Coming from a role as corporate services manager of the Lake McQuarrie City Council in New South Wales, Jack replaced former long-serving CEO Neil Taylor, who was stepping-down after 20 years in the job.
It coincided with Barbara Arnott's retirement from the mayoralty after 12 years in the role, and the 2013 election of new mayor Bill Dalton.
Jack had as a 14-year-old at Tamatea High School swum Cook Strait, and water and sporting issues have been a big feature of his time in the city's management, including controversial high-priced swimming pool, aquarium and velodrome proposals.
He oversaw the controversial and unpopular restructuring of council services, and has been involved with a number of other more public issues.
They include ongoing water supply difficulties, council dog pound problems, shortage of space for the region's museum collection after the redevelopment of the museum now known as the MTG, a War Memorial Centre revamp without apparent plans for maintaining the memorial itself, and recently complaints of using council resources to look at councillor Facebook pages.
The period has also included the sudden need to relocate staff of the council and Public Library after its buildings were evacuated as potential earthquake risks.