7:30am-9:30am AEDT

AGENTIC GOVERNMENT: FROM AI AMBITION TO TRUSTED EXECUTION
Global lessons on transforming government, recovering from digital failure and preparing for the agentic era

Guest Speaker: Alex Benay, Former Chief Information Officer, Government of Canada and Senior Vice President, Public Sector Practice, OpenText

Governments globally are moving beyond AI pilots and generative AI towards Agentic Government - where intelligent systems have the potential to coordinate actions, workflows and services across government.

For public sector leaders, the challenge is how to move from experimentation to trusted execution at scale, across data, legacy technology, governance, security and human accountability — while delivering better services and avoiding the mistakes of past transformation programs.

Drawing on his experience leading digital transformation within the Government of Canada and internationally, Alex will share a global perspective on what comes next, together with lessons from the Phoenix pay system, one of Canada’s most significant public-sector technology failures. It is a powerful real-world case study in what happens when transformation at scale goes wrong, and what it takes to stabilise critical systems, rebuild trust and create the foundations for the future.

Discussion Highlights

• The Rise of Agentic Government — what changes as AI moves from assisting people to executing increasingly complex tasks and workflows
• From AI Pilots to Trusted Execution — moving beyond experimentation to safe, scalable adoption across government
• Lessons from Phoenix — what one of Canada's most challenging government technology programs teaches us about transformation, recovery and accountability
• Trust, Data and Governance — the foundations required for an agentic government environment
• The Future of Public Services — how agentic technologies could reshape the way governments operate and serve citizens

This private, invitation-only discussion will bring together a carefully curated group of senior government technology, digital and transformation leaders for a candid exchange on where government is heading, what we have learned from transformation at scale, and what needs to be done now to prepare for the agentic era.

Attendance is limited and expressions of interest are welcomed from senior leaders whose roles are relevant to the discussion. All expressions of interest will be reviewed by the Trans - Tasman Business Circle, with attendance confirmed directly to approved participants.