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).

Tarun Pardal

Managing Director, Health & Public Service, Accenture Singapore

Tarun Pardal is a Managing Director at Accenture Singapore. He has more than 18 years of work experience out of which more than 10 years have been with Singapore’s Public Service Agencies in Social Services, Business Registry, Learning & Employability, Taxation, Defense & Public Safety and Education space.  

In the past decade, he has delivered and led several large scale digital transformation initiatives across multiple government agencies driving them all the way from ideas to implementation. In his current role, he looks after several key government accounts dealing directly with the C-suite and addressing their most critical problems.

He is most passionate about defining citizen experiences in the digital era, the future of work for public service and sustainability for Small & Medium Enterprises. He has also been actively involved in advising several Social Service Agencies and Philanthropic organisations on their digital transformation initiatives.

Peter Woolcott

Commissioner, Public Service Commission, Australia

Mr. Peter Woolcott AO commenced as the Australian Public Service Commissioner in 2018. 

Mr. Woolcott has had a distinguished career in the Australian Public Service, serving in senior diplomatic positions around the world.

He has served as Australia’s High Commissioner to New Zealand (2016–2017), Ambassador for the Environment (2014–16), and led the negotiations to the Paris Agreement on climate change (2016), Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva and Ambassador for Disarmament (2010–2014), Ambassador for People Smuggling Issues (2009), Ambassador to Italy (2004–2007), and Australian Consul‑General, Honolulu and Representative to US Commander‑in‑Chief Pacific (1998-2001).

Mr. Woolcott served as Chief of Staff to former Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull from 2017 – 2018.

Mr. Woolcott was appointed an Officer in the Order of Australia in 2017 for his distinguished service to public administration in the field of international relations, and as a lead negotiator in the non-proliferation and arms control fields.

Mr. Woolcott was Chair of the Final United Nations Conference on the Army Trade Treaty in 2013.

Donna Cadogan

Head, Public Service and Cabinet Secretary, Barbados

Mrs. Donna Cadogan  has been a career civil servant in the Barbados Public Service for the past 37 years and holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Economics and Management from the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, Barbados.

She presently holds the position of Head of the Public Service and Cabinet Secretary and previously held the post  of Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Tourism and International Transport for 7 years until June 2022. Mrs. Cadogan has worked in several other ministries including those with portfolio responsibility for  social care, trade, commerce, international business, transport and works, agriculture, energy, labour, the Attorney General’s Chambers and Home Affairs.

As Head of the Public Service, she brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the Office and holds responsibility for the management and operation of the public service in collaboration with the Service Commissions and the Committee of Permanent Secretaries for which she is the Chairman. She is also Chief Advisor to the Prime Minister on matters relating to the appointment of senior public officers. As Cabinet Secretary, she has responsibility for the management and operation of Cabinet Office; provides advice to the Prime Minister on matters related to Cabinet and also has oversight for constitutional statutory and administrative functions.  

Mrs. Cadogan is committed to transforming the Public Service of Barbados through the provision of more efficient processes and services and the execution of effective administrative policies and programmes.

HE Sokha Prum

Minister, Ministry of Civil Service, Kingdom of Cambodia

Mr. Prum Sokha was appointed as Minister for the Ministry of Civil Service in March 2020. Currently, he is also the Chair of the National Public Administration Reform Committee and Head of Board of Director of the Royal School of Administration. Prior to this position, he was the Secretary of State for the Ministry of Interior for 25 years since 1993 and an official and director of the general policy department in CPP (Cambodian People’s Party) since 1985 before being promoted to deputy minister in 1991.

Since the beginning of his career, he started as a trade union worker up until 1985; he then held numerous positions that includes being Chief Negotiator of the CCP, member of the Bar Association of Cambodia as well as being involved in many public administration reform such as decentralization and deconcentration (D&D), criminal justice system, law enforcement against human trafficking, etc. His role as an administrative reform shows great importance for the democratic development at the sub-national level of administration in all Cambodian provinces.

He holds as a master degree in public management at NUS (National University of Singapore) in collaboration with Harvard Kennedy School of Government.

Nathalie Drouin

Deputy Clerk, Privy Council Office, Canada

Nathalie G Drouin became Deputy Clerk of the Privy Council and Associate Secretary to the Cabinet on August 23, 2021.

