Settle in, grab a coffee, and meet a few friendly faces before we begin.

A short welcome, plus a few quick tips to help you connect, share, and get real value from the day. We’ll also run a couple of quick polls to see what everyone’s interested in and what people are working on right now.

A short briefing from the Chair to get everyone aligned, comfortable, and ready for a great day of ideas and connection.

Government 3.0 demands a fundamental shift in how public sector leaders think, operate, and collaborate across systems. That shift in thinking is required from government leaders, reframing digital leadership as an enterprise-wide responsibility, not a technology function. This session will equip you with practical perspectives on leading laterally, aligning policy with delivery, and shaping operating models that enable connected, outcomes-driven government.

• Advance leadership models that enable whole-of-government decision-making
• Transform siloed structures into connected systems that deliver shared outcomes
• Optimise the role of digital, data, and AI as enablers of policy execution
• Bolster accountability and trust while accelerating responsible innovation

As governments race to adopt generative AI, the critical challenge has shifted from mere implementation to ensuring governance, data privacy, and explainability in every automated decision. This session outlines a practical framework for deploying Deterministic AI that protects your enterprise data while embedding intelligent agents directly into your mission-critical workflows.
In this session, we will cover:

• Deploying AI Agents that Do Real Work: Moving beyond simple chatbots to autonomous AI agents that can actively reason, extract data, and execute complex tasks within established business parameters.
• The Power of "AI in Process": How to orchestrate AI within a secure process automation platform to ensure guardrails are always in place, preventing "shadow AI" and ensuring human-in-the-loop oversight when necessary.
• "Glass Box" Transparency vs. "Black Box" Risk: Strategies for eliminating the opacity of "black box" algorithms by adopting a "Glass Box" approach—where every AI decision features a complete audit trail, data lineage, and cited sources.

• Leadership for digital maturity — clarifying roles, decisions, and ownership in a tech-driven world
• As leaders, how can we cultivate a leadership style that thrives amidst the complexities of tech team dynamics
• Pathways for reskilling and redeployment in the public sector
• Building literacy and confidence to work alongside AI - leading people, not just technology

Kate Tibbitts

Chief People Officer, Te Pūmanawa Tāngata - Human Resources, Victoria University of Wellington

Steve Long

National Manager - Data and Digital, Te Kāhui Kāhu

Vicki Scott

Deputy Chief Executive – People Services & Delivery, Parliamentary Counsel Office

Perfect time to swap notes and compare what’s working across teams and sectors.

• How can tech leaders align digital initiatives with governmental policies while leading through bureaucratic complexities?
• In the role of a leader, how do you instil agile thinking to reshape traditional processes within the public sector?
• How should leaders approach vendor relationships to cultivate fruitful partnerships that drive technological advancement?

Kari Jones

Chief Operating Officer, Executive Director - Operational Excellence and Enablement, Executive Director - Transformation & Operations, Financial Markets Authority

Campbell Mackie

Head of Technology and Platforms, Accident Compensation Corporation

Ernestynne Walsh

AI Adoption and Change Lead, Toi Hau Tāngata - Social Investment Agency

Ben Sheehan

Country Manager, Aotearoa, Technology One

• Shifting from transactional to strategic procurement: How procurement leaders can enable agile, AI-ready service delivery through outcome-based contracts and flexible supplier engagement
• Embedding trust, transparency, and ethics in tech sourcing: Meeting public expectations around bias, safety, and explainability
• Navigating complexity and compliance: Balancing probity, risk, and innovation in procurement frameworks built for a fast-evolving technology landscape

Our interactive roundtables give you space to swap notes with peers. Hosted by government and industry leaders, they blend lived experience with practical insights. Bring your biggest challenges, wins, and lessons, and leave with ideas you can apply straight away.

Grab lunch, have a wander, and chat with industry partners and peers about practical ideas you can take back to work. Arguably the most important part of the day!

• Using AI for climate resilience, public health modelling and complex social issues.
• What counts as a “good” use case: citizen benefit vs agency efficiency.
• How to embed equity and Māori perspectives into use case design.
• Measuring impact: beyond cost savings to public trust and social outcomes.

Bill Moses

Former Head of Corporate, Ministry for Regulation and Former Chief Digital Officer, Te Kawa Mataaho - Public Service Commission

Stuart Gregory

General Manager, Information Systems, Te Puni Kōkiri - Ministry of Māori Development

Julie Watson

Chief Information Officer, Worksafe New Zealand

We’ll pull out a few highlights from the day, share what’s coming next, and point you to ways to stay connected.