UK should join the Euro.

He studied Economics at Warwick University and then Nuffield College, Oxford, before lecturing in political economy at the University of Glasgow. He has honorary doctorates from Warwick and Glasgow Universities.

Mrs. Tashi Pem

Chairperson, Royal Civil Service Commission, Bhutan

An experienced public administration leader with 28 years of distinguished service in Bhutan’s civil service. Currently serving as the Chairperson of the Royal Civil Service Commission (RCSC), with a career spanning key leadership roles in civil service reform, environmental stewardship, and fiscal policy. Demonstrated expertise in strategic planning, human resource management, taxation, and climate action, contributing to Bhutan’s development goals, including carbon neutrality and zero waste. Passionate about mentoring young civil servants and supporting women’s NGOs.

Taimar Peterkop

State Secretary, Government Office, Estonia

Mr. Taimar Peterkop was appointed Secretary of State in December 2018. Secretary of State is the Head of the Government Office (central government institution to support the Government and the Prime Minister in policy making and implementation).

Prior to being appointed Secretary of State, Taimar was Director General of the Estonian Information System Authority (government agency responsible for core e-government systems and cyber security of Estonia). Before that, he was the Deputy Secretary General for Legal and Administrative Affairs of the Ministry of Defence.

During the period 2000–2001, Peterkop worked as a lawyer at the Government Office and from 2001–2008, at the Ministry of Defence, the first four years of which was spent in the Legal Department as Head of the Office of International Law, and the last three years as Head of the Operations and Crisis Management Department. During the period 2008–2010, Peterkop served as Defence Counsellor at the Estonian Embassy in Washington, D.C.

Taimar Peterkop is a graduate of the University of Tartu School of Law and the United States Army War College, and holds a Master’s level degree in Strategic Management.

Sim Feng-Ji

Deputy Secretary (Smart Nation and Digital Government), Ministry of Digital Development and Information, Singapore

Mr Sim Feng-ji is the Deputy Secretary (Digital Government) in the Ministry of Digital Development and Information. He oversees efforts to transform Singapore and Digital Government so that we can harness technology to effect transformation in health, transport, urban living, government services and businesses. This includes efforts to build better digital products, and raise Government capabilities in areas such as Artificial Intelligence and Smart Cities.

Prior to this, Mr Sim was the Divisional Director of Income Security Policy Division at the Ministry of Manpower, where he oversaw policies related to CPF, income security and financial planning. Mr Sim has been involved in the review of Singapore’s economic and social policies in various capacities, including the Committee on the Future Economy, the Economic Strategies Committee, and the Inter ministerial Committee on Low Wage Workers. He has held positions in the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Finance.

Mr Sim graduated from the University of Cambridge with a Master’s of Arts in Economics. He obtained a Master’s of Business Administration and a Master’s of Science in Political Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Amelia Tang

Deputy Secretary, Strategy Group, Prime Minister’s Office, Singapore

Ms Amelia Tang is the Deputy Secretary of the Prime Minister’s Office – Strategy Group (PMO-SG).  PMO-SG drives Whole-of-Government strategic planning by (i) identifying key priorities and emerging issues over the medium to long-term, (ii) developing a national policy agenda, and (iii) aligning the work of other public agencies to the national agenda through various planning processes and structures.  It also partners other public agencies to formulate, coordinate and review policies to address cross-cutting issues such as population and climate change.  Before assuming the role of Deputy Secretary, Amelia was the Director of Strategic Planning, and of the National Population and Talent Division within PMO-SG.

Prior to joining PMO-SG, she held appointments in various ministries such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Manpower, the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, as well as the Ministry of Education. Her experience cuts across a range of domain areas including trade policy and negotiations, retirement adequacy and pensions, arts and heritage policy, as well as manpower planning and HR strategy.

