Interview with Paul Zikopoulos – Vice President, IBM Skills Vitality and Enablement In our latest episode of CGE Radio, J. Richard Jones speaks with Paul Zikopoulos, Vice President, IBM Skills Vitality and Enablement about artificial intelligence you can trust and deploy at scale in government / public sector. Paul is a renowned writer and speaker on AI and Big Data, consulted by "60 Minutes" and NATO generals. Named on numerous global "Experts to Follow" and "Thought Leader" lists, he has authored 21 books and over 360 articles. At IBM, Paul directs strategic initiatives for the IBM Technology Unit's sales and learning programs. He actively promotes Women in Technology, winning IBM Canada’s “Women in Technology Ally of the Year” and serving on several advisory boards. Despite his success, Paul stays grounded, always learning from his experiences and his daughter Chloë. Follow him on Twitter at @BigData_paulz. IBM is a leading global hybrid cloud and AI, and consulting services provider, helping clients in more than 175 countries capitalize on insights from their data, streamline business processes, reduce costs and gain the competitive edge in their industries. Nearly 3,800 government and corporate entities in critical infrastructure areas such as financial services, telecommunications and healthcare rely on IBM’s hybrid cloud platform and Red Hat OpenShift to affect their digital transformations quickly, efficiently, and securely. IBM’s breakthrough innovations in AI, quantum computing, industry-specific cloud solutions and business services deliver open and flexible options to their clients. All of this is backed by IBM’s legendary commitment to trust, transparency, responsibility, inclusivity, and service. For more information, visit www.ibm.com In this episode: How public sector should organize to prepare for generative AIHow Generative AI can help in Canada and abroadThe practical use cases that IBM focusses its innovation aroundHow IBMs work with AI differ from othersAnd more!

Join J. Richard Jones on the latest episode of CGE Radio as he welcomes Cate Takemori, Head of Public Sector, Microsoft Canada for a discussion about current AI adoption in the Canadian public sector. As the Public Sector Lead, Catherine "Cate" Takemori leads a team of dedicated professionals focussed on empowering governments, educators and healthcare organizations in Canada with cutting-edge technology and services for effective digital transformation. With over 20 years at Microsoft, Cate began as the first dedicated Healthcare seller in Canadian Public Sector. Her journey encompasses diverse roles in Strategy, Change Management, Business, and Sales across Commercial and Public sectors. Most recently, she led the Customer Success Account team. Cate champions diverse and inclusive teams, prioritizing meaningful relationships and a people-first approach. Passionate about learning and growth, she embraces challenges with a growth mindset. Outside work, Cate resides in Coquitlam, BC, with her husband and two sons, indulging in her love for cooking and reading. Microsoft creates platforms and tools powered by AI to deliver innovative solutions that meet the evolving needs of its customers. The technology company is committed to making AI available broadly and doing so responsibly, with a mission to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. In this episode: How AI adoption is reshaping government operations?Notable examples of AI implementation in Canadian government agenciesThe “Bring Your Own AI" (BYOAI) trendKey considerations for responsible AI deploymentAI adoption and literacy within the public sectorAnd more!

Join host, J. Richard Jones for a follow-up interview with Jonathan Burbee, Director of Business Development, Canada for Gordian. Gordian is the industry leader in Building IntelligenceTM Solutions that help organizations successfully budget, build and maintain capital-intensive assets. Jon’s experience as a public sector executive and leader has primarily focused on real property management and construction. During his 23 years as a construction engineering officer in Canada’s Armed Forces he led the facilities functions during international deployments to Kosovo and Afghanistan and domestically at several military bases and in support of the Vancouver Winter Olympic Games. The following eleven years as a public servant in the federal and provincial governments were in various roles as a senior portfolio executive. Most recently, he worked in a strategic capacity supporting the provincial government’s response to the pandemic and natural disasters through digitally enabled multi-channel public-facing service delivery. Jon is a Designated Real Estate Professional (RI) with the Real Estate Institute of British Columbia and serves on the REIBC Board of Governors. In this episode: The core principles of asset management The intersection with the objectives of capital planning Managing lifecycle assets balance the need for maintenance with the timing of capital replacements Aligning asset management strategies with the broader strategic goals And more!

