Dr Sean Phillips' areas of expertise include service delivery improvement, public service governance and administration, infrastructure procurement and delivery management, project and program management, operations management and M&E.

He has more than 20 years of experience in senior management positions in government, including as the Director-General of the Department of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation in the Presidency, as a Chief Operations Officer of the Department of Public Works, a provincial head of department and as the Chief Executive Officer of government agencies such as the Municipal Infrastructure Support Agency and Johannesburg Road Agency. Dr. Phillips has also been a chairperson and board member of several government entities.

He has an Honors degree in engineering design and appropriate technology, a Masters degree in project management and public and development management and a Doctorate in civil engineering obtained at the University of the Witwatersrand and the University of Warwick, respectively.