Josée Touchette was appointed Executive Director (EXD) on 1 November 2017.

Josée Touchette is the Executive Director, responsible for finance and budget, human resources management, technology and information, risk management, security and infrastructure matters as well as the delivery of related management services, a position she has held since 2017.

In the OECD’s dynamic and complex environment, Josée is responsible for supporting the Secretary-General in facilitating agreement on bi-annual budgets, recruiting and developing world-class talent representative of the membership. As well, she is responsible for developing and implementing security, technology and infrastructure strategies to respond to the reality of terrorist and cyber threats, the Covid-19 pandemic crisis, and energy-related challenges. She also serves the OECD by preparing for new ways of working, and fostering greater transparency through enhanced management reporting. She is leading several major corporate reforms including the review of the OECD’s main pension scheme and the review of the employment framework.

Her prior 30+ year-career in the Public Service of Canada, included fourteen years as an Assistant Deputy Minister in five departments and organisations, leading transformational change and delivering:

• international development programming for Canadian partnerships in over 100 countries (Canadian International Development Agency - CIDA);
• corporate services for Justice Canada (3000 employees, budget of $1B, at the time);
• public affairs and communications during the war in Afghanistan (National Defence);
• policy support for six pieces of legislation as they progressed through Parliament, as the head of Strategic Policy at Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC as it then was); and
• regulatory operations as the Chief Operating Officer at the National Energy Board (now the Canada Energy Regulator) in Calgary.

A member of the Barreau du Québec since 1988, Josée has practiced in the areas of competition law, international law and indigenous rights. She holds an MBA from Queen’s University and is a certified management accountant (CMA/CPA Ontario).