On the latest episode of CGE Radio J. Richard Jones welcomes Lori Turnbull, Professor at Dalhousie University and Deputy Editor at Canadian Government Executive along with Michael Wernick who holds the Jarislowsky Chair in Public Sector Management at the University of Ottawa, and is also the former Clerk of the Privy Council. He is uniquely suited to comment on the role of the public service during a time of government transition. Canada does transfers of power very well, largely because the permanent public service provides stability while the political government either changes hands or, in the event of a return of the incumbent, recalibrates after an election. In conversation with Lori Turnbull, he delves into this critical issue.

This week J. Richard Jones welcomes Jeremy Frohlich, COO of LRDG to CGE Radio. Jeremy is a proud girl-dad embracing the opportunities and challenges in his new role at the family business, a legacy started by his father in 2002. LRDG is a fast-growing company in an evolving industry which he is finding to be quite a balancing act. In 2004, LRDG developed a proprietary Learning Management System (LMS) and Learning Curriculum which would lead the Canadian education technology company to serve as the foremost e-learning provider to the Canadian Government. The company specializes in offering comprehensive English and French testing and training solutions. Since then, the company has garnered a reputation for excellence, securing numerous supply arrangements and standing offers within the government sector. Notably, in 2023, the company achieved a significant milestone by being awarded the National Master Standing Offer, becoming the sole recipient in the field of virtual language training. This esteemed recognition underscores the company's commitment to innovation and its pivotal role in advancing educational technology nationwide. In this episode: The 20-year history of LRDGWhy not all E-Learning is the same.How LRDG weathered the pandemic.The challenges of being a government supplier.What is digital accessibility?How major an accomplishment is the National Master Standing OfferAnd more.

Join host, J. Richard Jones as he welcomes Jonathan Burbee, Director of Business Development, Canada for Gordian to CGE Radio. They sit down for an enlightening discussion about innovative public facilities management. Gordian is the industry leader in Building IntelligenceTM Solutions that help organizations successfully budget, build and maintain capital-intensive assets. Jon’s experience as a public sector executive and leader has primarily focused on real property management and construction. During his 23 years as a construction engineering officer in Canada’s Armed Forces he led the facilities functions during international deployments to Kosovo and Afghanistan and domestically at several military bases and in support of the Vancouver Winter Olympic Games. The following eleven years as a public servant in the federal and provincial governments were in various roles as a senior portfolio executive. Most recently, he worked in a strategic capacity supporting the provincial government’s response to the pandemic and natural disasters through digitally enabled multi-channel public-facing service delivery. Jon is a Designated Real Estate Professional (RI) with the Real Estate Institute of British Columbia and serves on the REIBC Board of Governors. In this episode: Future of the workplace considerations and investment planningManaging capital-intensive physical assetsJob Order ContractingAnd more

