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).
Peter Ong Boon Kwee
Chairman of Enterprise Singapore, Senior Economic Advisor, Ministry of Trade and Industry, Singapore
Mr Peter Ong Boon Kwee was born in Singapore. 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 at Stanford University, USA, in 1993, and is a Henry Ford II and Arjay Miller Scholar.
Mr Ong was appointed Chairman of Enterprise Singapore following the announcement of the merger of International Enterprise (IE) Singapore and SPRING Singapore. As Chairman of Enterprise Singapore, Mr Ong drives efforts to grow stronger Singapore enterprises by supporting them to build new capabilities and internationalise.
In January 2018, Mr Ong was also appointed Senior Economic Advisor at the Ministry of Trade and Industry, where he provides strategic advice on economic strategies and policies as well as champion efforts to enable robust enterprise growth.
Mr Ong retired from the Administrative 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 – Strategy, at the Prime Minister’s Office, where he oversaw 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 the Ministry of Finance; the National Security Intelligence Co-ordination Secretariat; Ministry of Trade and Industry; Ministry of Transport; and Ministry of Defence. Other previous postings include stints at Temasek Holdings – a Government investment holding company; the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology; and the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Mr Ong currently sits on the Boards of the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Lee Kuan Yew Exchange Fellowship. He was conferred the (Honorary) Knight of the Most Distinguished Order Of The Crown by The Yang di-Pertuan Agong Malaysia XIV on 2 June 2012, an award which carries the title “Tan Sri”. He was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal by the President of Singapore in 2010.
Sirpa Kekkonen
Counsellor on Government Strategy and Former Head of the Finnish Government’s Strategy Secretariat, Prime Minister´s Office, Finland
Ms Kekkonen works in the Finnish Prime Minister’s Office since 2003 as Counsellor on Strategy of the Finnish Government. As head of Government Strategy Secretariat, she has been responsible for running the Government’s strategy process including the regular Government strategy sessions and biannual strategic situation awareness sessions. The strategy work contains coordination of the policymaking of the Ministries and policy programmes. Her special expertise covers e.g. the use of evidence and foresight in the Government’s strategic policy-making.
Master of Laws 1979 and Master of Political Science 2008. Before the PMO, Ms. Kekkonen had several duties in the Finnish Ministry of Finance, designing and advising the Finnish Government’s Governance Reform policies. Earlier she has also worked as the Director of the Finnish Institute of Public Management HAUS.
Sirpa Kekkonen has an extensive experience in international cooperation on Governance policies, Strategic policy-making as well as governmental Foresight systems. Her international activities include e.g. working as an expert in the OECD Secretariat and acting as Senior advisor in several international development projects, including EU-funded capacity building projects. The most up-to-date major international project, where Kekkonen is deeply involved, is the EU-funded project on a New Model for Anticipatory Innovative Governance, managed by the OECD-OPSI.
Ms. Kekkonen has been in central position in introducing the new strategic working process and leadership model of the Finnish Government. An important part of the reform has been enhancing systemic approach in the Finnish Government policies, e.g. in the fields of digitalization and transfer to Carbon free society. Ms. Kekkonen is a key actor in introducing experimentation approach and strengthening innovative capacity of the Finnish Government.
Joyce Dimech
Permanent Secretary, Ministry for the National Heritage, the Arts and Local Government / Ministry for Research, Innovation and the Co-ordination of Post Covid-19 Strategy, Malta
Ms Joyce Dimech joined the Public Service in 1986, holding various positions within the Ministry for Gozo and the Office of the Prime Minister ever since. She had several positions within different sections of the Ministry for Gozo, including Education, Care for the Elderly, and EU Affairs.
In 2004 she was appointed Director Customer Services, ably leading this major public service directorate in Gozo. In March 2013 she was appointed Permanent Secretary within the Ministry for Gozo and in April 2014 she was appointed Permanent Secretary (Strategy & Implementation) within the Office of the Prime Minister. In July 2020, Ms. Dimech was appointed Permanent Secretary at the Ministry for the National Heritage, the Arts and Local Government. In November 2020 she was also appointed Permanent Secretary at the Ministry for Research, Innovation and the Co-Ordination of Post Covid-19 Strategy.
Ms Dimech received her Bachelor of Arts and Diploma in Management from the University of Malta.
Hannah Cameron
Deputy Commissioner, Public Service Commission, New Zealand
Hannah joined the SSC in April 2018, having previously held the role of Deputy Chief Policy Officer at the Ministry of Health.
