Global Lessons in Digital Resilience

Idah Pswarayi-Riddihough, is a Global Director in the Digital Vice Presidency, covering digital use (Digital Public Infrastructure, Digital Economy, and Digital Society), and also serves as the Director of Strategy and Operations. Since joining the Bank in 1995 as a Young Professional, Pswarayi-Riddihough has worked in four different regions: South Asia, East Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, and Sub-Saharan Africa.

She previously served as Country Director for Mozambique, Madagascar, Mauritius, Comoros, and Seychelles in the Eastern and Southern Africa Region. Her past roles also include Country Director for Nepal, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives in South Asia, as well as Director of Operational Services in South Asia. Additionally, she has held various operational and corporate management positions.

Stela Mocan is the Digital Government Practice Manager, with Digital Vice-presidency. Prior, Stela led the Technology Innovation Office at the WBG CIO Office, which serves as an internal experimentation sandbox, knowledge and advisory hub around emerging technologies. Before joining the World Bank Group, Stela served as Moldova Government 1st Chief Information Officer and led the government digital transformation efforts.

Ming Zhang, a Chinese National, is the Global Director for the Urban, Resilience and Land Global Department at the World Bank. In this position, he leads the Bank’s global efforts on sustainable urban development, disaster risk management, and land. He is responsible for spearheading global knowledge programs, fostering innovative thought leadership, and ensuring client impact and global partnership in these sectors which together represent around $36 billion of the Bank’s investment portfolio.

Mr. Zhang joined the World Bank in 1997. Prior to his current position, he served as the Practice Manager for Urban, Resilience and Land in three different regions (South Asia, Latin America and Caribbean, and East Asia and Pacific) where he oversaw the formulation and implementation of  knowledge and financing programs. His earlier career positions at the World Bank included roles as team lead on urban development, infrastructure, and local government.

Mr. Zhang holds a PhD in City and Regional Planning and an MA in Economics, both from the University of California in Berkeley, USA. He also holds a BA in Geography from East China Normal University in Shanghai, China.

Yasuhiro Kawasoe (Hiro) is the Disaster Risk Management Specialist in the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) Tokyo Disaster Risk Management hub.

A Japanese national, Hiro joined the Bank in 2017 as a Junior Professional Officer in the Social Protection and Jobs (SPJ) Global Practice. Since then, Hiro worked for the global and regional units, most recently as a Social Protection Specialist in the East Asia and Pacific Region, covering both operational and analytical works in the Philippines, Lao PDR, Fiji, Vietnam, Tonga, Vanuatu, Vietnam, among others. His focus in the Bank has been on a linkage between human development sectors and climate change adaptation and disaster risk management (such as adaptive social protection, socio-economic vulnerability).

Prior to joining the Bank, Hiro worked as a JICA consultant with experiences in disaster risk assessment, risk-informed urban planning, and post-disaster recovery and reconstruction. Hiro is a First class registered Architect (Japan) and holds a M.Eng in Architecture from Waseda University in Japan.

Gaku Takabayashi is a management consultant at Nomura Research Institute, Ltd.He conducts research, analysis, and policy development support in the field of digital policy, with a particular focus on AI and digital platforms. 

He also provides support for business strategy formulation and new business development for companies in the information and communications industry. In the realm of digital platforms, global issues have arisen not only around the distortion of competitive environments and the infringement of consumer rights but also concerning the circulation and amplification of misinformation and disinformation through these platforms.

Gaku has conducted extensive research and analysis on the mechanisms by which such false or misleading information spreads during disasters, as well as on institutional and technological responses. He possesses deep expertise in this area.

Takehiro Ishimatsu is a Senior Consultant at Nomura Research Institute, Ltd., specializing in the social implementation of technology and the global expansion of Japanese companies.

He provides support in business strategy formulation and execution, primarily for clients in the space, manufacturing, and service industries. Additionally, he assists government agencies in policy development and technology strategy planning. He has extensive expertise in businesses utilizing remote sensing data, such as satellite data, and offers consulting services on topics including digital transformation strategies and AI applications.

Takehiro holds a master's degree in Systems Engineering from the University of Tokyo and has built a successful career leveraging his academic background.

Chris Ferguson is an accomplished leader in the digital transformation and public sector technology space, with a career spanning senior roles in the UK Government and the private sector. As one of the original architects of the UK’s Government Digital Service (GDS), Chris played a pivotal role in reshaping the way public services are designed and delivered.

From 2011 to 2021, Chris was a cornerstone of GDS, contributing to transformative initiatives like GOV.UK, the Digital Service Standards, and IT Spend Controls. His leadership came into sharper focus in January 2015 when he became Director of the GDS Digital Group, overseeing groundbreaking programs such as GOV.UK Verify and the Government-as-a-Platform initiative, which set benchmarks for digital government globally.

Chris's infl uence in government extended beyond the Cabinet Offi ce. As Chair of the cross-government Digital Leaders network and Head of the Digital Profession for HM Government, he was instrumental in fostering a collaborative and innovative digital culture across departments. During the COVID-19 pandemic, his expertise was critical as Chair of the cross-government COVID-19 Digital Taskforce, where he coordinated eff orts to provide digital solutions during a time of unprecedented need.

Before his tenure at GDS, Chris's work at the Home Offi ce centered on counter-terrorism and national security, refl ecting his versatility and dedication to public service.

In October 2021, Chris transitioned to the private sector as Managing Director of Scott Logic, scaling and maturing it as a technology consultancy. In December 2024 Chris became VP for Government and Public Sector at Apolitical, where he will work with partners globally to further drive innovation in the public sector and help offi cials to solve the hardest challenges.

Chris balances his professional achievements with life in Edinburgh, where he lives with his wife, Gagan Sansoha, a Canadian biomedical scientist at Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital, and their golden retriever. Together they enjoy exploring the natural beauty of Scotland and the beaches of the Lothian coastline.

As part of the Disaster Management Group, my team and I are focused on disaster preparedness and response, utilizing approaches like digital transformation (DX) to support the quick recovery of areas impacted by disasters.

Hsiao Ming is the Director of Core Engineering Products at GovTech Singapore, where he leads the development of platforms in the Singapore Government Technology Stack. His group’s flagship products include APEX, a secure government API gateway, and SHIP-HATS, a set of CI/CD tools with supply chain and governance features. He also part of the team behind Government on Commercial Cloud, a key enabler for cloud adoption, and StackOps, a government-wide observability solution.

A software engineer by trade, Hsiao Ming is passionate about cloud technologies, software development, and Generative AI. He co-chairs the World Bank’s Cloud Working Group and is one of the organisers behind the STACK Developer Conference. He has previously held technical roles at NVIDIA and Autodesk.

Hsiao Ming holds a Bachelor’s degree (Hons) in Computer Science from the National University of Singapore and is a certified Scrum Master.