New Corangamite Shire Council Chief Executive Officer David Rae has hit the ground running.
Mr Rae spent much of his first day today meeting staff and settling back into the Shire where he previously served as Director Corporate and Community Services for 10 years.
The qualified accountant and lifelong resident of South West Victoria started his local government career with Warrnambool City Council in 1996 was employed at Western District Health Service as Sub-regional Finance Director before joining Corangamite for the first time in 2012.
Mayor Ruth Gstrein said Councillors were delighted to have Mr Rae on board.
"David has been Director of Corporate and Community Services at Moyne Shire for the past 12 months. Prior to that he was our director for 10 years," Cr Gstrein said.
"It's terrific to welcome David back and we are confident he has the skills and experience for the role.
"While it's a step up from his previous position at Corangamite, David has shown the leadership and decision-making capabilities that will make him an excellent CEO.
"Council appointed an external recruitment consultant to manage the recruitment process, in consultation with the Mayor and Councillors to ensure all best practice standards were met."
"David was one of a number of highly talented applicants for the position.
"He is not only capable of fulfilling the roles and responsibilities of a Chief Executive Officer, but also had the skills and attributes that are important to Corangamite Shire's culture of teamwork, integrity and respect.
"Councillors are enormously confident David can support the organisation in delivering the 'Council Plan' and 'Community 2040 Vision' for the benefit of our community."
Mr Rae said he was appreciative, grateful and humbled by the opportunity.
"It's quite a surreal situation returning after 13 months.
"It's an entirely new gig. I'm not coming in with any assumptions."
Mr Rae said he was looking forward to working with the organisation to deliver the Council's priorities.
"There are some exciting projects underway: The Port Campbell Town Centre Project and the Grow and Prosper work.
"I also look forward to supporting the great range of services our community has come to expect and appreciate.
"I look forward to meeting members of the community and key stakeholders including local businesses, schools and health services.
"I'm mindful of the opportunity to build on the great foundation left by Andrew Mason, which Michael Tudball has maintained, and continuing the good work.
"We face challenges, like many other organisations such as housing affordability, workforce attraction and retention and supplier issues.
"It's important that we support the community where we can, particularly with the high cost of living.
"I'm looking forward to meeting all the staff, spending time with Councillors and supporting the team to get the job done.
"This Council has a really strong reputation and I want to preserve and maintain that.
"It's a high performing Council with great customer service."
