Announcements

Introducing David Waung, CAPAM's new Executive Director/CEO

Dear Members of CAPAM,

Happy New Year! All of us at CAPAM would like to wish you and your family a happy and successful 2008!I would also like to take this opportunity to introduce myself. My name is David Waung and I have the great privilege to serve you as CAPAM's incoming Executive Director and CEO. I am honoured to be given the opportunity to carry on the traditions of CAPAM and to help guide the organisation and its future development.

I have been with the Canadian Public Service since 1975. During the past three decades, I have learned invaluable lessons about Public Service Administration, Management, and Leadership. I am trained as an engineer with a Bachelor's degree from the University of British Columbia and a Master's degree from the University of Toronto. I also have an MBA degree from the University of Ottawa.

The first ten years of my career was in research and engineering. These early experiences exposed me to the intricacies of managing technology projects where management excellence, not technological prowess, is the key determining factor in project success. This reality is still true today as many organisations continue to struggle with introducing technological innovations into entrenched organisational cultures. Managing technology is one of the challenges that you have identified in your feedback to us. We look forward to developing a programme on this topic in the coming year.

The next ten years of my career was in policy development and strategic planning. The transition from engineering to policy development happened quite naturally when I had the opportunity to contribute towards modernising Canada's telecommunications and broadcasting policies. I was exposed to the international policy arena when I represented Canada on discussions at the OECD and G8 on communications and information policies. Through these encounters, I learned very quickly that no nation stands alone, and that sharing experiences and ideas amongst practitioners can lead to significant advances. The upcoming CAPAM Biennial conference in Barbados will allow us to do just that. Under the leadership of Avril Gollop, Head of the Civil Service and Cabinet Secretary, and the organising committees, the conference programme is well advanced. Please mark October 19 to 22 on your calendars as I hope to see you there!

The last ten years of my career involved various positions of leadership and organisational change. I learned that great ideas cannot be implemented single handedly. To gain acceptance, the leader has to inspire the organisation in order to gain their trust and support. Most recently, as the Vice President and Registrar for the Canada School of Public Service, I was able to look at public administration from the point of view of a formal curriculum. The art of management, administration and leadership in the Public Service is complex and exciting. In 2008, we will be reviewing and revitalising CAPAM's programming so that we can help you excel at what you do in the service of citizens.

In the coming months, I will be providing you with periodic updates on new and exciting programmes at CAPAM. In the mean time, I would appreciate hearing your comments and suggestions. This will help us serve you better and build a stronger CAPAM community.

Please feel free to contact me directly at dwaung@capam.org.

David Waung
Executive Director/CEO
CAPAM

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