Paul Gardner [pictured] has been appointed South Wairarapa District Council’s interim chief executive.
The decision was made at an extraordinary council meeting yesterday following last week’s resignation of previous council boss, Harry Wilson.
Gardner is the general manager of human resources and corporate services and has been with the council for two years. Originally from the UK, he has lived in South Wairarapa for a little over five years.
He has worked across the commercial, public, private, and not-for-profit sectors in New Zealand and has held governance positions on not-for-profit organisations.
Mayor Martin Connelly said he looked forward to working with Gardner and expressed his gratitude to him for agreeing to accept the position.
“Until we make a permanent appointment later in the year, we look forward to making a lot of progress because of the leadership skills that Paul brings,” he said.
Wilson’s resignation came on Thursday, May 4, the day before his last day on the job.
The council said Wilson had cited personal reasons and a desire “to pursue other interests” for his decision.
He had been in the role since July 2019. -NZLDR
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