Hannah came to New Zealand from the United Kingdom in 2004, in search of a home where she could continue to work at the centre of policy-making and democracy, but also have easy access to the great outdoors. She found Island Bay, Wellington, and has not looked back since. She believes that New Zealand can be a wonderful place to raise a family, and is frustrated that not all New Zealanders have equal access to a safe and fulfilling life.
Hannah has worked in the New Zealand public service for 14 years in government departments that also include the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Justice and Department of Internal Affairs. During that time, she has worked on policy issues as varied as family violence, organ donation, special education and medicinal cannabis, building a strong network of colleagues across government.
Hannah grew up in Nottingham, has a MA in social and political sciences from the University of Cambridge and spent the first part of her career in London as part of the UK Government’s Fast Stream programme.
Dustin Brown
Deputy Assistant Director for Management, Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in the Executive Office of the President, United States
Dustin Brown is the Deputy Assistant Director for Management at the Office of Management and Budget in the Executive Office of the President.
Dustin is a member of the Senior Executive Service and is the career lead for the Federal government’s efforts to improve the mission, service, and stewardship of government through the President’s Management Agenda. He helps lead the OMB’s Office of Performance and Personnel Management which is responsible for leading several government-wide initiatives that require coordination across multiple agencies; improving the Federal government’s mission performance outcomes; and developing Federal workforce policies.
Dustin helps lead a number of inter-agency efforts including improving the infrastructure permitting process, the security clearance process, shifting from low value to high value work, improving customer experience and improving program performance. In 2010, he worked with Congress to design and enact the Federal government’s performance framework through the Government Performance and Results Act Modernization Act.
Dustin has represented the United States on the OECD Public Governance Committee since 2010, and was elected to become its Chair in 2018. He is a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration, was a Visiting Senior Fellow at the Volcker Alliance, a Visiting Fellow of Practice at Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government, and professor of practice at the LBJ School of Public Affairs.
Dustin joined OMB’s Housing Branch in August, 2001, worked in OMB’s International Affairs Division, and as the OMB Director’s Special Assistant for Policy. He has a Master’s in Public Administration from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University and has a Bachelor’s degree from Manchester University in Indiana. Dustin also received a Fulbright Scholarship to study in Quito, Ecuador.
Mikhail Pryadilnikov
Head, Center of Competence for Digital Government Transformation; and Deputy Director, Analytic Center for the Russian Government, Russia
The Analytic Center for the Russian Government provides on-demand information analytics and expert support for departments; and as Deputy Director, Mikhail Pryadilnikov is responsible for strategic management, regional development, SME support, public administration and investment climate reform.
Mikhail has also recently been appointed as Head, Center of Competence for Digital Government Transformation, a top-level unit with a particular focus on government digital services established to support public sector organizations in managing their digital transformation programmes.
He previously served as the director of the Department for Strategic Planning, Government Programs and Investment Projects at the Ministry of Economic Development. Prior to joining the federal government, he worked for Moscow city government as the Head of Economic Policy and Development.
Mr Priyadilnikov studied economics and philosophy in the USA and was awarded a PhD in government and political science by Harvard University. He was a Post-Doctoral Fellow at Harvard’s Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies, and a Visiting Lecturer at the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Before joining the civil service, he spent 10 years as a consultant at the World Bank in Washington DC, working in the Middle East and North Africa unit on anti-corruption and civil service reforms in Lebanon, Egypt, Yemen, and the West Bank & Gaza.
Kong Sophy
Director General, General Department of Civil Service Policy, and Head of Secretariat of Public Administrative Reform Committee, Ministry of Civil Service, Cambodia
Mr Kong Sophy is the Director General of Civil Service Policy, and Head of the Secretariat of Public Administrative Reform Committee, Ministry of Civil Service, Cambodia.
Mr Kong was the deputy secretary general of the Council for Administrative Reform since 2005. He spent seven years on secondment to the Extraordinary Chambers in the Court of Cambodia (ECCC). Until resuming his job in the Ministry of Civil Service in 2013, he was the Chief of Court Management Section since 2011. Before being appointed as Head of the Interpretation and Translation Unit in 2007, he was the legal office and court interpreter/translator in the ECCC.