Prior to joining the Privy Council Office, Mrs Drouin was Deputy Minister of Justice and Deputy Attorney General of Canada from June 2017 to August 2021. Mrs Drouin previously served as Senior Associate Deputy Minister of the Department of Justice of Canada from September 2016 to June 2017.

From September 2012 to September 2016, Mrs Drouin was Deputy Minister of Justice and Deputy Attourney General for the Gouvernement du Quebec.

In addition, she held a number of positions within the Authorite des marches financiers, including Director of legal Affairs and Director general of market Supervision and Legal Affairs. 

Nathalie G Drouin hold a bachelor’s degree in law and post-graduate diploma in business administration, both from Universite Laval. She has been a member of the Quebec Bar since 1992.

Taimar Peterkop

Secretary of State, 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.

Seppo Määttä

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

Seppo Määttä was born in June 12th of 1966 in Finland and has a Doctorate in Economics and a Master’s degree in Administrative Sciences. Mr Määttä’s doctoral dissertation is on the interpretation horizons of strategy and strategic information. Mr Määttä has been married with his wife Päivi for 34 years, have two adult sons and two Australian Cobber dogs Pablo and Pietro.

From 1994-1997, Seppo worked as the management adviser at the Nordic Council of Ministers in Copenhagen. When coming back to Finland, Mr Määttä worked at the Ministry of Finance in Finland for 7 years as the top management adviser, where he was responsible for ministry´s strategy process, as well as  the implementation and reporting. He was also a member of the ministry´s management group.

In 2004-2006 Seppo worked in the Netherlands at the European Institute of Public Administration (EIPA) as an expatriate from the Ministry of Finance. Määttä’s task was to meet management of the centre of government, as well as ministries of finance and economy, in several EU-member states in order to find out what kind of expectations the member states had regarding the Lisbon strategy and its implementation during the Finnish EU Presidency in autumn 2006. He Mr Määttä was managing the project on the Lisbon strategy and the role of the public administration.

In 2006 Mr Määttä was appointed managing director of the newly established management consultancy and training company Talent Partners Public Consulting Ltd (TPC). TPC achieved a leading position among the competitors on the market of public administration in years 2006-2011. Mr Määttä resigned from the TPC to establish a new company of his own called BroadScope Management Consulting Ltd in Nov. 2011.

In 2018 Mr Määttä was appointed head of the new Strategy department in the Chancellory of the Government. His work has opened up a wide-ranging view of society and its actors both in Finland and internationally. He has participated in the meetings of the Centres of Government, which have been arranged by the OECD.

Mr Määttä have written several articles and books on strategic management in the public sector. He also have given hundreds of presentations in Finland and abroad on public management, public sector strategies, governance systems and mechanisms and phenomenon based budgeting and management.

HE Bima Haria Wibisana

Acting Chairman, National Civil Service Agency, Indonesia

Currently, Bima serves as Acting Chairman of the National Civil Service Agency and Vice-Chairman of the Indonesian Civil Servants Corps. He holds degrees from the University of Pittsburgh – USA (PhD – Public Policy and Administration), DePaul University – USA (Master of Science in Information Systems), and the Institute of Technology 10 November – Indonesia (Production Mechanical Engineering Engineer).

He joined NCSA as Vice-Chairman from 2013-2015. In 2015 he was appointed by the President of the Republic of Indonesia as Chairman of NCSA until 2021. Prior to joining NCSA, Bima holds several critical posts, such as Deputy Chairman of the National Public Procurement Agency (2010-2012), Deputy Chairman Aceh-Nias Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Agency (2005-2009), Director of the Ministry of National Development Planning (1998-2004). He is also a University of Indonesia Lecturer (1997-present).

Bima is experienced in overseeing government organizations, disaster management, and quasi-public organizations. He has worked in several Ministries and Government Agencies for over 30 years. Bima has a strong background in Administration and Public Policy, Strategic Management, Human Resources Management, Information System Management, Development Planning, and Change and Reform Management.

