2025 On Demand
December 9th
All times provided are local (Ottawa, EST)
9:00 AM – 9:10 AM
Welcome Address
A welcome introduction from Global Government Forum’s moderator and government expert Siobhan Benita
9:10 AM – 9:20 AM
Keynote address
Speakers:
Dominic Rochon, Deputy Minister and Chief Information Officer of Canada
9:20 AM – 9:30 AM
Keynote Address
Speaker:
Ben Piercey, Chief Technology Officer, AffinitiQuest
Supported by:
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9:30 AM – 9:50 AM
Fireside Chat
As technology rapidly reshapes the public sector, governments are exploring new ways to deliver secure, efficient, and citizen-focused services. In this fireside chat, Deb Pimentel, President of IBM Canada, and Scott Jones, President of Shared Services Canada, will discuss how organizations can responsibly integrate AI, leverage hybrid cloud, and strengthen collaboration to drive meaningful outcomes for Canadians. The conversation will highlight practical lessons, emerging opportunities, and the leadership needed to accelerate digital transformation in government.
Speaker:
Deb Pimentel, President and General Manager, Technology, IBM Canada
Scott Jones, President, Shared Services Canada
Supported by:

9:55 AM – 10:45 AM
How to Rewire Government to Achieve True Digital Transformation
True digital transformation of government can ensure timely, accessible, and high-quality services that meet user’s needs.
However, transformation goes beyond new tools: it requires reshaping the processes, mindsets, and incentives embedded in public institutions. This session will explore how to redesign policy, operations, and organisational architecture to make the most of the potential for technology to unlock lasting change. Drawing on international best practice and the Canadian government’s own transformation initiatives, speakers will examine what it takes to drive whole-of-government agility, and how to leaders can accelerate reform.
Panel discussion followed by audience Q&A
Speakers:
Dr Louise Maynard-Atem, Deputy Director, Data & Insight, Government Digital Service, United Kingdom
Yuriy Matsyk, Advisor, Ministry of Digital Transformation, Ukraine
Stéphane Le Bouyonnec, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Cyber Security and Digital, and Chief Information Officer, Government of Québec
Kim Steele, Assistant Deputy Minister and Chief Transformation Officer Human Capital Management, Public Services and Procurement Canada
Charlie Cattran, Partner, Federal Public Sector, IBM Canada
Moderator:
Siobhan Benita, Event Moderator, Global Government Forum
Supported by:

10:45 AM – 11:10 AM
Networking Break
11:10 AM – 12 PM
Workforce of the future: Reskilling for a digital, sustainable public service
The success of digital transformation initiatives hinges on people. This session will explore how the Canadian public service can build a digitally savvy workforce by understanding and addressing skills gaps, reskilling employees to meet them, and fostering a culture of continuous learning.
Drawing on success stories from Canada and other governments, the panel will highlight strategies for large-scale upskilling, recruiting digital talent, and aligning workforce development with sustainability and inclusion goals.
The session will also set out the development of digital competencies in government, and provide practical insight for public servants on where they should prioritise their own learning and development.
Panel discussion followed by audience Q&A
Speakers:
Nadia Ahmad, Chief Data Officer & Head of Evaluation, Global Affairs Canada
Liz McKeown, Executive Director, Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat
Frances McRae, Deputy Minister, Women and Gender Equality Canada
Ryan Alvin R. Acosta, Commissioner, Civil Service Commission, Republic of the Philippines
Chris LaBossiere, CEO & Founder, We Know Training
Moderator:
Siobhan Benita, Event Moderator, Global Government Forum
Supported by:
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12 PM – 1 PM
Lunch and Networking Break
1 PM – 1:50 PM
From hype to delivery: Implementing Canada’s ai strategy for the public service
Canada has launched an AI Strategy for the Federal Public Service 2025-2027, setting out a vision to serve Canadians better through responsible AI adoption. This session will explore the strategy for operationalizing AI across departments, addressing issues such as governance, procurement, and workforce capacity.
Panellists will discuss what comes next on implementation – how to move beyond cautious pilots and embed AI tools in everyday workflows while upholding public service values.
Panel discussion followed by audience Q&A
Speakers:
Liam Wilkinson, Head of AI Incubation, Government Digital Service, United Kingdom
Kara Beckles, Executive Director, Privacy and Responsible Data, Office of the Chief Information Officer, Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat
Elise Legendre, Chief Data Officer, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Christine Jackson, Executive Director, Public Sector Canada, SAS
Moderator:
Siobhan Benita, Event Moderator, Global Government Forum
Supported by:

