Napier City Council won't have permanent CEO until 2021; interim appointment made

Napier City Council has appointed Keith Marshall as interim chief executive. Photo / Supplied

Napier City Council has appointed Keith Marshall as its interim chief executive, saying it won't have a permanent CEO until 2021.

Napier mayor Kirsten Wise announced Marshal's appointment more than a month after Wayne Jack's resignation.

Marshall, a former CEO in Hamilton, Nelson and most recently Buller District Council, was appointed by the Chief Executive Contract Committee, comprising deputy mayor Annette Brosnan and councillors Nigel Simpson, Api Tapine, Graeme Taylor and Tania Wright, after a series of virtual interviews.

The former CEO of Careers New Zealand has been appointed for up to one year and will start on May 4.

Wise said: "We were very impressed with what Keith could bring to the council over the coming period. The interim appointment gives us the continuity of a very capable chief executive to progress our Covid-19 recovery efforts and the beginning of our Long-Term Plan process."

Marshall has also held a number of other senior interim roles, such as CEO of Grow Wellington, deputy CEO of NZQA, and deputy director of the Human Rights Commission.

"Transition periods between chief executives can sometimes be uncertain for all concerned," Marshall said.

"This is a great opportunity to be involved in helping the mayor and council through to having their new chief executive in place."

The council said it would work on appointing a permanent CEO, but that was not expected to be finalised until early 2021.

Wise added: "We are lucky to have someone as talented and experienced as Keith with us until then."

The mayor also expressed gratitude on behalf of the council to former CEO Neil Taylor, who stepped into the interim role at short notice.

"He has given so much to Napier over many years, and deserves recognition too for his commitment and efforts to see us through this response stage of the pandemic."