New Economy Forum Workshop: GovTech: Understanding the Impacts of Innovation

NEW ECONOMY FORUM

DATE: April 16, 2026

DAY: Thursday

4:30 PM - 6:45 PM

LOCATION: Cedar Hall, HQ1-1-660

Overview

Join us in exploring how the impacts from innovation with digital technologies are measured, monitored, and evaluated by public finance agencies.

As digital transformation increasingly becomes a centerpiece of reform planning exercises, senior leaders should be asking critically important questions. Where are the opportunities to advance core fiscal objectives, how can digital technologies help improve the formulation of policy, what should be prioritized, and – importantly – how should the impact from investments be understood?

This workshop will explore these issues, drawing from the experiences of practitioners on the front lines of innovation who are transforming operations and navigating the use of emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence.

New Economy Forum Workshop: GovTech: Understanding the Impacts of Innovation

Session I: Understanding the Impacts of Innovation – Revenue Administration

Ruud De Mooij is Deputy Director in the International Monetary Fund’s Fiscal Affairs Department, where he previously headed the Tax Policy Division. He has extensive experience in providing capacity development on tax policy issues in over 25 countries. Before joining the International Monetary Fund, De Mooij was Professor of Public Economics at Erasmus University in Rotterdam. He has published extensively on tax issues, including in the American Economic Review and the Journal of Public Economics. De Mooij is research fellow at the University of Oxford, the University of Bergen, ZEW in Mannheim, and member of the CESifo network in Munich.

Andrew Kazora Okello is a Division Chief in the Fiscal Affairs Department of the IMF with more than 30 years of experience in revenue administration and capacity development. He has led the planning and delivery of technical assistance across Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Western Hemisphere, working closely with country authorities, donors, and development partners. His work focuses on modernizing tax and customs administration, strengthening compliance and risk management, and the role of digitalization and data in strengthening tax and customs administrations. He is a contributor to IMF analytical and operational publications, including work on the VAT and revenue mobilization. He holds an MBA from the University of Bath, an MA in Development Economics from Williams College, and a BA in Economics from the University of Nairobi.

Myeong-ku LEE is Commissioner of the Korea Customs Service. Throughout his career, he has held several senior leadership roles, including Deputy Commissioner, Regional Commissioner in Busan, Seoul, and Daegu, and Director General of multiple bureaus. He has also served as a Standing Tax Judge and was seconded to the World Customs Organization (WCO), where he contributed to global customs initiatives. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Birmingham (UK), as well as degrees in public administration and business administration from Seoul National University.

Since 2023, Janek Rozov has held the position of Deputy Director General for Development at the Estonian Tax and Customs Board. His primary areas of responsibility include customer services, revenue, intelligence, and service development. From 2019 to 2023, Janek Rozov served as the Head of Strategy at the Information Technology and Development Centre of the Ministry of the Interior. His main objective in this role was to integrate strategic planning into daily operations and ensure the implementation of KPIs at all levels of the organization. Over the past 23 years, Janek Rozov has been actively involved in transforming the Public Sector through the use of ICT capabilities. During this time, he has contributed to designing individual services and shaping public sector organizations, influencing national policies in the areas of digitization and innovation. For the past 9 years, he has served as an active assessor and jury member for various initiatives related to public sector digital transformation across the globe.

Marvin Cardoza is an economist specializing in tax policy, data analytics, and digital transformation in tax administrations. He currently serves as Tax Risk Manager at the Tax Administration of the Dominican Republic, where he leads the development of analytical models and data-driven tools to improve tax compliance management, risk prioritization, and strategic decision-making. His work focuses on the use of advanced analytics, artificial intelligence, and large data systems to strengthen the effectiveness of tax administration, evaluate the impact of technological innovations in fiscal processes, and support evidence-based public policy design. He has participated in institutional modernization initiatives aimed at integrating digital technologies into key areas such as risk management, economic analysis, and tax enforcement.

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Session II: Understanding the Impacts of Innovation – Public Financial Management

Carolina Rentería is Chief of the IMF Fiscal Affairs Department’s (FAD) Public Financial Management (PFM) I Division. She is responsible for delivering PFM capacity development in Anglophone Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and Central Asia, and leads FAD’s work on digitalization and innovation in PFM, advancing the integration of GovTech solutions into core fiscal management functions. Prior to joining the IMF in 2016, she worked as an Executive Director on the World Bank Board and as Lead Economist for Africa. In Colombia, she served as Minister of Planning, National Budget Director, and Senior Advisor to the Fiscal Council. She holds a master’s degree in Public Administration from New York University and a master’s degree in Economic Development from Universidad de Los Andes.

Aydın Yılmaz is a Turkish professional specializing in artificial intelligence, data analytics, and public financial management. He currently serves as Head of the Artificial Intelligence and Data Analysis Department at the General Directorate of Public Accounting in Ministry of Treasury and Finance (Republic of Türkiye). With a background in economics and advanced degrees in data engineering and ongoing studies in artificial intelligence, he has led multiple national and international projects, including AI-supported accounting systems and open financial data portals. His work focuses on integrating advanced analytics and decision support systems into public finance.

Ms. Ekaterine Guntsadze is in charge of foreign relations and external financing, with over 15 years of experience as a PFM professional. During 2015-2021 she held the position of the Head of the Budget Department of the MoF of Georgia, leading the implementation of PFM reforms, including the introduction of Performance Based Budgeting and medium term expenditure frameworks, and the upgrade and roll out of the electronic Budget Management System (e-budget) as one of the core modules of the Integrated Public Financial Management System of Georgia. In this capacity, she has played important role in developing various public policies and assessing the new reform agenda and policy initiatives in the context of fiscal policy and budgetary constraints.

João Júnior Alguineiro is an Executive Administrator at the Centre of Development of Finance Information Systems of Mozambique, where he leads strategic initiatives driving the digital transformation of public finances management. With over two decades of experience at the intersection of technology and public sector reform, especially in public finances at central government and municipalities, he has been instrumental in the design, implementation, and scaling of mission-critical government systems, including planning, budgeting, treasury, budget execution, digital payments, asset management platforms and others. João has coordinated complex, multi-stakeholder programs that strengthen transparency, efficiency, and service delivery across public institutions. He is a regular contributor to international dialogue on digital government and public finance, having represented Mozambique in high-level forums organized by the IMF and World Bank. He holds a degree in Informatics from Eduardo Mondlane University and advanced qualifications in project management and business administration from Fundação Getulio Vargas, the University of California Irvine, and the University of Liverpool.

New Economy Forum Workshop: GovTech: Understanding the Impacts of Innovation