Appointment to Deputy Government Chief Digital Officer role
6 December 2019
Ann-Marie Cavanagh has been appointed to the role of Deputy Government Chief Digital Officer, and Deputy Chief Executive of the Service and System Transformation, soon to be renamed Digital Public Service, at Te Tari Taiwhenua/Internal Affairs. Ms Cavanagh has been acting in the role since October 2019 and been with the department since March, leading the creation of the Strategy for a Digital Public Service.
As Deputy Government Chief Digital Officer, Ms Cavanaghsupports the Government Chief Digital Officer in the delivery of the government’s digital strategy, implements information technology (IT) assurance and develops and manages IT capabilityacross government. This work sets the direction to develop a modern public service which will meet the needs of New Zealanders in a changing world.
Announcing the appointment, Chief Executive and Government Chief Digital Officer Paul James said “Ann-Marie has proved herself an astute and strategic leader, able to harness the benefits of digital to work with and through other agencies to deliver customer-centred digital government.”
Ann-Marie says “I’m excited about the opportunities that digital provides for a better public service in New Zealand. I’m looking forward to leading a team to help our agencies and government harness the power of technology to deliver better outcomes for all.”
Before joining Internal Affairs, Ann-Marie held the role of Chief Technology and Digital Services Officer at Ministry of Health. Before moving to New Zealand in 2016 she was Head Digital Strategy at Novartis Pharma AG for the Medical Affairs function based in Switzerland. Originally from the UK and a Clinical Pharmacologist by training, Ann-Marie is based in Wellington New Zealand.
