Panuku CEO Roger MacDonald resigns after mysterious leave
Friday, 1 November 2019
Panuku chief executive officer Roger MacDonald has resigned following a period of mysterious and unexplained leave.
MacDonald is due to leave the Auckland Council development agency in mid-November, development Auckland chair Adrienne Young-Cooper said on Friday.
The agency would not confirm the reason for MacDonald's leave when questioned by Stuff last month.
But Stuff understands mayor Phil Goff lost faith in MacDonald after a recent series of publicised issues, such as a controversial trip to the Bay of Islands, and an executive bonus scheme introduced at Panuku under his watch.
**READ MORE:
* Auckland Council development agency CEO Roger Macdonald on unexplained leave
* Auckland Council agency Panuku paid $451,000 to staff in bonuses
* Auckland Panuku boss claims 'no memory' of invite for helicopter flight to superyacht
* Serious Fraud Office rejects Auckland Council fraud complaint but flags luxury trip**
David Rankin, chief operating officer, would continue acting as CEO while a replacement was found.
'I thank Roger for his valuable service to Panuku since late 2016 and wish him all the best in his next endeavours,' Young-Cooper said.
MacDonald would be paid out his contractual three-month notice period and accrued leave. He is not receiving any severance payments, she said.
Roger Macdonald was recently in the news over an $80,000 increase in his salary and the introduction of an executive bonus scheme which paid out $451,000 to 38 agency staff, raising the ire of the mayor Phil Goff.
In July he had been in the news over accepting luxury hospitality including a helicopter trip to the Bay of Islands, from the firm which bought the council's former HQ through Panuku.
The trip had been flagged in a letter from the Serious Fraud Office, which had found no grounds to investigate a complaint by mayoral candidate John Tamihere over the sale.
The SFO noted the trip 'did risk creating a perception of impropriety', but at the time Panuku said MacDonald had not known it involved a helicopter ride.
MacDonald followed procedures in having the January 2017 trip approved by the previous chair of Panuku, having declared its value as $300-$500.
However correspondence sought from Panuku by Stuff showed two emails to MacDonald in the week leading to the trip had referred to the helicopter.
Panuku's chair Adrienne Young-Cooper told Stuff MacDonald's explanation was that he did not recall the emails.
In a statement to Stuff on MacDonald's absence Young-Cooper said he was on leave.
'During Macdonalds absence Mr David Rankin will have the position of acting CEO of Panuku ,' she said.
'Panuku remains focussed on its mission to regenerate and transform parts of Auckland,' she said.
MORE TO COME.