2 PM – 2:50 PM
Data sovereignty in an age of AI and fragmentation
Data is central to sovereignty in the digital age. This session explores how governments can retain control over critical data infrastructure, ensure secure cross-border flows, and build domestic capacity in cloud and AI. Drawing on global trends and Canada’s challenges, it will examine how to design data strategies that are inclusive, secure, and future-ready.
Panel discussion followed by audience Q&A
Speakers:
Hayden Lansdell, Associate Deputy Minister and Government Chief Information Officer, Government of British Columbia
Ima Okonny, Assistant Deputy Minister and Chief Data Officer at Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC)
Ross Ermel, Assistant Deputy Minister (Digital Services) and Defence Chief Digital Officer, Department of National Defence, Government of Canada
Jordan Zed, Senior Assistant Deputy Minister for the AI Secretariat, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada
Nihar Dalmia, Public Sector Data, Analytics and AI Leader, Deloitte
Moderator:
Michael Wernick, Former clerk of Canada’s Privy Council and secretary to the cabinet
Supported by:
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2:50 PM – 3:10 PM
Networking Break
3:10 PM – 4 PM
How artificial intelligence can lead to greater productivity: sharing best practice from the Government of Canada and beyond
AI is already helping parts of the Government of Canada reduce administrative burden, improve analysis, and accelerate service delivery — but its potential is far greater.
This session will bring together leaders from across the federal public service to share case studies of how AI is improving productivity, from automating repetitive tasks to enhancing policy analysis and fraud detection.
Discussion will focus on lessons learned in responsible deployment, balancing efficiency with accountability, and scaling solutions across departments. International perspectives will provide additional insights into how governments can harness AI to do more with less while maintaining trust and transparency.
Panel discussion followed by audience Q&A
Speakers:
Nadine Boudreau-Brown, Director General, Transformation and Modernization Services, Information Systems Branch, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Dr Carlos Santiso, Senior Adviser on Digital Government and Artificial Intelligence in Government, OECD
Janak Alford, Deputy Minister of Technology and Innovation, Government of Alberta, Canada
Romina Kostani, Director of Digital Agenda Coordination and Foreign-Funded Projects for e-Government, National Agency of Information Society (NAIS), Albania
Daniel Nagle, Global SVP of Solutions Engineering, Quantexa
Moderator:
Siobhan Benita, Event Moderator, Global Government Forum
Supported by:
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4:10 PM – 4:20 PM
Keynote Address
Speaker:
Warren Roy, CEO & Founder, Global Relay
Session supported by:
4:20 PM – 5:10 PM
From Vision to Action: What Comes Next for Canada’s Digital Future
Canada’s Digital Ambition sets out the need to improve the government’s digital services to ensure we can deliver services in the modern, digital age.
The Ambition sets out long-term objectives for how the government will put people, policy, and technology first to deliver for Canadians, with a focus on four specific outcomes:
- Services are user-centric, trusted and accessible.
- Data and information are foundational to service delivery and informed decision-making.
- Technology empowers innovation, efficiency and security.
- The workforce is digitally savvy and adaptable to the digital landscape.
This session will set out details on how the Government of Canada will measure progress against these outcomes, and will share international best practices on how to use milestones to drive progress.
Panel discussion followed by audience Q&A
Speakers:
Dominic Rochon, Deputy Minister and Chief Information Officer of Canada
Raj Thuppal, Executive Vice-President, Shared Services Canada
Karen Myers, President and CEO, Blueprint
Moderator:
Siobhan Benita, Event Moderator, Global Government Forum
Session supported by:

5:10 PM – 5:15 PM
Summary and Thank You
5:15 PM – 6 PM
Networking Reception
Welcome remarks by Jonathan Drover, AVP, Business Development – Public Sector, Interac
Supported by:

6 PM
Conference Ends

Public Service Data/AI Challenge Finale
1 PM – 4:05 PM
[Location: Challenge Stage]
Making better use of data and AI
Through the Public Service Data/AI Challenge – organised by Statistics Canada, Natural Resources Canada and Global Government Forum, and supported by TBS and knowledge partners IBM, Dell and Nvidia – we received over 150 entries from federal public servants on how government can improve its use of data and artificial intelligence. We recruited volunteers to join the originator of the idea to take forward the best ideas in interdisciplinary, cross-departmental teams, with the goal of catalyzing reforms and improving public services.
After stages of research and development, eight teams of public service volunteers pitched their ideas to the judges at the Semi-Final: four were selected to move forward, and they are now in the final stages of developing their ideas in advance of the grand finale – please join the Judges and Champions to hear the final four pitches, and find out who this year’s winner will be!
Learn more about the final teams and the Public Service Data Challenge Finale here!

AccelerateGOV is part of the Global Government Forum, Global Government Finance and Pendragon International Media portfolio of events.