He has had distinguished accomplishments. During his leadership, NCSA successfully innovated a National Civil Service Recruitment System (NCSRS) through CAT (Computer Assisted Test) – computerized examinations in Indonesia. The NCSA received international recognition for its work in implementing the CAT system, receiving an award for “Public Sector Organisation of the Year” from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) at the 2014 Asia Pacific “FutureGov Summit” in Malaysia. Domestically, the NCSA received an award from the Ministry of Law and Human Rights for its work to improve civil service recruitment and selection in 2017. The CAT System was also awarded the Top 10 World Bank Global Report on Public Sector Performance in 2018.

Bima also strives to integrate all civil servant data in Indonesia through One Data Policy. NCSA has built Civil Servant Information System (SIASN) as a national civil servants database. In addition, NCSA won the 13^th Unqualified Opinion (WTP) title from The Ministry of the Finance Republic of Indonesia. NCSA has obtained this title consecutively since 2009. This proves that NCSA runs a quality government accounting system and international standards and meets good governance principles. NCSA was also awarded in Meritocracy Award by Indonesian Civil Service Commission in 2022.

John McCarthy

Chief Economist, Government of Ireland, Ireland

John McCarthy is an Assistant Secretary General and as Chief Economist has responsibility for the Economic Division .

He was previously a senior economist in the Department heading up the macro economic analysis unit. He is the deputy member of the Economic and Financial Committee and the chair of the Economic Policy Committee (EPC) output gap working group.

He is a member of the National Statistics Board and an adviser to the National Competitiveness Council. He is the Irish member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) Economic Policy Committee. Prior to joining the Department, he was a senior economist in the Central Bank.

Katsura Ito

Commissioner, National Personnel Authority, Japan

Katsura Ito has been a proven strategic business leader in the software industry. She has over 20 years of experience in the enterprise IT/software industry in various roles such as systems engineer, and marketing and business management. Her strong passion is for transforming the legacy Japanese companies/organizations through digital transformation and diversifying of talents.

Ms. Ito started her career in IBM Japan then moved to Adobe Systems, and worked for Microsoft. While at Microsoft, she served several leadership roles including for technology evangelism, sales, customer success, and finally served as Chief Learning Officer. With this scope, she has been leading digital skill building programs across Japan, supporting various organizations/companies’ digital transformation along with organizational modernization.

In 2022, Ms. Ito was appointed as a Commissioner of the National Personnel Authority (NPA), where she focuses on transformation of government officials through digital skill building, diversity and work style innovation.

Kok Kee LIM

Senior Vice President, Government Engagement, Asia Pacific, Mastercard

As Mastercard’s regional lead for government engagement, Kok Kee leads the team that partners with government agencies across the Asia Pacific region to accelerate their digital transformation agendas. In this role, he is responsible for bringing Mastercard’s products, services and ecosystem capabilities to bear to solve for the challenges that governments face today across a range of areas spanning financial inclusion and inclusive growth, citizen service efficiency and government operational excellence.

Kok Kee started his career at Mastercard with Advisors, the firm’s consulting business, where he covered business development in Southeast Asia, working with financial institutions and merchant partners on a range of strategic, commercial and operational initiatives. Thereafter, he was tapped to lead the Strategy and Program Management Office for Mastercard in China, to help drive Mastercard’s business expansion in the market.

Prior to joining Mastercard, Kok Kee held several leadership roles at Visa and the Boston Consulting Group (BCG). Kok Kee holds a Master of Philosophy degree in Economics from the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom and a Master of Business Administration degree from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, in the United States.

Nicola Villa

Executive Vice President, Strategic Growth, Mastercard

Nicola is a Mastercard senior executive focused at the intersection between Digital Technologies, Inclusive & Sustainable Growth and Government Innovation. Nicola runs Mastercard’s Government Engagement programs, at global level. He is also a member of Mastercard International Markets’ senior leadership team.

Prior to that, Nicola worked as Executive Partner at IBM’s Global Business Services, where he led Digital Innovation programs for the public sector. In this role he co-developed Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things and Big Data solutions, with leading agencies. He also led the Internet of Things commercial business in Europe, across all industry segments.

Prior to joining IBM, Nicola worked for Cisco for 20 years where he incubated the company’s digital consulting unit, set up Cisco’s Smart Cities program helping create a 1.2B$ business, led the global Data & Analytics unit, launched Cisco’s Country Digitization Acceleration program and worked as member of Cisco China’s Board.