Host, J. Richard Jones welcomes Marc Asturias, VP of Marketing & Government, Latin America and Canada, Fortinet, to the show. They hit the ground running on the importance of promoting public-private cooperation on cybersecurity issues. Fortinet secures the largest enterprise, service provider, and government organizations around the world. Fortinet empowers its customers with intelligent, seamless protection across the expanding attack surface and the power to take on ever-increasing performance requirements of the borderless network—today and into the future. Only the Fortinet Security Fabric architecture can deliver security without compromise to address the most critical security challenges, whether in networked, application, cloud, or mobile environments. Fortinet ranks number one in the most security appliances shipped worldwide and more than 500,000 customers trust Fortinet to protect their businesses. Mr. Asturias is a veteran of the technology industry, Marc Asturias serves as Vice President of Marketing and Government Vertical for Fortinet. He also oversees the company’s market development for the public sector, bringing into this role more than two decades of business experience.  Asturias adds his strong track record in driving large-scale demand generation and brand awareness programs, coupled with deep experience in international markets, establishing strategic partnerships and leading digital transformation programs to the company. Asturias is Member of the Board of Directors of the Inter-American Defense Foundation / Inter-American Defense Board - Organization of American States, Member of the Board of Directors of ForwardHeroes, and serves as a Guest Adjunct Professor on National Security Affairs and Cybersecurity for the William J. Perry Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies at the National Defense University. He has led effective programs and teams on behalf of companies such as Westin, Apple, Veritas, Symantec, General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems, and Cisco. His efforts have led to key programs with private and public companies as well as with the governments of Mexico, the United States, Brazil, Costa Rica and Chile; with organizations such as the World Bank and the Center for Strategic and International Studies; and with a large number of ministries, defense departments and public-private entities. Asturias obtained a bachelor’s degree and numerous honors from the University of Tampa and specialized in Electronics Engineering while in the U.S. Air Force. His academic background also includes officer-training programs at the University of Texas, Business Administration and Management studies at the George Washington University School of Business (GWSB) and numerous courses and certifications from other entities, including by the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center, Federal Emergency Management Agency, and U.S Department of Homeland Security in cybersecurity and critical infrastructure protection; and the World Health Organization for COVID-19 country preparedness internationally. He served at the prestigious Inter-American Air Forces Academy (IAAFA) for the US Air Force and US Department of Defense, focused on supporting foreign internal defense initiatives in Latin America. In this episode: What are the primary cybersecurity challenges facing nations today?How prepared are national defence forces to confront an evolving cyber threat landscape?How is Fortinet helping to address cybersecurity challenges in Canada? And more!

In this episode of CGE Radio, host J. Richard Jones sits down with Mark Lambert, Senior Managing Director, Canada Public Service Lead, Accenture. They have a lively discussion about public and private collaboration, IT skills, and getting the most out of procurement. Mark leads Accenture’s federal public service business in Canada and supports federal clients to innovate and implement digital solutions to address their most important challenges and transform how citizens are served. Accenture is one of the world’s leading professional services organizations, specializing in delivering technology to the private and public sector, with more than 700,000 employees across the world. This includes more than 6,000 employees in Canada, located across 11 offices from coast to coast. Accenture leverages a global network of expertise to provide technology services to Canada’s leading businesses. They do this by skilling and re-skilling their people across the world, so they and the organizations they serve are built for change and make the right investments to ensure they are a leader in innovative technology solutions. In this episode: How are successful governments managing digital transformations?What trends are impacting public sector IT in Canada?What role does Accenture play with the Canadian FedGov?How are government clients using cloud?How does hybrid work enable digital transformation?And much more!

Host, J. Richard Jones and CGE editor-in-chief, Dr. Lori Turnbull, once again weigh in on the hot topics of the week concerning Canadian government and the public sector. Plus, get a sneak peek inside the upcoming CGE Leadership Series and the Knowing Canadians series with Environics Analytics and the data they have gathered on attitudes that Canadians hold around policy and values issues, behaviours, pocket book issues, affordability and more. Also in this episode: The return of parliament High season for passing legislation Katie Telford and the issue of foreign interference in Canadian elections The CGE Leadership Series with Michael Wernick and Dr. Amanda Clarke The DX Summit And much more!

Welcome back to another episode of CGE Radio with host, J. Richard Jones. This week we talk to Kristen Leroux, General Manager, Public Sector, Canada, DXC Technology and Srijani Dey is Chief Data and Analytics Officer, DXC Technology. DXC is a Fortune 500 company and represented in the S&P 500 Index with a long and trusted reputation built on delivering world class IT solutions to multiple levels of government. Kristen brings a dedicated Public Sector focus to her role. She is a client focused, strategic visionary     and an analytical decision maker whose insights into modernizing the Canadian Public     Sector set her apart in the field. Srijani leads business transformation initiatives, delivers strategic technology roadmaps, and heads a Center of Excellence for analytics workload migration to accelerate customers’ modernization journeys. Tune in for an insightful discussion about data analytics, public sector experiences, AccelerateGOV, and an overview of who DXC is and what they can do. Also in this episode: What public sector experience does DXC bring to CanadaHow can DXC help the Government of Canada?Turning Data into Insights & ActionsManaging and protecting data as a strategic assetAnd more!