Joanna Murphy,
President, Detran-SP Oficial, Brazil
Chief Product Officer, Japan’s Digital Agency
Ministère fédéral allemand chargé de la transformation numérique et de la modernisation de l’administration,
Analyste principale au Secrétariat de l’IA au sein du ministère de l’Innovation, Sciences et Développement économique Canada (ISDE)
Directrice exécutive, la Division de la vie privée et des données responsables, Secrétariat du Conseil du Trésor du Canada (SCT)
Advisor of the Digital Infrastructure Development, Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine
Director of Digital Agenda Coordination and Foreign-Funded Projects for e-Government, National Agency of Information Society (NAIS), Albania



Andrew Trossman, Chief Technologist, DXC Canada
Sous-directeur général des élections, Transformation numérique, Élections Canada
Secrétariat du Conseil du Trésor du Canada
Secrétariat du Conseil du Trésor du Canada



Commissaire, Commission de la fonction publique, Philippines
Commissioner, Civil Service Commission, Philippines
Emploi et Développement Social Canada
Partenaire, IBM
Titulaire de la Chaire Jarislowsky en gestion du secteur public et leader du secteur public canadien
Former Clerk of the Privy Council and Jarislowsky Chair in Public Sector Management

Sous-ministre adjoint principal, Secrétariat de l’intelligence artificielle, Innovation, Sciences et Développement économique, Gouvernement du Canada

Sous-ministre au ministère de la Cybersécurité et du Numérique
Directeur de la technologie sur le terrain, Secteurs essentiels, IGEL
Président-directeur général, PagoPA, Italie
Sous-commissaire et Dirigeant principal de l’information,
Assistant Commissioner and Chief Information Officer, 

Field Chief Technology Officer, Critical Sectors, IGEL
Sous-ministre adjoint (Services numériques) et dirigeant principal du numérique à la Défense Ministère de la Défense nationale / Forces armées canadiennes


Chief Service and Digital Officer, Transport Canada
Associate Deputy Minister and Government Chief Information Officer, Government of British Columbia
Head of AI Incubation, Government Digital Service, United Kingdom
Executive Director, Public Sector Canada, SAS
Innovation, Sciences et Développement économique Canada
Chief Data Officer, Shared Services Canada
Vice-président, Conseil canadien des normes
Directeur de l’expérience numérique, Office of Management and Budget, États-Unis
Premier vice-président, Services partagés Canada (SPC)
Dirigeant principal de la technologie et de l’innovation, Commissions malaisiennes de la communication et du multimédia (MCMC)
Directeur général, Cyberdéfense, Centre canadien pour la cybersécurité
Cofondatrice, présidente et directrice générale de Blueprint




Chief Executive Officer, IDIKA SA (e-Government Center for Social Security), Greece



Chief Information Security Officer and Deputy CIO for Cybersecurity, Department of Energy, United States










Chef de service chez New Work, gestion du changement, gestion de projet, ministère fédéral du Numérique et des Transports, Allemagne
Directrice de l’Intégration, la gestion financière à Services publics et Approvisionnement Canada
Membre et scientifique de données en chef pour les Amériques, Intel




Directeur Exécutif, Division de la politique de l’accès à l’information et du gouvernement ouvert (DPAIGO), Secrétariat du Conseil du Trésor du Canada (SCT)
Dirigeant principal des données (DPD) et Directeur général, Direction générale de la recherche stratégique, et l’innovation en matière de données, Services aux Autochtones Canada
Président de Services partagés Canada
Données et analyses gouvernementales, responsable de l’industrie, SAS
Analyste en chef, directrice de la science des données, 10 Downing Street, Royaume-Uni

Dirigeante principale des données, Services partagés Canada
Directrice générale, Politique sur le numérique, Secrétariat du Conseil du Trésor du Canada
Head of Data and Technology, Chief Digital Office, United Nations Development Programme
Président-directeur général, National Information and Communication Technology Company Limited (iGovTT), Trinité-et-Tobago
Directrice exécutive, Code for Canada
Cheffe, Gestion de l’information intégrée, Secteur des services intégrés, Secrétariat du Conseil du Trésor du Canada

Assistant Deputy Minister and Chief Data Officer, Employment and Social Development Canada
Dirigeant principal de l’information et sous-ministre adjoint, Services numériques
Dirigeante principale des données & chef de l’évaluation, Affaires mondiales Canada
Director, Performance and Oversight, Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, Canada
Chief Executive, Government Digital Service, Cabinet Office, United Kingdom







Directrice exécutive, Gestion de la communauté numérique, Secrétariat du Conseil du Trésor du Canada, Canada
Directeur général, Rwanda Information Society Authority, Rwanda
Modératrice de l’événement, Global Government Forum
Sous-ministre et dirigeante principale de l’information (DPI) du Canada