Intro

We are live from the Gartner IAM Summit 2025 in Grapevine, Texas! In this episode, we welcome back Sarah Clark, now the Chief Product Officer and GM of North America at Hopae. Sarah shares her journey from Mastercard to buying rainforests in Costa Rica and rescuing dogs, before diving deep into the world of digital identity infrastructure. We discuss connecting government-issued digital IDs with the private sector to combat fraud and improve user experiences. Sarah breaks down the differences in global adoption, highlighting why the EU is leading the charge with upcoming mandates and how countries like Brazil and India are scaling their programs. We also explore the state of mobile driver's licenses in the US, the potential for age verification and workforce management use cases, and whether the US can catch up to the rest of the world. Plus, we wrap up with a heartfelt conversation about dog rescue and the challenges of pet adoption.

Connect with Sarah https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahmclark/

Connect with us on LinkedIn:

Jim McDonald: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimmcdonaldpmp/

Jeff Steadman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffsteadman/

Visit the show on the web at http://idacpodcast.com

Timestamps

00:00:00 - Intro: Live from Gartner IAM Summit 2025

00:01:25 - Introducing Sarah Clark and her journey to Hopae

00:03:00 - What is Hopae and the vision for digital identity infrastructure?

00:04:19 - Why governments are moving toward digital IDs (186 countries!)

00:05:32 - Solving the fraud crisis with government-issued credentials

00:07:05 - The benefits: Security, efficiency, and inclusion

00:08:52 - Global adoption curves: India, Philippines, and Brazil

00:10:48 - The EU vs. US: Who is winning the digital ID race?

00:14:04 - eIDAS 2.0 mandates and the intermediary role

00:17:03 - Future trends: Age verification, Fintech, and stablecoins

00:19:54 - Workforce management and "Know Your Employee"

00:21:28 - Sarah's passion project: Rainforest preservation and dog rescue

00:25:35 - Closing thoughts on the future of identity

Keywords

IDAC, Identity at the Center, Jeff Steadman, Jim McDonald, Sarah Clark, Hope, Digital Identity, Digital Wallets, Mobile Driver's License, mDL, eIDAS 2.0, Identity Verification, Fraud Prevention, KYC, Verifiable Credentials, Gartner IAM Summit, Digital Infrastructure, Biometrics, Age Verification