Date: Monday, 17 June 2013

Subject: Organisational Review - Executive Management Team Announced

The delivery of a new organisational structure for the Queenstown Lakes District Council took an important step forward today with the announcement of the new executive management team, said QLDC Chief Executive Adam Feeley.

“It has been a difficult period for the Council and its two CCO’s, but these appointments now help bring additional leadership to address the challenges presented by the organisational review,” Mr Feeley said. Having a new executive management team confirmed in advance of the 1 July 2013 organisational change was an important milestone, he said.

“The review has been about lifting QLDC’s performance both in terms of public service and value for money. I now have the right team in place to drive those changes,” he said. The executive management team (in alphabetical order) are:

• General Manager, Infrastructure & Assets – Erik Barnes

• General Manager, Planning and Development - Marc Bretherton

• Director, Human Resources – Beth Bundy

• Chief Financial Officer – Stewart Burns

• Chief Information Officer – Kirsty Martin

• Director, Chief Executive’s Office – Meaghan Miller

• General Manager, Operations – Ruth Stokes

• General Manager, Legal & Regulatory (TBC)

“It is a very talented team of people which strikes a good blend between local knowledge and some fresh perspectives. They are as committed as I am about being part of a Council that is changing for the better,” Mr Feeley said.

Mr Feeley said that further senior appointments were still pending, although the vast majority of roles had now been confirmed. A small round of recruitment was scheduled to go to market next week.

Key recommendations in the Organisation Review (which will take effect from 1 July) included:

• Integrating the operations of Lakes Leisure Ltd and the Community Services team of QLDC into a new Operations group;

• Integrating the operations of Lakes Environmental Ltd engineering team with the Infrastructure Services team of QLDC;

• Creating a new legal and regulatory team to manage all of QLDC’s regulatory and enforcement functions;

• Bringing the building and resource consenting activities of Lakes Environmental Ltd and the planning policy functions of QLDC into a single Planning & Development group.

ENDS

Executive Management Team Biography:

General Manager, Infrastructure and Development – Erik Barnes

Erik is currently General Manager of Infrastructure Services at QLDC. Prior to this he was the GM Assets and Services for Southland District Council, after working in the Antarctic for both the US and NZ Antarctic Programmes and serving in the US Airforce. He has a degree in Environmental Science from Western Washington University.

General Manager, Planning and Development – Marc Bretherton

Marc is currently General Manager for the Infinity Investment Group. Prior to this he has held planning and consulting roles with Mitchell Partnerships; PricewaterhouseCoopers; and Dunedin City Council. He has a B.Com. (Hons.), and a Master of Regional and Resource Planning from the University of Otago.

Director, HR – Beth Bundy

Beth is currently the Group Manager of Human Resources at the Waitemata District Health Board. The DHB has 6,500 employees and provides health funding and secondary care to a population of over 500,000. Prior to this she held senior HR roles at Mighty River Power and Auckland University of Technology.

Chief Financial Officer – Stewart Burns

Stewart is the current Deputy CEO/GM Finance and has been with QLDC since 1996. He is a Chartered Accountant and has a Bachelor of Business and Bachelor of Arts.

Chief Information Officer – Kirsty Martin

Kirsty is currently the CIO at QLDC, having previously held analyst and information systems consultancy positions with NCR and Unisys. Kirsty holds a business degree from Victoria University.

Director, Office of the Chief Executive – Meaghan Miller

Meaghan is currently the Communications Manager at QLDC, and was previously the Queenstown Bureau Chief for the Southland Times. She has a B.A. from the University of Otago and a post-graduate Diploma in Business and Administration from Massey University.

General Manager Operations – Ruth Stokes

Ruth has been Chief Executive at Lakes Leisure Ltd since November 2012. Prior to this she held a number of management positions at Auckland City Council; Westpac; Watercare Services; and KPMG. She has a B.Com in Economics from the University of Auckland and a post graduate qualification in Public Management from Victoria University.

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