Nicola is an Executive Member of the Board at the World Economic Forum’s Future of Urbanization initiative, a co-founder with the City of Barcelona of The City Protocol Society and of Metropolis’ “Partnership for Urban Innovation” commission.

Nicola holds an Industrial Economics degree from Universita’ Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan, Italy, and a BA from Brighton University in the UK (Erasmus program).

Heather Baggott

Deputy Public Service Commissioner, Public Service Commission, New Zealand

Heather Baggott is Deputy Public Service Commissioner at Te Kawa Mataaho Public Service Commission, where she works alongside the Commissioner to provide leadership and oversight of the New Zealand Public Service. She has a particular focus on system-wide efforts to improve diversity, inclusion, leadership development, and the Maori-Crown aspects of public service reform. Heather has held a number of senior leadership roles in the public service, including in justice, courts and tribunals administration, treaty negotiations, and as Acting Chief Executive and Secretary for Culture and Heritage.

Heather has tribal affiliations to Maniapoto and Te Atiawa. She is a Global Women Breakthrough Leaders alumnus and holds a Bachelor of Management Studies (First Class Honours) from Waikato University. She is motivated by service to others, growing future leaders and creating inter-generational change that improves the lives of New Zealanders and achieves equity across Aotearoa New Zealand.

Alex Chadwick

Deputy Commissioner, Workforce, Employment, and Equity, Public Service Commission, New Zealand

Alex Chadwick is Deputy Public Service Commissioner Workforce, Employment Relations and Equity at Te Kawa Mataaho Public Service Commission. In this role, Alex is responsible for driving improvements in fair reward and recognition and other areas that contribute to the New Zealand Public Service being an exemplar employer. With a background as an employment lawyer, Alex has significant experience leading and implementing employment relations and workforce strategy in the public and private sectors.  

Prior to this role, Alex led the Government’s Gender Pay Taskforce and continues to lead the Government’s work programme to close gender and ethnic pay gaps across the Public Service. Under Alex’s leadership, the Public Service gender pay gap has dropped by 30% to the lowest level since measurement began and ethnic pay gaps have also reduced.

Alex recently led a taskforce to negotiate a Public Sector wide Pay Adjustment, taking a joined-up approach to resolving negotiations and providing certainty in volatile and inflationary times, both for public servants and for the New Zealanders who depend on their services. Alex also sits on the Public Sector Pay Equity Governance Group – established by Ministers to provide advice and assurance to agencies and the Government on the progression of Public Sector pay equity claims under New Zealand’s Equal Pay legislation.

Dr Folasade Omolara Yemi-Esan

Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Nigeria 

Dr. Folasade Yemi-Esan attended the prestigious University of Ibadan, Nigeria, where she graduated as best Bachelor of Dental Surgery student in 1987.

She also holds a Certificate in Health Planning and Management, and Masters Degree in Public and International Administration both with distinctions from the Universities of Ilorin and Lagos respectively. She started her career at the Federal Ministry of Health and rose to become a Director and served in different positions, including: Coordinator of Oral Health in Schools Programme, Liaison Officer West Africa Health Organisation (WAHO) and Director, Health Planning Research and Statistics.

Dr. Yemi-Esan, rose to the position of Federal Permanent Secretary in 2012 serving first as Permanent Secretary, Service Policy and Strategy Office in the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation and thereafter in the Federal Ministry of Information, Federal Ministry of Education and Career Management Office (OHCSF).

Before her appointment as Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Dr. Yemi-Esan was Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum Resources, where she was appointed as Director on the Boards of the Nigeria LNG and Bonny Gas Transport Ltd.

Under the leadership of Dr. Yemi-Esan, the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation has recorded a number of remarkable and unprecedented strides which are a precursor to the implementation of the flagship Enterprise Content Management Solution aimed at digitizing records and automating processes in the Nigerian Public Service.

Karlo Alexei Nograles

Chairperson, Civil Service Commission, Philippines 

Atty. Karlo Alexei B. Nograles is the Chairperson of the Civil Service Commission (CSC). Before being appointed to the CSC, he served as Cabinet Secretary and head of the Office of the Cabinet Secretariat. He served as close adviser to the President and ensured close coordination among the different agencies of government, such as DILG, DPWH, DSWD, DOH, among others.

