Spring Meetings

Tom Brandt is a risk management practitioner and senior executive in the federal government. With three decades of federal service, he is currently the Chief Risk Officer (CRO) and Director of Planning and Risk for the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board (FRTIB). He previously served as CRO for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). He is a fellow with the National Academy of Public Administration, a past president of the Association for Federal Enterprise Risk Management (AFERM) and also served as chair of the OECD Forum on Tax Administration’s ERM Community of Interest from 2018–2021. In November 2021, the IRS’s Enterprise Risk Management Program was awarded by RIMS (The Risk Management Society) their 2021 Global ERM Award of Distinction. In November 2024, the FRTIB was also recognized with the same award. In November 2024, Tom received the ERM Hall of Fame Award from AFERM in recognition of longstanding efforts to advance the practice of ERM in the U.S. Federal government. 

Ms. O’Keefe joined the IMF HQ Team in late 2024 after providing short-term expertise for the Fund across the Pacific Region. During that time, Anna worked with countries such as Papua New Guinea, Niue, the Kingdom of Tonga and Timor Leste and more broadly across the Pacific region. Prior to her Fund work, Anna spent 18 years at the New Zealand Inland Revenue (various roles) and four years at the Solomon Islands Inland Revenue Division in an advisory capacity.  Anna has an undergraduate degree in Social Policy and a Masters of Management, both from Massey University (NZ).  Anna has been heavily involved in the International Survey of Revenue Authorities (ISORA) for PFTAC countries. Her areas of expertise include strategic and operational planning, communication, human resources, business process improvement and community-based compliance activities (focused on prevent and assist).    

Tamas Kulcsar is a Senior Economist at the Fiscal Affairs Department of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) with over 20 years of experience in taxation, specializing in international taxation. In his role at the IMF, he is responsible for supporting capacity development initiatives in developing countries. He is the program manager of the VITARA initiative and leads the FAD CD Strategy Support Secretariat. Prior to joining the Fund in 2019, he held various managerial positions at the Hungarian tax administration mainly focusing on corporate income tax and VAT audits. He also worked for various international organizations (such as the European Commission, the IBFD and the IFA) in different European countries. In these roles, he trained and advised global and regional law firms, advisory firms, and corporate clients, as well as 50+ governments. He holds a JD and post-grad degree in economics as well as an LLM in international tax from the University of London.  

Thabo Letjama is a Senior Economist in the Revenue Administration Division 2 of the IMF’s Fiscal Affairs Department. A Chartered Accountant, Thabo also holds an MBA from Milpark Business School in South Africa. He previously served as a Technical Assistance Advisor in FAD-HQ and prior to that, a Resident Tax Administration Advisor for AFRITAC South. He has led and participated in capacity development and revenue administration reform projects across over 20 African countries, focusing on enhancing core administration functions, and in improving revenue administration management and governance. He continues to lead assignments focusing on enhancing leadership effectiveness in revenue administration, delivery of TADAT assessments, and designing and implementing medium-term revenue strategies. Before joining the IMF, Thabo held three executive positions at the Revenue Services Lesotho (RSL): Director of Finance and Administration, Commissioner of Customs and Excise, and Commissioner General. In these roles he led and oversee reforms that led to enhanced performance of RSL.