Interviews

Truths about lies: World Bank governance chief Ed Olowo-Okere on the global threat of corruption

Ed Olowo-Okere has spent the last three years working to improve public services and financial management in low- and middle-income countries. His greatest challenge is corruption, he tells Matt Ross […]

‘Bureaucracy – oh a living hell’: five minutes with Estonia’s CTO Kristo Vaher

The chief technology officer tells GGF about having finally ‘cracked it’ after years as an automation engineer, why he believes the civil service should neither design nor build citizen services, […]
Picture of Markus Sovala, Statistics Finland’s director general, taken at the 2022 Global Government Finance Summit

Finland’s stats chief Markus Sovala: from challenging employee to change leader 

Dr Markus Sovala is one year into his five-year term as Statistics Finland’s director general. He tells Mia Hunt about his priorities for the agency – enabling its customers to […]

Taking the good with the bad: listen to GGF’s latest Leading Questions podcast with Canada’s former cabinet secretary, Michael Wernick

Global Government Forum has gone live with the latest episode of its Leading Questions podcast, featuring former clerk of the Privy Council of Canada and secretary to the Cabinet, Michael […]

‘Don’t fade into the background’: five minutes with GovTech Singapore’s chief executive, Kok Ping Soon

Ping Soon shares his advice for ambitious public servants – including why it’s important not to assume the boss has all the answers, the lessons from Singapore’s national identity system, […]

‘As long as you have given your best, don’t beat yourself up’: five minutes with… Qatar’s Khawar Iqbal

Iqbal, who was director of the digital society department at Qatar’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology until last year and is now a consultant to the Ministry, tells GGF […]

‘The best leaders focus on inspiring and enabling their staff to give their best’: five minutes with… Ireland’s CIO Barry Lowry

Lowry, who was director of ICT shared services and strategy for the Northern Ireland Executive before becoming the Republic of Ireland’s chief information officer in 2016, tells GGF about Ireland’s […]
Photo of Catherine Luelo, deputy minister at the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat and the chief information officer of Canada.

Pick up the pace: CIO Catherine Luelo on accelerating Canada’s digital journey

Nine months after joining the public service, CIO Catherine Luelo tells Matt Ross how she’s refreshing Canada’s digital strategy – and asks staff across the workforce for their help in […]

‘Characters of all types abound in the Public Service’: five minutes with… The Bahamas’ deputy director of transformation and digitisation, Carol Roach

Carol Roach tells Global Government Forum about working for your resume, learning e-government lessons from Uruguay, her inspirational civil servant big sister – and swimming with sharks What is the […]

Stepping into the unknown, and embracing her flaws – and strengths – as a leader: GGF’s latest Leading Questions podcast with Australia’s governance chief Stephanie Foster

Global Government Forum’s flagship Leading Questions podcast is today returning for a second series, starting with an in-depth interview with one of Australia’s leading public servants, Stephanie Foster. Foster is […]