Prior to his appointment as Cabinet Secretary, he chaired the House Committee on Appropriations, which approves the national budget for the annual expenses of the government.

He served as a three-term Congressional Representative of the 1st District of Davao City. During his stint as a Congressman, Chairperson Nograles also advocated for the Cancer Care Bill, the Universal Health Care Bill, and a bill that aims to have regular officials of barangays receive a monthly salary

A lawyer by profession, he previously worked for the Nograles Law Firm in Davao City.

He is the recipient of numerous prestigious awards as an outstanding legislator. He received the Golden Globe Awards for Excellence in Public Service in 2015 and 2016 and was also recognized as an Outstanding Congressman in 2012 and 2015 by Superbrands Marketing International. He also received the TESDA KABALIKAT Award for Region XI in 2013 and in 2015.

Chairperson Nograles is a graduate of the Philippine Science High School. He holds a degree in BS Management Engineering from the Ateneo de Manila University and a Juris Doctor from the Ateneo de Manila Law School.

CHAN Lai Fung

Permanent Secretary (National Research and Development), Permanent Secretary (Public Sector Science and Technology Policy and Plans Office), Prime Minister’s Office & Chairman, Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Singapore

Ms Chan Lai Fung was appointed Permanent Secretary (National Research and Development) and Permanent Secretary (Public Sector Science and Technology Policy and Plans Office), Prime Minister’s Office in 2019. She is also concurrently Chairman of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research. Prior to her current appointments, she was Permanent Secretary (Law) from 2006 to 2010, Permanent Secretary (Finance)(Performance) from 2009 to 2012, and Permanent Secretary (Education) from 2012 to 2019.

She has also served in various capacities in the Ministry of Communications and Information, Ministry of Health, Public Service Division of the Prime Minister’s Office, Ministry of the Environment, and the Ministry of Trade and Industry.

CHNG Kai Fong

Second Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Communication and Information and Second Permanent Secretary (Cybsersecurity), Prime Minister’s Office, Singapore

Mr Chng Kai Fong was appointed Second Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Communication and Information and Second Permanent Secretary (Cybersecurity), Prime Minister Office on 1 April 2022. He also holds the position of Second Permanent Secretary, Smart Nation and Digital Government Group in the Prime Minister’s Office.

He was previously the Managing Director of the Singapore Economic Development Board for 4 years between 2017 and 2021. Before EDB, Kai Fong served various roles in the Singapore Public Service, including as Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister from 2014 to 2017. He was also seconded to Shell from 2008 to 2010 to Shell’s Downstream Strategy unit.

Kai Fong currently serves on the boards of DBS Group Holdings and DBS Bank, and the Singapore Symphonia Company Limited. He is also a member of Shell’s New Energies Advisory Board. He also serves as a member of the Board of Trustees for Singapore University of Technology and Design.

Kai Fong graduated from the University of Cambridge with a Master in Engineering in 2001 and was a Sloan Fellow with a Master of Science in Management from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business in 2012.

Cindy Khoo

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

She started her career in the Singapore Public Service in the Ministry of Trade and Industry as a trade officer. Since then she has handled multiple portfolios in the Ministry of Health, Prime Minister’s Office – Public Service Division and Ministry of Education. She first joined Strategy Group in 2019 and oversaw functions such as Strategic Planning; Futures; and Organisational Development, before taking on the Deputy Secretary role in Sep 2021.

Prior to joining the Singapore Public Service, she worked in SembCorp Logistics in Shanghai. She holds a B.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering and an A.B. in Political Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and a Master in Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.

LOH Khum Yean

Permanent Secretary, Public Service Division, Prime Minister’s Office and Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Law, Singapore

Khum Yean graduated from Hitotsubashi University, Japan with a Bachelor of Economics.  He also holds a Masters in Public Administration from the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, USA.

He started his career in the Singapore Civil Service with the then-Ministry of Communications, where he worked on the areas of Air & Land Transportation and Telecommunications.  He later took up appointments as Director of Personnel Policy in the Public Service Division of the Prime Minister’s Office, and Director of Research and Planning at the Ministry of Trade & Industry.