Since starting his career in 2000, Mr Kong held numerous positions in the Office of Council of Ministers including Deputy Secretary General of the Council for Administrative Reform (CAR), Director of Priority Mission Group (PMG) Program, Director of Governance Project, counterpart with international development donors, and assistant to the Program Manager for National Program for Public Administrative Reform.
Mr Kong has experience and knowledge in local and regional activities. He is an active senior official in the ASEAN Conference on Civil Service Matters (ACCSM).
Mr Kong holds a Master’s Degree of Public Management from Potsdam University in Germany, a Senior Official Diploma of Public Administration from the Royal School of Administration, and two Bachelor’s – one in Law from the Faculty of Law and Economic Sciences and the other in Management from the National Institute of Management in Phnom Penh.
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.
Catarina Maria Romão Gonçalves
Deputy General Secretary of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, Portugal
Catarina Romão Gonçalves is, since 2013, Deputy General Secretary of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers of Portugal.
In this position, and among other functions, she is responsible for ensuring the liaison of the Secretary General of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers with members of the Government, and their respective Offices, as well as with other entities in the public and private sector.
She is also responsible for fostering, on an ongoing basis, curiosity, innovation and change, reinforcing the General Secretariat of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers as a reference body integrated in the Portuguese CoG.
She holds a degree in Law and a Postgraduate degree in Artistic Programming Management and in her career had been also Director of two national theatres in Portugal.
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.
Peter Pogačar
Director General – Public Sector Directorate, Ministry of Public Administration, Slovenia
Peter Pogačar is responsible for systemic regulation, organisation, and operation of the public sector. He holds a Degree in Law from the University of Ljubljana and has passed the bar examination. He started his professional career at the Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities as an adviser to the Slovenian Government focusing on the development of supplementary pension insurance within the first major pension reform.
In 2004, he became Director of the Pension Insurance Department where he was in charge of the pension funds managed by the Capital Fund. From 2009 to 2015, he was Director General of the Labour relations and Labour Rights Directorate at Ministry of Labour. During his mandate, he conducted and successfully concluded drafting of the pension and labour market reforms. In 2015, he was appointed State Secretary at the Ministry of Labour, where his main responsibility was regulation of labour market and social security systems in Slovenia.
In September 2019, he was designated Director General of the Public Sector Directorate at the Ministry of Public Administration and Chief Government Negotiator for negotiations with public sector. His mission is modernization of public sector in Slovenia.
Alex Chisholm
Chief Operating Officer, Civil Service and Permanent Secretary, Cabinet Office, United Kingdom
Alex Chisholm became Civil Service Chief Operating Officer and Cabinet Office Permanent Secretary in April 2020. Prior to that, he was Permanent Secretary at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy between 2016 and 2020. He is also a trustee and Deputy Chair at the international charity Breadline Africa.
Previously he was Permanent Secretary for the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), having previously served as Chief Executive of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), Chairperson and Commissioner of Ireland’s communications regulatory agency, ComReg, Chair of the Economic Regulators Network in Ireland and has held senior executive positions in the media, technology and e-commerce industries, with Pearson plc, Financial Times Group, eCountries Inc and Ecceleration Ltd.
Richard Smith-Bingham
Executive Director, Marsh McLennan Advantage
Richard is an Executive Director in Marsh McLennan, a leading professional services firm which comprises the largest insurance and reinsurance brokers in the world and also two leading consulting businesses that focus on organisational strategy, risk management, investment solutions, and workforce development.
He leads a global team that helps develop Marsh McLennan’s perspectives on macro-level risks and other transformational agenda – including climate resilience, cyber resilience, healthy societies, innovations in infrastructure, transformative technologies, and workforce for the future.
Richard specializes in emerging risks, which has him exploring trends and disruptions in the macro-level risk landscape and advising companies and governments on how to better anticipate and respond to new complex threats.
He is a longstanding contributor to, and Advisory Board member of, the World Economic Forum Global Risks Report, a Steering Group member of the OECD’s High-Level Risk Forum (which focuses on country-level risk governance arrangements), and a commissioner on the UK’s National Preparedness Commission.
Lisa Quest
Senior Partner, Head of Public Sector Europe, Oliver Wyman
Lisa is a Senior Partner and Head of the Public Sector Practice for Europe at Oliver Wyman, a leading international management consultancy and part of Marsh McLennan. She specialises in Economic Crime, Climate & Sustainability and the promotion of a safe digital economy.
