IMF Connect

Virpi Pikkarainen
Program Director, Finnish Tax Administration

Virpi Pikkarainen is Program Director at the Finnish Tax Administration, where she has led transformation initiatives over the past 13 years. Her leadership has spanned complex change programs, including a commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) implementation (2012–2021) and the development of Finland’s national credit registry. She currently heads FTA’s Artificial Intelligence Program, driving innovation and efficiency in tax administration through emerging technologies. Virpi has also contributed internationally, having been seconded to the OECD Forum on Tax Administration, where she helped launch a collaborative program focused on digital transformation. She has also supported tax administrations undertaking COTS reform efforts. Before joining FTA, Virpi held senior roles at Oracle and Deloitte, where she managed large-scale technology transformation programs for both multinational corporations and public sector organizations in Finland. She holds a Master’s degree in Economics.

Juliano Brito da Justa Neves
Undersecretary of Corporate Management, Special Secretary of the Federal Revenue of Brazil

Juliano Neves is the Undersecretary for Corporate Management at the Secretariat of the Federal Revenue of Brazil (RFB), a position he has held since 2022. In this role, he oversees critical areas including information technology, data governance, human resources, budgeting, and logistics. With nearly two decades at RFB, Juliano previously served as Chief Information Officer, leading the Digital Transformation Plan initiative. He holds a degree in Computer Engineering and a Master’s in Computer Science from the Federal University of São Carlos, as well as a Master’s in Public Finance and Tax and Financial Administration—with a specialization in tax administration—from the Institute of Fiscal Studies in Spain. Additionally, he earned two MBAs from Fundação Getúlio Vargas: one in Project Management and another in Public Administration with an emphasis on Corporate Management. Since 2014, Juliano has served as a tax administration consultant for the International Monetary Fund, contributing to technical assistance missions in Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde, Mozambique, and Nigeria. He also worked as an information systems consultant for tax administrations with the Inter-American Development Bank from 2020 to 2021. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Public Administration at the University of Lisbon, focusing on the factors influencing AI adoption in tax administrations.

Ernest Z. LAINKANA
Director General, Madagascar Customs Administration

Dr. Zafivanona Ernest Lainkana is the Director General of Customs of Madagascar and a recognized leader in public sector modernization across Africa. He holds a Ph.D. in Economic Sciences and a Master’s in Economic Policy Management, combining academic expertise with a strong commitment to innovation, integrity, and results-driven governance. Since his appointment, Dr. Lainkana has spearheaded wide-ranging reforms in trade facilitation and customs enforcement. These include the digitalization of customs procedures, the deployment of AI-powered risk assessment systems, and the establishment of the Center of Excellence for Data and Artificial Intelligence (CEDIA) — a pioneering initiative in the region. Internationally, he represents Madagascar at the World Customs Organization (WCO), where he serves on the Council and the Policy Commission, and is currently the Regional Deputy Vice-Chair. In recognition of his leadership and reform efforts, Dr. Lainkana was awarded the African Leadership Commendation Award by African Leadership Magazine during the annual Persons of the Year 2024. His work reflects a forward-looking vision of harnessing technology and data to strengthen governance, enhance economic competitiveness, and foster sustainable development across Africa.

Joshua Aslett
Senior Economist

Joshua Aslett is currently a Senior Economist in the IMF’s Fiscal Affairs Department. Since 2006, he has been providing technical advice to governments globally, primarily as an expert with the IMF, World Bank, and U.S. Treasury. Joshua's expertise spans the full range of topics falling under the GovTech umbrella. These include digital transformation, IT, emerging technology, advanced analytics, and artificial intelligence. He has been the principal author of IMF papers on analytics and artificial intelligence, as well as the VITARA course Information Technology and Data Management. In addition to his thematic work with GovTech, Mr. Aslett manages IMF capacity development projects in Europe and the Middle East. He holds advanced degrees from Johns Hopkins University and the University of Florida.

Kathrin Frauscher
Deputy Executive Director, Open Contracting Partnership

Kathrin Frauscher is the Deputy Executive Director of the Open Contracting Partnership (OCP), the global non-profit she co-founded over a decade ago at the World Bank. OCP promotes transparent, efficient, and impactful public procurement worldwide. Her work has helped transform procurement in over 30 countries, leading to reforms that have benefited nearly 16 million people and generated $9 billion in better annual procurement spending. She holds an MA in Advanced International Relations from Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and a BA in Economics from the University of Vienna.

Mukwende Placide
Financial Systems Development Program Manager, Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning of Rwanda

MUKWENDE Placide serves as the Program Manager for Financial Systems Development at Rwanda’s Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning. With over 19 years of experience in software engineering and financial systems design, he has played a central role in modernizing Rwanda’s public financial management. He played a pivotal role in designing Rwanda’s IFMIS and other national platforms, while also supporting international PFM digitalization reforms as a Short-Term Expert with the IMF.  He has contributed to strengthening human capacity as a lecturer in enterprise software engineering and as a mentor to young developers. He is passionate about harnessing Artificial Intelligence to transform government systems into data-driven decision-making tools.

Mr. MUKWENDE holds a Master’s degree in Computer Science and Engineering from Central South University in China, a Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology from Vellore Institute of Technology in India, and is a certified Chief Data and Artificial Intelligence Officer (Carnegie Mellon University). He has also completed advanced training in machine learning and data science (MIT), applied generative AI (Johns Hopkins University) and holds additional professional certifications in software architecture and computer programming.

Cristian Céspedes
CIO at ChileCompra

Cristian Céspedes is the CIO at ChileCompra, where he leads the digital transformation and modernization of Chile’s national public procurement platform, including its migration to the cloud, data-driven management, and new cybersecurity framework. He previously served as CIO at the Chilean Treasury and other public institutions, leading large-scale cloud and digital transformation initiatives. Cristian holds Bachelor’s degrees in Industrial Engineering and Computer Engineering, an MBA from the University of Melbourne, and a Master’s degree in Global Management from the University of Chile.

Sailendra Pattanayak
Division Chief, Fiscal Affairs Department, IMF

Sailendra Pattanayak is currently a Division Chief in the Fiscal Affairs Department of the IMF. He has extensive experience in the public financial management area and the wider public sector. Since joining the IMF in 2006, he has advised a wide range of countries, of all income levels, on public financial management, and has led policy development in key areas such as fiscal transparency, digitalization, fiscal governance, treasury management, climate, and fragile states issues. He has been a lead contributor to several IMF Board papers. He led the team that produced the Fiscal Transparency Handbook as well as analytical work/published papers on a broad range of fiscal topics. His leadership in GovTech initiatives and ongoing analytical work on digital money in fiscal operations and fiscal governance is particularly noteworthy. Prior to joining the IMF, Sailendra held senior positions in the Indian federal government, including at the Ministry of Finance and as Deputy Secretary at the Ministry in charge of roads, ports, and inland waterways. He holds a degree in mechanical engineering from National Institute of Technology (NIT) in India, and master’s degrees in public administration and public policy respectively from the École nationale d'administration (ENA) and Sciences-Po in Paris.