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Auckland Council has a new executive leadership team, with senior staff – including mayor Wayne Brown’s chief of staff – moved from elsewhere in the organisation as it seeks to create more accountability.
The woman who helped lead the city through the Anniversary Weekend Floods and Cyclone Gabrielle, Auckland Emergency Management (AEM) duty controller Rachel Kelleher, is among others who will be moving into senior leadership.
Brown’s chief of staff Max Hardy will also take up a new role in the team.
Brown said the review and upgrade of the council’s executive leadership team was about making sure Auckland was performing well for Aucklanders.
“Part of this will see my chief of staff, Max Hardy, move from my office to become part of the executive leader team (ELT).
“That’s a reflection of the talent in my office, and Max has done a great job in making my office effective in getting my election promises acted upon. His move upward into ELT further cements my program to fix Auckland.”
New appointees will take on their roles by the end of June.
Auckland Council chief executive Phil Wilson has created a new leadership team. Photo / Dean Purcell
Rachel Kelleher is moving into a senior leadership role after being a duty controller at Auckland Emergency Management. Photo / Dean Purcell.
Those appointed to the leadership team have come from existing director and general manager-level roles. They are:
Rachel Kelleher, who will become director – community. Kelleher has held roles in central and local government organisations, including the Department of Conservation and the Waikato Regional Council. She is currently the general manager of environmental services and one of the duty controllers for AEM.
Ross Tucker will take up a role as group chief financial officer. He has headed the council’s financial strategy and planning team since 2018. He has guided the council through the impacts of Covid-19, cost blowouts with the City Rail Link and current high inflation.
Megan Tyler will become director – policy, planning and governance. Tyler has worked in Auckland’s local governments for 26 years, already being a member of the executive team when she was chief of strategy in 2019.
Max Hardy is swapping his role as the mayor’s chief of staff to become Auckland Council's director – group strategy and chief executive’s office. Photo / Jason Oxenham
Parul Sood has nearly 20 years of experience in Auckland’s local governments. . Photo / Auckland Council
Barry Potter will be director – resilience and infrastructure. Potter joined the council’s executive in 2015 as director of infrastructure and environmental services. He has worked on the development of the City Rail Link and he has experience in private sector executive leadership.
Parul Sood will be deputy director – resilience and infrastructure. She has nearly 20 years of experience in Auckland’s local governments. Sood has been general manager – waste solutions for the past five years and is chairwoman of the Waste Management Institute of New Zealand. Sood is also a duty controller for AEM.
Max Hardy, who has been appointed director – group strategy and chief executive’s office. He has been the mayor’s chief of staff since Brown took office on October 8, 2022.
Hardy was previously a lawyer and partner at Meredith Connell, one of New Zealand’s top law firms. The Herald revealed Brown paid Hardy $17,250 for his services as his chief of staff for three weeks of work from December 5 to 23 in 2022 – equating to a salary of $299,000.
Raphael Franks is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. He joined the Herald as a Te Rito cadet in 2022.