As a member of the European Leadership team, she has been at the forefront of ground-breaking concepts and ideas, championing the aim to bring digital into government and using a data-driven approach to policy development and core service delivery. This has strengthened the government’s ability to address critical issues such as climate change and the post-covid recovery agenda, giving key decision-makers a strategic push underpinned by effective data usage.
Jennifer Duncan
Vice-President Government Innovation, Mastercard
Jennifer has spent most of her career in government affairs and communications. In 2020, she was named as the industry’s Emerging Female Leader and was also recognised as a Policymaker & Regulatory Expert – making the Women in global FinTech Powerlist. In her current role, she focuses on collaborating to address societal problems facing governments, the wider public sector and the citizens they serve. While based in London, she leads the company’s global external innovation and outreach programme for Government.
Jennifer is a frequent commentator on government and societal issues and has been a member of multiple industry/government working groups tackling a broad range of issues. She is a passionate advocate for digital financial inclusion.
She is currently leading Mastercard’s work with governments around the world to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic. Jennifer is a passionate believer in public private partnerships and has been involved in a wide range of policy issues including contactless transport, social welfare, digital procurement, financial inclusion, security and sustainability.
Jennifer is a member of the UK Government’s ‘Inclusive Economy Partnership Financial Inclusion Steering Group’ and she led a govt/industry initiative to reduce a card fraud for the UK Home Office (2016-2018).
She is an advocate for financial inclusion and is Non-Executive Director of ‘Fair for You’, an ethical alternative lender focused on alleviating poverty. Jennifer chaired Project Inclusion on behalf of the ‘Emerging Payments Association’ playing a leading role in launching the world’s first inclusion specific transactional banking comparison tool and accreditation service (2019). She also supported the creation and work of The Independent Financial Inclusion Commission in the UK (2014-2017).
Before joining Mastercard Jennifer worked for Tesco, holding a variety of roles across Tesco Bank and the wider Retail Group. Prior to this, Jennifer was a member of the public affairs team at DLA Piper.
Jennifer is ‘Girls4Tech’ champion and has a First in Politics and International Relations from the ‘University of Aberdeen’.
Andreas Spycher
Principal – Mastercard Data & Services
Andreas Spycher is Principal at Mastercard and based in Singapore. In this role, his focus lies on leading the development of Mastercard Data & Service solutions in the governments, government agencies and tourism organization. His aim is to support and consult these customers to build strong disbursement programs, improve their digital collection services, build and enhance smart city functionalities and help to grow tourism revenues.
Activities at Mastercard
Andreas started his career at Mastercard in 2009, with responsibilities such as expanding travel merchant acceptance, developing Mastercard airline and hotel industry vertical solution suite and managing their international expansions and collections. As an industry expert he took over roles with focus on enhancing customer loyalty solutions, delivering higher customer portfolio performance and developing customer acquisition. With his broad background he now supports government partners to digitize citizen engagements and visitor experiences, drive SME expansion and develop post pandemic tourism expenditures.
Professional Background
Andreas started his career in 1991 in the hotel, airline and travel industry. Prior to joining Mastercard, he worked at two major card issuing banks, where he launched multiple co-brand card programs and integrated airline miles programs into banking solutions.
Andreas moved to the payment industry in 2002, joined Mastercard in 2009 and relocated to Singapore in 2013.
Education and Other
Andreas holds an MBA from the University of St. Gall in Switzerland. During his broad carrier, Andreas has lived and worked in China, Korea, Germany, Belgium, Italy, USA, Switzerland and now in Singapore. Andreas speaks six languages.
Simon Willis
Vice President, Public Sector Innovation, Mastercard
Simon manages strategic government partnerships globally at Mastercard as well a number of related innovation projects. He also oversees climate change related product innovation. Formerly global head of public sector innovation at Cisco for many years, Simon has also worked at a number of Govtech start-ups and twice run UK voluntary sector organisations. The first half of his career was spent working for the UK Government on digital transformation and social security reform at DWP and at Her Majesty’s Treasury where he worked for Jeremy Heywood as head of financial crime. He is a widely acknowledged expert on managing complex innovation ecosystems for the public good and has published on the subject as well as addressing the UN, TEDX and many others.
Stephanie Foster
Deputy Secretary Governance, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Australia
Ms Foster joined the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet in December 2017, bringing more than 30 years’ public sector experience to the role. Her role sees her take a ‘whole picture’ outlook to deliver results on behalf of the Federal Government and Australian people: she is responsible for Cabinet and coordinating support for the Prime Minister; machinery of government, legal policy, and governance issues; and the department’s corporate management.