Hugo Vitalis

Deputy Chief Executive of Strategy, Policy and Integrity Group. Public Service Commission, New Zealand

Hugo is Deputy Chief Executive of the Strategy, Policy and Integrity group at Te Kawa Mataaho Public Service Commission, driving the strategic direction and design of the New Zealand Public Service. Hugo has over twenty years’ experience in policy and strategy roles in both central and local government in New Zealand. He led the policy work for New Zealand’s recent state sector reform, including the Public Service Act 2020. As part of Hugo’s role he leads the provision of guidance on ethical matters and when needed, conducting investigations into integrity and conduct issues. He also leads the Integrity Champion network for the New Zealand public sector, driving improvements and supporting institutional integrity of agencies.

Didi Esther Walson-Jack

Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Nigeria

Mrs Didi Esther Walson-Jack, who was appointed the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation of Nigeria in August 2024 after 33 years of public service, began her career in the Civil Service as a State Counsel in the Rivers State Ministry of Justice, Nigeria.

In a career that has seen her traverse the Public Service of two States, two arms of government, and ultimately, two tiers of government, Mrs Didi Walson-Jack stands out as the only person in Nigeria to have served a State Government in the Offices of Solicitor-General and Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Justice; Deputy Chief of Staff; Hon. Commissioner of Science and Technology, and Manpower Development; and Chief of Staff, all in the service of the people and Government of Bayelsa State. Mrs Didi Walson-Jack joined the Nigerian Federal Civil Service in 2009 and rose through the directorate ranks before being appointed a Permanent Secretary in 2017. She served as Permanent Secretary of the Service Welfare Office in the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF), the Ministries of Niger Delta Affairs, Power; Water Resources and Sanitation, Education; and the Special Duties Office in the OHCSF.

Mrs Walson-Jack holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Lagos and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1987. Her expertise in Legislative Drafting and her certification as a Mediator, Conflict Resolution and Peace-building practitioner has been brought to bear on her work in the Civil Service.

She is a Member of Nigeria’s prestigious National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (mni). In 2023, she was awarded Nigeria’s National honour of Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON).

Mrs Walson-Jack is the author of one of the best-selling books, “Roses in the Thorns”, an autobiography and a true story of resilience and the triumph of faith over adversity.

Carl Ward

Director, Public Sector, Asia Pacific and Japan (APJ), Amazon Web Services

Carl Ward is the Director of Public Sector at Amazon Web Services in Asia Pacific and Japan (APJ). Carl leads a team of industry and technology experts who help customers adopt cloud to enable mission-critical outcomes leveraging the breadth and depth of AWS and our AWS Partner offerings.

Carl is passionate about helping organizations to accelerate quantum innovation by making quantum technology accessible to customers to develop industry-focused solutions. Carl has more than 35 years of IT experience across consulting, business transformation, and technology. He holds a Master’s Degree in Theoretical Physics from the University of Cambridge.

Darkhan Zhazykbay

Chairman, Agency for Civil Service Affairs, Republic of Kazakhstan

Darkhan Zhazykbay has started his career as a teacher at Almaty Law Institute. He is a Candidate of Sciences in Philosophy.

He has held various positions within the Ministry of Internal Affairs – from being teacher to becoming the Head of the Personnel Department of the Academy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Within the civil service field, Darkhan Zhazykbay was appointed to various posts, he became the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Senate of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Deputy Head of the Department of Internal Policy of the Executive Office of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

In 2019 appointed as the Deputy Chairman of the Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan for Civil Service Affairs.

In 2022 by Decree of the Head of State he was appointed Chairman of the Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan for Civil Service Affairs.

Siobhan Benita

Facilitator, Global Government Forum

Siobhan was a senior civil servant in the UK with more than 15 years’ Whitehall experience. She worked in many of major delivery departments, including Transport, Environment, Health and Local Government. She also had senior roles at the heart of government in the Cabinet Office and HM Treasury, including supporting the then Cabinet Secretary, Lord O’Donnell, to lead work on civil service reform and strategy. Siobhan left to run as an independent candidate in the Mayor of London election. She subsequently joined her alma mater, Warwick University, as Chief Strategy Officer of Warwick in London and Co-Director of the Warwick Policy Lab.