New CEO for CHB District Council

New Central Hawke's Bay District Council chief executive Monique Davidson will start in the role in June.

A new Central Hawke's Bay District Council chief executive appointment has been made to replace John Freeman who was set to finish in the role on April 7.

CHB mayor Alex Walker announced that current Horowhenua District Council group manager for customer and community services Monique Davidson would fill the position starting on June 6.

Ms Walker said the council had gone through a rigorous and competitive recruitment process, after receiving a large number of applications, and that senior staff and councillors had been impressed with Mrs Davidson's strong leadership, management and planning skills.

"Council is delighted that Monique has been appointed to the chief executive role. We are confident that she will ably lead the organisation during an exciting period for the district."

Mrs Davidson holds a Bachelor of Law and Bachelor of Arts from Victoria University in Wellington, and she is a member of the Local Government New Zealand governance and strategy advisory group.

Ms Walker said that Mrs Davidson was responsible for a large portfolio in her current role covering community services including parks, property and libraries, and also includes governance, communications, customer and regulatory services, as well as the responsibilities of deputy chief executive.

"Council businesses are complex operations but we could see that Monique has unique skills for ensuring all parts are running efficiently and there is a strong level of accountability to the community."

In regards to her appointment Mrs Davidson said she was honoured to be appointed.
"I am very excited about the opportunity, and look forward to working collaboratively with elected members to lead Central Hawke's Bay district on the next stage of its journey.

"The local government sector is rapidly evolving and it's an exciting time to be given the challenge to lead an organisation through that."

Mrs Davidson will be moving to Central Hawke's Bay with her husband and two children.

Mr Freeman's departure ends 11 years in the role and he earlier said his proudest achievement had been providing CHB residents with all of the essential services that local government is responsible for, "in the most efficient and cost effective way possible".

"Individual projects that stand out for me would be the refurbishment of the Central Hawke's Bay Municipal Theatre in Waipawa, the continued upgrade of Russell Park in Waipukurau, the new sewerage and water treatment plants for the various towns and the high standard of our roading network," he said.

Although his current contract ended in September this year, he chose to step down earlier in order to travel to the United Kingdom during the northern hemisphere summer.

Current council land transport manager Shawn McKinley will act as chief executive until Mrs Davidson starts.