Canadian Government Executive Radio Canadian Government Executive

On the latest episode of CGE Radio J. Richard Jones welcomes Lori Turnbull, Professor at Dalhousie University and Deputy Editor at Canadian Government Executive along with Michael Wernick who holds the Jarislowsky Chair in Public Sector Management at the University of Ottawa, and is also the former Clerk of the Privy Council. He is uniquely suited to comment on the role of the public service during a time of government transition. Canada does transfers of power very well, largely because the permanent public service provides stability while the political government either changes hands or, in the event of a return of the incumbent, recalibrates after an election. In conversation with Lori Turnbull, he delves into this critical issue.

This week J. Richard Jones welcomes Jeremy Frohlich, COO of LRDG to CGE Radio. Jeremy is a proud girl-dad embracing the opportunities and challenges in his new role at the family business, a legacy started by his father in 2002. LRDG is a fast-growing company in an evolving industry which he is finding to be quite a balancing act.
In 2004, LRDG developed a proprietary Learning Management System (LMS) and Learning Curriculum which would lead the Canadian education technology company to serve as the foremost e-learning provider to the Canadian Government. The company specializes in offering comprehensive English and French testing and training solutions.
Since then, the company has garnered a reputation for excellence, securing numerous supply arrangements and standing offers within the government sector. Notably, in 2023, the company achieved a significant milestone by being awarded the National Master Standing Offer, becoming the sole recipient in the field of virtual language training. This esteemed recognition underscores the company's commitment to innovation and its pivotal role in advancing educational technology nationwide.
In this episode:
The 20-year history of LRDG Why not all E-Learning is the same. How LRDG weathered the pandemic. The challenges of being a government supplier. What is digital accessibility? How major an accomplishment is the National Master Standing Offer And more.

Join host, J. Richard Jones as he welcomes Jonathan Burbee, Director of Business Development, Canada for Gordian to CGE Radio. They sit down for an enlightening discussion about innovative public facilities management. Gordian is the industry leader in Building IntelligenceTM Solutions that help organizations successfully budget, build and maintain capital-intensive assets.
Jon’s experience as a public sector executive and leader has primarily focused on real property management and construction. During his 23 years as a construction engineering officer in Canada’s Armed Forces he led the facilities functions during international deployments to Kosovo and Afghanistan and domestically at several military bases and in support of the Vancouver Winter Olympic Games. The following eleven years as a public servant in the federal and provincial governments were in various roles as a senior portfolio executive. Most recently, he worked in a strategic capacity supporting the provincial government’s response to the pandemic and natural disasters through digitally enabled multi-channel public-facing service delivery. Jon is a Designated Real Estate Professional (RI) with the Real Estate Institute of British Columbia and serves on the REIBC Board of Governors.
In this episode:
Future of the workplace considerations and investment planning Managing capital-intensive physical assets Job Order Contracting And more

Host, J. Richard Jones welcomes Marc Asturias, VP of Marketing & Government, Latin America and Canada, Fortinet, to the show. They hit the ground running on the importance of promoting public-private cooperation on cybersecurity issues.
Fortinet secures the largest enterprise, service provider, and government organizations around the world. Fortinet empowers its customers with intelligent, seamless protection across the expanding attack surface and the power to take on ever-increasing performance requirements of the borderless network—today and into the future. Only the Fortinet Security Fabric architecture can deliver security without compromise to address the most critical security challenges, whether in networked, application, cloud, or mobile environments. Fortinet ranks number one in the most security appliances shipped worldwide and more than 500,000 customers trust Fortinet to protect their businesses.
Mr. Asturias is a veteran of the technology industry, Marc Asturias serves as Vice President of Marketing and Government Vertical for Fortinet. He also oversees the company’s market development for the public sector, bringing into this role more than two decades of business experience. 
Asturias adds his strong track record in driving large-scale demand generation and brand awareness programs, coupled with deep experience in international markets, establishing strategic partnerships and leading digital transformation programs to the company.
Asturias is Member of the Board of Directors of the Inter-American Defense Foundation / Inter-American Defense Board - Organization of American States, Member of the Board of Directors of ForwardHeroes, and serves as a Guest Adjunct Professor on National Security Affairs and Cybersecurity for the William J. Perry Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies at the National Defense University. He has led effective programs and teams on behalf of companies such as Westin, Apple, Veritas, Symantec, General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems, and Cisco.
His efforts have led to key programs with private and public companies as well as with the governments of Mexico, the United States, Brazil, Costa Rica and Chile; with organizations such as the World Bank and the Center for Strategic and International Studies; and with a large number of ministries, defense departments and public-private entities.
Asturias obtained a bachelor’s degree and numerous honors from the University of Tampa and specialized in Electronics Engineering while in the U.S. Air Force. His academic background also includes officer-training programs at the University of Texas, Business Administration and Management studies at the George Washington University School of Business (GWSB) and numerous courses and certifications from other entities, including by the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center, Federal Emergency Management Agency, and U.S Department of Homeland Security in cybersecurity and critical infrastructure protection; and the World Health Organization for COVID-19 country preparedness internationally.
He served at the prestigious Inter-American Air Forces Academy (IAAFA) for the US Air Force and US Department of Defense, focused on supporting foreign internal defense initiatives in Latin America.
In this episode:
What are the primary cybersecurity challenges facing nations today? How prepared are national defence forces to confront an evolving cyber threat landscape? How is Fortinet helping to address cybersecurity challenges in Canada? And more!

In this episode of CGE Radio, host J. Richard Jones sits down with Mark Lambert, Senior Managing Director, Canada Public Service Lead, Accenture. They have a lively discussion about public and private collaboration, IT skills, and getting the most out of procurement.
Mark leads Accenture’s federal public service business in Canada and supports federal clients to innovate and implement digital solutions to address their most important challenges and transform how citizens are served.
Accenture is one of the world’s leading professional services organizations, specializing in delivering technology to the private and public sector, with more than 700,000 employees across the world. This includes more than 6,000 employees in Canada, located across 11 offices from coast to coast. Accenture leverages a global network of expertise to provide technology services to Canada’s leading businesses. They do this by skilling and re-skilling their people across the world, so they and the organizations they serve are built for change and make the right investments to ensure they are a leader in innovative technology solutions.
In this episode:
How are successful governments managing digital transformations? What trends are impacting public sector IT in Canada? What role does Accenture play with the Canadian FedGov? How are government clients using cloud? How does hybrid work enable digital transformation? And much more!

Host, J. Richard Jones and CGE editor-in-chief, Dr. Lori Turnbull, once again weigh in on the hot topics of the week concerning Canadian government and the public sector. Plus, get a sneak peek inside the upcoming CGE Leadership Series and the Knowing Canadians series with Environics Analytics and the data they have gathered on attitudes that Canadians hold around policy and values issues, behaviours, pocket book issues, affordability and more.
Also in this episode:
The return of parliament
High season for passing legislation
Katie Telford and the issue of foreign interference in Canadian elections
The CGE Leadership Series with Michael Wernick and Dr. Amanda Clarke
The DX Summit
And much more!