About
Ilir Azizi
I’m an independent digital and AI advisor and the founder of Empact Consulting Ltd., with over three decades of experience across municipal and provincial governments, consulting, justice-sector modernization, enterprise architecture, data and privacy, and service transformation.
I help public sector and municipal leaders decide which technology to invest in, govern it well, and show that it is worth it.
My career has put me in almost every seat of a public sector technology decision. I started as a solution developer and architect building systems for Ontario's justice sector, and later led its move from paper files to digital case management. At the province's Treasury Board Secretariat, I advised on whether large technology projects should go ahead. At a large Ontario city, I built its first enterprise digital practice and its first AI ethics principles (before ChatGPT), and brought investment priorities to senior leadership and Council. Since then, as a digital advisor with a national consulting firm, I have worked with municipalities, regional government, transit, colleges and not-for-profits on strategy, assessments, readiness and business cases.
My work has been recognized with Ontario Public Service and Ministry of the Attorney General awards, and I know Ontario’s municipal sector well, from Council decision-making to its associations. I have written on responsible AI, municipal AI readiness, unified digital identity, enterprise systems modernization, and local government transformation.
I started Empact Consulting in 2026 to do this work closely and well, and to aim for lasting results rather than volume. I hold an MBA from Ivey Business School at Western University, studied AI at the University of Oxford, and earned Microsoft AI certifications. I founded and chaired a community not-for-profit, served on the board of the Municipal Information Systems Association Ontario, and sit on the board of East York East Toronto Family Resources, a charity. I live and work in Vaughan, Ontario.
What clients get from me
The full-cycle experience. I have been the one asking for the funding, the one advising on whether to approve it, and the one delivering the work. The plans and business cases I help build are made to withstand approval scrutiny, and then survive delivery.
Government, technology and business in one person. I know how public sector decisions, budgets, boards and accountability really work. I know technology and AI hands-on, and I read the numbers the way finance does. I translate between them and treat strategy, investment, governance and delivery as one decision.
Senior, independent judgment at a fair price. The person you hire is the person who does the work. I have no software or implementation to sell, and low overhead keeps senior-quality work at a reasonable cost.
How I work. I start from your services and the work, and plan around the capacity you actually have. I make sure I understand your current business and technology before aligning strategy and investment to outcomes. I treat AI like any other investment: adopt it as fast as you can understand and govern it, and count the full cost of running it, not just buying it.
Have a technology decision on your desk? Let’s talk.
In 30 minutes, I’ll help you see what to ask before you commit.