He was subsequently appointed Deputy Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, where he was responsible for building a financial environment conducive to business and enterprise, and for enhancing organizational excellence in the public sector.

From October 2003 to April 2008, he was Chief Executive of SPRING Singapore, where he led the Statutory Board’s efforts to enhance the competitiveness and enable the growth of local enterprises.

He was appointed Deputy Secretary (Industry) of the Ministry of Trade & Industry in mid-2008, where he was responsible for the development of Singapore’s industry sectors and enterprises.

He was appointed Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Manpower from October 2009 to April 2016; and Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Trade & Industry from May 2016 to March 2019.

From April 2019, he has served as Permanent Secretary of the Public Service Division, Prime Minister’s Office.   He was concurrently appointed as Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Law from December 2019 to Oct 2020. He assumed concurrent appointment as Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Law with effect from April 2022.

Peter ONG Boon Kwee

Chairman of Enterprise Singapore, Board Member, Monetary Authority of Singapore, Singapore (Alumni)

Appointed as Chairman of Enterprise Singapore since 1 April 2018, Mr Peter Ong Boon Kwee plays a key role in steering Enterprise Singapore’s efforts to grow stronger Singapore enterprises. He works closely with the Board of Directors and executive management team in providing greater support to Singapore companies looking to build new capabilities and internationalise.

Mr Ong retired from the Singapore Public Service on 1 September 2017. Prior to his retirement, Mr Ong was Head of Civil Service, a position he held since 2010. In 2016, he was also concurrently appointed as Permanent Secretary (Prime Minister’s Office) (Strategy) where he oversaw the formation of the PMO Strategy Group to support the Prime Minister and his Cabinet in establishing priorities and strengthening strategic alignment across Government.

Mr Ong also previously held the positions of Permanent Secretary in various Ministries like Finance, Trade and Industry, Transport and Defence. His other previous postings include stints at Temasek Holdings (Private) Limited – a Government investment holding company, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and Ministry of Home Affairs.

Throughout his 30 over years in the Singapore Public Service, Mr Ong has been involved in many areas of strategic policy making and governance spanning economic, social, security and international spheres. He was also the G20 Sherpa for Singapore, and the Chairman of The High Level Taskforce on ASEAN Economic Integration. He also sat on the Boards of listed companies like SingTel, DBS Bank and ST Engineering. Mr Ong was also Chairman of key statutory boards like the Defence Science & Technology Agency, Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority and the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore.

Mr Ong currently sits on the Boards of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (Chairman of Board Risk Committee) and the Lee Kuan Yew Exchange Fellowship. He has also been appointed as Special Global Advisor for Antler Innovation Pte Ltd.

He was awarded the Colombo Plan Scholarship to pursue his Bachelor of Economics at the University of Adelaide, Australia and graduated with first class honours. He graduated top of his Masters in Business Administration class from Stanford University, USA in 1993 as Henry Ford II and Arjay Miller Scholar.

TAN Gee Keow

Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, Singapore

Ms Tan Gee Keow is the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth.  The Ministry aims to build a more cohesive and vibrant society, and to deepen the sense of identity and belonging to Singapore.

Prior to this, Ms Tan was the Deputy Secretary of Strategy Group in the Prime Minister’s Office.  She had also served as the Deputy Secretary (Policy) at the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources, and before that in various government agencies such as the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Defence, the Central Singapore Community Development Council, Public Service Commission Secretariat and the Ministry of Finance.

Ms Tan graduated from the London School of Economics and Political Science with a Bachelor of Science in Economics.  She obtained her Masters of Philosophy in Economics from the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, and a Master of Science in Management at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.

Ms Tan is also Chairman of Singapore Sports School, a Board member of the Civil Service College (CSC) and a Board member of the Singapore Totalisator Board (Tote Board).

TEOH Zsin Woon

Second Permanent Secretary, Public Service Division, Prime Minister’s Office, Ministry of National Development, Singapore

Ms Teoh Zsin Woon is Second Permanent Secretary in the Public Service Division, Prime Minister’s Office and concurrently Second Permanent Secretary in Ministry of National Development in Singapore.