Join host J. Richard Jones for the latest episode of CGE Radio. He speaks with Craig McLellan, Chief Executive Officer of ThinkOn, about foreign cloud providers and the benefits of a Canadian-based solution. Mr. McLellan is a forward-thinking business leader who has been at the forefront of technology innovation and data security in Canada and the U.S. for the past twenty-five years. Think On, Inc. is a proudly Canadian-owned and operated cloud solution provider (CSP) with a global data centre footprint. ThinkOn is a Canadian VMware Sovereign Cloud partner and the only Canadian supplier with the contractual capability to sell cloud-based data management services to support both Federal Government Sensitive (PBMM) workloads as well as workloads from all levels of municipal, federal, and Indigenous government public sector entities in Canada. In this episode: Is the public sector negotiating with the right people? Why is the Canadian government courting providers not empowered to negotiate a contract? What are the implications of changing from Cloud First to Cloud Smart? How much cloud should the government consume? And more!

Welcome back to another episode of CGE Weekly with host, J. Richard Jones. This week, CGE editor-in-chief, Dr. Lori Turnbull, weighs in on the new budget that came down on March 28th. As the cost of living rises and the Bank of Canada works to manage inflation, just what does this budget hold for you? We touch on everything from health care to the GST rebate and everything in between. Also in this episode: How does the budget affect the Liberal approval rating?How does it affect the Liberal / NDP deal?What has been the reaction of Pierre Poilievre?Will we soon see another election?Plus, a sneak peek at our upcoming series, “Knowing Canadians”And much more!

Welcome back to CGE Weekly with host J. Richard Jones and CGE editor-in-chief, Dr. Lori Turnbull. Healthcare has long been quintessential to Canada. The topic of discussion this week digs into and dissects the healthcare budget that was recently announced by the federal government. Gaps in Canada’s much-admired healthcare system have been visible for some time. The COVID pandemic only made them worse. Does this new budget meet the needs of the provinces? Also in this episode: ·      What were the provinces asking for? ·      What is the budget offering? ·      Are we putting enough money into healthcare? ·      Is there anything Canada can learn from other countries? ·      Is there any public tolerance for a multi-tiered system? ·      And much more!

It’s the first CGE Weekly show of 2023! Join host J. Richard Jones and CGE editor-in-chief, Dr. Lori Turnbull as they look into the crystal ball and hypothesize about what the year ahead in Canadian politics might look like. They cover federal and provincial politics, the potential for a federal election, the North American Leader’s Summit, and give listeners a preview of the hot topics CGE will be focussed on. Also in this episode: Is the health care system on life support?How is the Confidence and Supply Agreement holding up?Will Pierre Poilievre seek broader appeal?Which way with Albertans swing in a provincial election?Who would a federal election hurt and who would it benefit?The budget, hybrid work, digital governance, digital transformation, the DX SummitAnd so much more!

The summer is quickly coming to a close and the host J. Richard Jones is back with a new episode of CGE Weekly. He spends some time catching of up with CGE Editor-in-Chief, Lori Turnbull. Their conversation dives right into the issue of the Conservative Party leadership, election dates, and potential future leadership candidates for the Liberal Party. Also in this episode: The pros and cons of Pierre PoilievreWhat does the shifting Conservative leadership mean?Does Pierre Poilievre have what takes, or limited growth appeal?Who is appealing more to the working class, Conservatives or NDP?Where are the Liberals with social programs like childcare, PharmaCare, dental care?Is the Trudeau leadership getting long in the tooth?Who’s on deck to lead the Liberals?And much more!

