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NPDC Appoints its New Chief Executive

Thu 03 Apr 2008

New Plymouth District Council has selected General Manager Customer Services Barbara McKerrow as its new Chief Executive.

“I am delighted to accept this position and I am looking forward to helping the council achieve great things for this district over the coming years,” says Mrs McKerrow.

Mayor Peter Tennent says the role of Chief Executive was hotly contested by a large field of highly qualified candidates from throughout New Zealand and Australia, and Mrs McKerrow was the unanimous choice of the entire council.

“The selection process has been a rigorous one with our ‘long list’ of nine candidates each interviewed by the full council for one and a half hours last week, then a short list of four candidates who were each interviewed for two hours yesterday,” says the Mayor.

“We know we’ve got the right person for the job, and we are looking forward to working alongside Barbara to take this community and district forward.”

Mayor Pete says Mrs McKerrow’s career path makes her a great role model for the district’s young people.

“Barbara is a Taranaki girl, was educated locally, and moved on to gain her tertiary qualifications and opportunities beyond our bounds, before returning to work her way through the council from her first job as a librarian through to the General Manager of the Customer Services Group, proving her skills at every step.

“She knows this organisation inside out and she has the respect of the staff and the elected members, and what she has learned from her experiences around New Zealand and overseas will greatly benefit New Plymouth District.”

Says Mrs McKerrow: “We have always said that in New Plymouth District you can have a great lifestyle, but this is proof that you can also have a fantastic career without moving to Auckland or Wellington.

“Our young people can return – and many have done so – and carve a career where there are no limits on what you can achieve.”

Mrs McKerrow was educated at New Plymouth Girls’ High School, Otago University, Victoria University and Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts (double major English and history) and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Librarianship, and is an Associate of the New Zealand Library Information Association.

From 1982-85 Mrs McKerrow was deputy to the Chief Librarian at Malvern City Council, Melbourne, and started work at New Plymouth City Council in 1985 as a Deputy City Librarian before being appointed District Librarian in 1996, Puke Ariki Manager in 1999, Community Services Manager in 2000 then General Manager Customer Services in 2001.

She has been a three-time Chair of the Taranaki Branch of the Employers and Manufacturers Association Central, and is a former National President of LIANZA (Library and Information Association New Zealand Aotearoa).

In 1982 Mrs McKerrow won the Australian National Title for Women’s Marathon, and has represented Australia in the World Cup Marathon in 1985, and New Zealand in the Singapore Marathon in 1987 and the Los Angeles Marathon in 1988.

“I’d like to stress that my allegiance is first and foremost with Taranaki and New Zealand, and anyone who beats Australia at rugby!” she says.

Mrs McKerrow will be the first female Chief Executive of NPDC. Her appointment will be confirmed at a council meeting next Tuesday (8 April).