Prior to her current role, she was Deputy Secretary (Transformation) where she oversaw public sector transformation and curates service-wide efforts to achieve deeper transformation at the Whole-of-Government, agency and individual levels. She championed multi-agency efforts to develop integrated service delivery for citizens and businesses. This not only involved leveraging on digital technology but also deepening engagement with citizens to better appreciate their challenges so that the Public Service can better design solutions. Zsin Woon also oversaw public sector workforce development and was involved in setting up the SG United Jobs and Skills Package initiative as a response to support Singaporeans who were displaced from their jobs arising from the COVID-19 crisis.

Zsin Woon was also Deputy Secretary (Development) in the Ministry of Health where she oversaw ageing issues, healthcare infrastructure development and capacity management and development of integrated care. Zsin Woon also had done previous postings in the Ministry of the Environment and Water, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Manpower, Workforce Development Agency, People’s Association and Ministry of National Development.

NG How Yue 

Permanent Secretary (Health Development), Ministry of Health, Singapore 

Mr Ng How Yue was appointed Permanent Secretary (Health Development), Ministry of Health in December 2019.

Prior to that, Mr Ng was Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Law in Dec 2014 and was appointed concurrently as Second Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Health in 1 January 2017.

Mr Ng was Second Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Trade & Industry in October 2011.

He was also the Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister from September 2008.

He has held positions in several Ministries and government agencies.

Mr Ng graduated from the University of London, Imperial College with a Bachelor degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering. He also has a Masters of Science in Management from Stanford University.

Chief of Government Services of the United Arab Emirates Government, United Arab Emirates

His Excellency Mohammed Bin Taliah is the Chief of Government Services of the United Arab Emirates Government, where he oversees improving government services and implementing programs to ensure providing high quality services through the Emirates Government Service Excellence Program (EGSEP), which aims to raise the efficiency of government services and improve customer experience. He also oversees other programs including the Global Star Rating System, Khadamati system, and the Best M-Government Award, an international annual award aiming to encourage government entities and students to develop innovative solutions in the field of smart applications.

Bin Taliah has previously held several managerial positions in various fields in the public and private sectors, including IT, cyber security, corporate governance, media, and ICT. From 2014 to 2019, he served as Assistant Director General for the Corporate Services Sector at the Prime Minister’s Office, in the Ministry of Cabinet Affairs.

Bin Taliah holds the Executive Certificate in Leadership and Management from MIT Sloan School of Management, a Master of Science degree in Project Management from the British University in Dubai, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Engineering from Khalifa University in Abu Dhabi.

Sapana Agrawal

Director, Modernisation and Reform, Cabinet Office, United Kingdom

Sapana Agrawal is the Director for Modernisation and Reform in the Cabinet Office, responsible for the strategy and delivery of the cross-government transformation and reform and for the Evaluation Task Force. Previously she was a Director in the COVID-19 Taskforce in No10 and the Cabinet Office. Sapana joined the UK Government from McKinsey – where she was a Associate Partner supporting the firm on its own expansion in technology and innovation and supporting clients globally on operationalising reskilling programs as part of major digital transformations.

Arturo Herrera Gutierrez

Global Director for Governance Global Practice, Equitable Growth, Finance, and Institutions Practice Group (EFI) Vice Presidency, World Bank

Mr. Herrera, a Mexican National, has extensive experience in governance, as a practitioner and from the development and academic perspectives. He joined the World Bank in 2010 as Senior Public Sector Management Specialist in the Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region. He held various positions in the Bank including as Sector Manager in LAC, Practice Manager in Governance Global Practice for the LAC and East Asia and the Pacific regions in the Global Unit before leaving the World Bank Group in 2018. 

Between 2018 and 2021 he has held leadership positions in the Government of Mexico as Co-Head of the Finance Team in Presidential Transition Team, Deputy Finance Minister and, most recently, as Minister of Finance and Public Credit.

As Global Director for Governance, Mr. Herrera’s priorities include leading the formulation of strategy and engagement of the Bank’s work on public institutions and country-level governance, especially in fragile, conflict and violent settings; maximizing the effectiveness of operational support for public financial management and public procurement; fostering excellence in the Governance Practice’s work on public sector administration and operational support for legal and judicial reforms.

Mr. Herrera has also taught Monetary and Banking and Macro and Micro Economics at both El Colegio de Mexico and New York University where he completed his doctoral studies in Economics.