With an Arts (Hons) degree majoring in German Philosophy and English Literature, Stephanie joined the public service in 1987 as a graduate with the Department of Defence’s Intelligence Agency. She spent 16 years working across a range of areas, before spending six years working on international defence policy.
She subsequently took Deputy Secretary roles in the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, and at the then-Department of Regional Australia, Regional Development and Local Government. Most recently, she served as deputy Australian Public Service Commissioner from 2013-2017, where she spearheaded a drive to improve performance management across the APS.
Ms Foster has received several awards during her career, including the Public Service Medal – awarded in 2008 for her policy support to Australian Defence Force deployments overseas – and the French Officier de l’Ordre National du Merite for her work to develop defence relations between France and Australia.
Rina Bruinsma
Acting Deputy Commissioner, Public Service Commission, Australia
Ms Rina Bruinsma is the acting Deputy Commissioner at the Australian Public Service Commission. The Commission’s purpose is to position the Australian Public Service workforce for the future, and to ensure that it meets the demands and expectations of the Australian Government and people.
Ms Bruinsma has extensive public service experience in finance, labour market policy and transformation across the public sector. Rina has worked in various roles in policy development and implementation since 2006, including the delivery of programs that support people with disability and mental health issues, mature age job seekers, people from culturally and linguistically diverse. After Australia’s Black Summer bushfires, Rina was a Deputy Coordinator with the National Bushfire Recovery Agency, temporarily established to provide support to those affected by the 2019-20 bushfires.
Michael Wernick
Former Clerk to the Privy Council, Canada
Michael Wernick’s distinguished 38 year career as one of the key leaders of Canada’s world class federal public service culminated in serving from 2016 to 2019 as the 23rd Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to Cabinet.
With 28 years as an executive in the federal public service, including 17 years in the community of Deputy Ministers, and three as Clerk, Michael is one of Canada’s most experienced and influential public sector leaders. He appeared frequently at Parliamen-tary Committees, participated in dozens of intergovernmental and international meet-ings, and spoke at many conferences. Michael worked closely with three Prime Minis-ters and seven Ministers and attended close to 300 meetings of Cabinet and its com-mittees. He was the key public servant at Privy Council Office in three transitions of Prime Minister.
in October 2021 UBC Press released Wernick’s book “Governing Canada: A Guide to the Tradecraft of Politics” and Michael undertook an extensive series of media inter-views, podcasts and webinars to discuss this well received practical handbook for our political leaders and those who aspire to understand them.
As a Senior Strategic Advisor to MNP Inc and a Fellow and Adjunct Professor of the Carleton University School of Public Policy and Administration, Michael now provides advisory services and mentorship to emerging leaders and to new generations of stu-dents.
Michael received a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in Economics from the University of Toronto.
Loh Khum Yean
Permanent Secretary, Public Service Division, Prime Minister’s Office, Singapore
Loh Khum Yean graduated from Hitotsubashi University, Japan with a Bachelor of Economics. He also holds a Masters in Public Administration from Harvard University, USA.
He started his career in the Singapore Civil Service with the Ministry of Communications, where he handled portfolios in 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.
Subsequently, he was 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 as Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Trade & Industry from May 2016 to March 2019.
From April 2019, he has been appointed as Permanent Secretary of the Public Service Division, Prime Minister’s Office and subsequently as Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Law from December 2019 to October 2020.
Albert CHUA
Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment, Singapore
Mr Albert Chua is Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment (MSE).
Mr Chua joined the Singapore Administrative Service and was posted to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) in 1992 and served in various appointments.
Mr Chua attained a Master in Public Administration from the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University in 1999.
In Feb 2004, he was appointed Principal Private Secretary to Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong and later Senior Minister Goh from August 2004 to September 2007.
Mr Chua served as Singapore’s High Commissioner to Australia from March 2008 to June 2011, and Singapore’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York from August 2011 to June 2013. Mr Chua was Second Permanent Secretary (MFA) from August 2014 to September 2017 and appointed Permanent Secretary (MSE) on 1 October 2017.
Mr Chua is currently a Board Member of the Institute of South Asian Studies.
Cindy Khoo
Deputy Secretary, Prime Minister’s Office – Strategy Group, Singapore
Cindy Khoo is currently serving as 1 Deputy Secretary at the Singapore Prime Minister’s Office – Strategy Group.
