New Council CE Announced

Fiona Aitken has been appointed the new chief executive at the South Taranaki District Council (STDC) says South Taranaki Mayor, Phil Nixon.

“I’m extremely pleased to be able to announce the appointment of Fiona Aitken to the position of chief executive for the Council,” says Mayor Nixon. “Fiona is a highly experienced leader with some 30 years in the local government sector, and her appointment comes after a rigorous application process where the standard of applicants was extremely high.”

Mayor Nixon says Fiona has been the acting chief executive since the departure of Waid Crockett in October, having been on the Council’s senior leadership team since 2010, with the last four years as group manager of community and infrastructure services.

“It’s great that we have the depth of talent at the Council which enables us to make such appointments. Fiona has a strong reputation of working with people and building effective relationships at all levels and has done an excellent job of leading the Council’s largest group during a period of uncertainty and change. The organisation has made a lot of progress over the last five years and Fiona will ensure that progress continues,” he says.

“I feel privileged to be able to lead an organisation I have been part of for 30 years and I am excited about the opportunity to work with the team to continue to make our communities great places to live, work and play,” says Fiona.

A Pōwhiri to officially welcome Fiona to her new position will be held in early December.