In this episode of CGE Radio, join host J. Richard Jones as he sits down to talk about the Internet of Things (IoT) with KJ Burke, Principal Technology Strategist, Hybrid Cloud at CDW. KJ is a 20-year veteran of the IT industry with experience in planning and deploying technology to improve business and drive measurable value. CDW Canada is a leading provider of technology solutions for business, government, education, and healthcare, delivering integrated technology solutions and services. Throughout the discussion, J. Richard Jones and KJ Burke explore the finding of a recent Angus Reid survey examining the state of IoT and emerging and transformative technologies in the Canadian workplace. You can download and read copy of the survey yourself by visiting our website: “The Workplace Evolution: How IoT is Maximizing Operational Efficiency in Canada.” Also in this episode: What is the Internet of Things and why is it important?What are the major trends related to IoT?What are the current challenges and barriers with IoT?What does IoT mean for those working in government?What does the future hold for IoT?

In this episode of CGE Radio, J. Richard Jones and co-host Lori Turnbull, deputy editor Canadian Government Executive discuss returning to work in public sector. They tackle the question of just what is the new normal?  They further discuss the governments digital strategy, sustainability, equality in the procurement process, as well as supply chain issues and more. Tune in and hear more from this week’s special guests Coreen Bouchard, Founder, PureLogic IT and Mike Hilton, President, HPE Canada. Coreen has 20 years of experience in the IT reseller industry. She and her team have a reputation for thinking outside the box and delivering an exceptional product and service. Mike has over 30 years of diverse experience in Software Development and Solutions, Cloud Computing, Telecommunications, CCTV and Access Control, Data Communications, Industrial Automation, Robotics and Business Consulting. The resulting discussion is informed and enlightening. In this episode: How workplaces return to normal? Challenges and advise?Government digital transformation strategyThe role of cloud in building strong hybrid teams and facilitating productivityHow could the cloud protect privacy and security with respect to the flow of secure content?Ensuring equity and inclusion in the procurement process. Policy level vs. execution level, budget allocationAnd much more!

In or latest exciting episode of CGE Weekly, host, J. Richard Jones and Lori Turnbull, Editor in Chief of Canadian Government Executive speak with Bob Conlin, Technology Managing Director Federal Government, IBM Canada. Bob is focused on helping the Canadian Federal Government at all levels move forward with technology to help the public sector and ultimately better serve Canadians to improve their lives. The conversation revolves around all things digital transformation in the public sector with a focus on the opportunity afforded by hybrid cloud and work, impacts on the work force, cyber security, digital identity and a lot more. Also in this episode: How IBM Canada is working with the Federal government to optimize digital transformation through technologyWhat digital transformation means for government?What is data democratization?The future of work in the public sectorAnd more!

Guest host, Lori Turnbull, Deputy Editor, Canadian Government Executive welcomes very special guest Michael Wernick, former clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet, currently Senior Strategic Advisor at MNP. Together, they dig into the hot and stressful topic of Spending Reviews – how they work, how they’re designed and their impact over the longer term. Also in this episode: Is the modern Spending Review somehow a different undertaking?How urgent is the challenge from a fiscal perspective?What sort of problems do we have with debt and deficitsWhat are some lessons learned from past reviews?Can the government improve while cutting?What are the positive opportunities of the Spending ReviewAnd much, much more! Want to hear even more from Michael Wernick? Check him out at the DX Summit on May 26, 2022 where he will be a keynote speaker!

Tune in to co-hosts, J. Richard Jones and Lori Turnbull, Deputy Editor, Canadian Government Executive and Director, School of Public Administration, Dalhousie University as they discuss the skills gap in Canada with three amazing guests: Karen Booth, Associate Dean, Pilon School of Business, Sheridan CollegeMatthew McKean, Chief R&D Officer, BHERDana Stephenson, Co-founder & CEO, Riipen Industry is moving so fast these days and skills training needs to be up to date in order to sustain the growth of Canada’s workforce. How can a sustainable ecosystem for academia and industry be built that will provide opportunities for learners to become the leaders of tomorrow? Also in this episode: What is causing the current skills gap in Canada?What can industry, academia and government do to bridge the gap?What is the work-integrated learning (WIL) program?How does WIL work and what have been the results?And much, much more!