8 November 2013
Stephen Town appointed Chief Executive of Auckland Council
Auckland Mayor Len Brown today announced the appointment of Stephen Town as Chief Executive of Auckland Council.
Stephen Town will take up the role on 15 January 2014, following the departure of outgoing Chief Executive Doug McKay on
31 December 2013.
Stephen is currently Regional Director of the NZ Transport Agency for Auckland and Northland, and was Chief Executive of
Tauranga City Council from 2002-2010.
“I am absolutely delighted with Stephen’s appointment. He is quite simply the most qualified person to lead the
organisation through this next challenging phase,” Len Brown says.
“Stephen combines long experience in local government, with leadership of large infrastructure projects and strong
credibility across government and the private sector.
“Auckland needs the very best to respond to the huge challenges we face in transport, housing affordability and
financial management, and in Stephen we’ve got it. He is highly experienced, absolutely focused on the task ahead and
crystal clear on the challenges and opportunities for Auckland.
“I want to congratulate Doug McKay for the outstanding job he has done in leading the council group through the first
three years. Doug oversaw one of the most challenging organisational transformations in New Zealand’s history.
“The work Doug has done over the past three years, and the clear and collaborative leadership style he showed, put
Auckland Council on a strong and stable footing, which we can now build out from.”
Stephen Town says:
“It is a huge privilege to be appointed to this challenging role and to have the opportunity to continue the superb work
of Doug McKay, the inaugural Chief Executive, and his team.
“This next phase in Auckland’s transformation will require a relentless focus on delivery, service improvement and
prudent financial management. We have a genuine opportunity to make Auckland the world’s most liveable city and I am
delighted to be part of that project.”
ends