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.
Kevin Cunnington
Former Digital Envoy for the UK and Director General, International Government Service, United Kingdom
Kevin became the Director General of the International Government Service and Digital Envoy for the UK in August 2019. Prior to that, he was the Director General of the Government Digital Service from August 2016 to July 2019.
Kevin has led a variety of large scale, and global, digital transformation programmes. He spent his early career in programming and IT consultancy. More recently he was the Global Head of Online for Vodafone Group and Business Transformation Group Director General at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
Tan Ching Yee
Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Singapore
Mrs Tan Ching Yee is the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, Singapore. She also holds the appointment of Permanent Secretary, Prime Minister’s Office (Special Duties). She assumed these posts on 1 May 2016.
She is Chairman of the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore and the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority, and a Board member of the National Research Foundation.
Mrs Tan read Economics at Cambridge University and joined the Singapore Civil Service in 1986, first as a Statistician and then as a Research Economist in the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
She obtained her Masters of Science in Management from the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University, in 1997.
She next worked in the Ministry of Education for five years, covering portfolios in higher education and overall education policy, leaving as its Deputy Secretary (Policy).
In July 2002, she became the Chief Executive of the Infocomm Development Authority, Singapore. Concurrently, she also held the post of Deputy Secretary (Infocomm and Media Development) at the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts.
She returned to the Ministry of Education as its Second Permanent Secretary in January 2005 and as its Permanent Secretary in April 2007. She was Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Health from April 2012.
She is married to Eugene, and they have three children.
Tshediso Matona
Senior Fellow, National School of Government, South Africa
Tshediso Matona has just ended a 6-year term as Secretary of Planning in the National Planning Commission in the Presidency, South African Government, which started in September 2015. He was the Chief Executive of power utility Eskom from October 2014 to May 2015. He was previously the Director-General (DG) of Public Enterprises (DPE) since January 2011. Prior that, he was DG of Trade and Industry (the dti) from 2005 to 2010. An economist by training and an experienced executive in the public sector, he has held several senior positions in government throughout his career, and served as a trade diplomat at SA’s Embassy to United Nations (UN) and World Trade Organisation (WTO) in Geneva, Switzerland from 1996 to 1998.
He is a top government leader with over 26 years of experience and expertise in policy, strategy, and planning, business promotion and regulation, including international trade and diplomacy, export promotion, investment promotion, industrial development, enterprise development/BBBEE, among others. Matona’s leadership experience has involved strong interface and interaction with Government leaders (at Cabinet level); business leaders and groups; and the media and academic institutions. He is a fellow of the Chartered Governance Institute of Southern Africa, and has served on several boards of state-owned companies and non-profit organisations, including in the position of board chairperson. Matona is a consummate leader, relationship builder, strategist and change-maker.
He holds a Masters in Development Economics from University of East Anglia (UK); Bachelor & Honours Degrees in Economics and Political Studies from University of Cape Town; various certificates: International Trade (WTO, Switzerland); Executive Leadership & Management; Infrastructure Development from Harvard University’s JFK School of Government (USA); and on Catalysing Change for Sustainable Development from Stockholm University (Sweden).
Anja Majer
Professional Associate, Public Sector Directorate – Ministry of Public Administration, Slovenia (Observer)
Anja Majer is covering the international cooperation of the Public Sector Directorate at the Ministry of Public Administration and was responsible for leading the Directorate’s activities relating to the Presidency of the Council of the European Union in the second half of 2021. She has a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice and Security. She started her career in the Slovenian central administration at the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology, where she worked on projects in the field of internationalisation and foreign direct investments.
Darin Duch
Director-General, General Affairs, Ministry of Civil Service, Cambodia
Dr. Darin DUCH was born in Cambodia. He received his Bachelor of Economics and Bachelor of Law at the Royal University of Law and Economics, Cambodia. He also holds a Master’s degree in Political Science and Political Economy from the London School of Economics (LSE), plus three additional Master’s degrees in Economics, MBA, and LL.M from the U.S. He has both a Ph.D. in Economics and a Juris Doctor from the Florida State University.
Dr. DUCH is currently a Director General of General Department of General Affairs, Ministry of Civil Service. He serves as a Cambodian head of focal point in the ASEAN Conference on Civil Service matters (ACCSM) and is actively in charge of international cooperation.
In Academia, Dr. DUCH has extensive teaching experience both in the U.S. and Cambodia.