Overview

November 4
11AM PT, 2PM ET

Register

Across the public sector, leaders are reimagining how citizens engage with government—expecting digital experiences that are as seamless, personalized, and responsive as those offered by the private sector. While Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM) provides the foundation for secure access and trust, it is only one part of a much larger modernization journey.

Truly modern service delivery demands a broader technology ecosystem—one that integrates secure identity with capabilities like dynamic digital forms that feed into CRMs, real-time notifications and status updates that keep citizens informed, and delegation features that allow caregivers, businesses, and families to act on behalf of others safely. Together, these elements enable the kind of frictionless, end-to-end experiences that citizens increasingly expect.

This session explores how governments can evolve beyond identity-centric modernization to build connected, citizen-first ecosystems. We’ll examine how resource constraints and the accelerating pace of innovation make it difficult for agencies to deliver these capabilities alone—and why collaboration, shared platforms, and purpose-built solutions are key to bridging the gap between public and private sector experience quality.


What You Will Learn

  • Why modern citizen experience requires more than a secure sign-in—encompassing communication, data collection, and service orchestration.
  • How features like notifications, forms integration, and delegation enhance accessibility and trust.
  • The role of shared digital platforms and public-private collaboration in achieving scale and sustainability.
  • Practical steps to move from siloed modernization projects to cohesive, citizen-centered ecosystems.


Who Should Attend

  • Public sector executives and digital transformation leaders.
  • CIOs, CTOs, and Chief Digital Officers responsible for service delivery modernization.
  • Program and service owners seeking to improve citizen experience and operational efficiency.
  • Policy and IT leaders exploring partnerships and platform-based approaches to digital government.

Speakers

Ed Therrieault headshot

Ed Therrieault

Principal Digital Transformation Architect, Portage CyberTech

Ed has over 25 years of experience in the design, development, deployment and operations of privacy sensitive electronic service delivery solutions for both public sector and banking clients. Ed’s involvement in the domains of Identity, Credential and Access management, web content management and service transformation started with his participation in the creation of the Central Frame Database at Statistics Canada. He went on to participate in the creation of the Strategis ID and the web content management solutions at Industry Canada and has made immense contributions to the Govt of Canada's vision for citizen and business centric access to information and transactions.

Bob Besharat headshot

Bob Besharat

Chief Product Officer and Chief Technology Officer, Portage CyberTech

Bob Besharat is a seasoned technology executive and strategic innovator with over 30 years of leadership experience in cybersecurity, enterprise architecture, and digital transformation. Throughout his career, he has held senior executive roles guiding global organizations through complex technology initiatives and large-scale operational change. Currently serving as Chief Product Officer and Chief Technology Officer at Portage CyberTech, Bob has led transformative programs that have delivered scalable solutions and generated over $400 million in revenue. His leadership is defined by a deep understanding of emerging technologies, business-driven architecture, and operational excellence—empowering organizations to accelerate innovation, reduce risk, and achieve measurable outcomes across diverse industries including finance, healthcare, higher education, and government. In addition to his executive leadership, Bob is deeply committed to advancing education and industry collaboration. He is an adjunct faculty member at Lambton College and Concordia University. Bob holds an Honours degree in Computer Science from Carleton University and has completed a graduate-level Executive Leadership program from Cornell University. He also maintains professional certifications such as TOGAF, CISSP, ITIL Foundation, SABSA, and Six Sigma Green Belt.

Martin Burke headshot

Martin Burke

Product Manager, CitizenOne, Portage CyberTech

Martin is the CitizenOne Product Manager at Portage CyberTech. Prior to Portage CyberTech, Martin spent 8 years at SAP, overseeing product enablement for North America & EMEA resellers and ISVs. He later expanded SAP’s global reseller program with top SIs. With 5 years in digital identity and cybersecurity, his current focus is the RegTech and public sector verticals, overseeing CIAM SaaS solution implementations for public sector entities across, currently serving over 2 million users. His product management ethos emphasizes strong customer advocacy and agility, demonstrated by the creation of a customer advisory board with Portage’s existing public sector clients. He is also an active member of the Digital Identity and Authentication Council of Canada.

Deborah A Snyder headshot

Deborah A Snyder — Moderator

Senior Fellow, Center for Digital Government

Deb is an accomplished C-level executive, influencer and educator who has dedicated her career to improving state and local government services through policy and technology innovation. She has a broad range of experience in government programs, policy, cybersecurity, privacy and information technology. She formerly served as New York state’s chief information security officer, where she led the state’s cybersecurity programs and directed the NYS Cyber Command Center. She works with organizations and universities to strategically strengthen cybersecurity programs, defenses and preparedness, and to create and inspire the next generation of cyber leaders.

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