Lascelles appointed as Gore District Council’s new CEO
Wednesday, 28 February 2024
Deborah Lascelles will replace Stephen Parry as the Gore District Council’s chief executive.
She will start the role on June 3.
Mayor Ben Bell acknowledged Parry’s departure, saying it ‘’represented a significant loss in terms of experience and institutional knowledge’’.
The Gore District Council has announced it has appointed Deborah Lascelles as its new chief executive, following the resignation of Stephen Parry.
Lascelles has worked at the South Waikato District Council for the last two years, initially as group manager community and corporate, and latterly as executive manager strategy and transformation, and has also held senior roles with Waipa District Council and Hamilton City Council.
Lascelles said she was thrilled to be joining the team at the council.
“I am looking forward to getting to know the communities within the district, getting to know staff and getting stuck in to what is shaping up to be a busy time for local government over the next few years,’’ she said.
Lascelles will move from Hamilton to Gore with her teenage son and will take up the role on Monday, June 3.
Gore district mayor Ben Bell said the quality of applications had been outstanding.
“We were pleasantly surprised with the number of professionals who saw the council as a progressive organisation and Gore as a great place to enjoy a career and lifestyle,’’ he said.
Lascelles had the experience and skill set to lead the council, he said.
“She is a strategic thinker, skilled at building strong community relationships and leading large teams.
“Coming from a provincial council with strong rural ties makes Debbie a great fit for Gore.”
Bell acknowledged Parry’s departure, saying it ‘’represented a significant loss in terms of experience and institutional knowledge’’.
“He has been an integral part of the organisation for a long time.”
The council received 74 applications from throughout New Zealand and overseas for the position. Recruitment agency Brannigans and the council’s recruitment panel chose five preferred candidates to be interviewed by councillors.
The interviews were held in Queenstown.
“When we compared flights, travel and venue costs between Gore, Invercargill and Queenstown, the latter was considerably cheaper,” Bell said.
Members of the council’s recruitment panel were Bell, deputy mayor Keith Hovell, Cr Neville Phillips (chair) and Cr Andy Fraser.
Parry will remain as interim chief executive until Lascelles takes up the position, after which he said he would “ride off into a new professional horizon”.
In December, Stuff reported Parry had agreed to continue working at the council for one day a week as a consultant on some ‘’key initiatives’’, after the Ombudsman’s Office ruled that the council should release emails about Parry’s resignation that it had previously withheld sighting privacy reasons.
Parry, who had a very public falling out with New Zealand’s youngest mayor Ben Bell, announced his resignation in September after 22 years as the council’s CEO.
The last year has proven controversial and Parry and Bell clashed almost right from the start of Bell’s mayoralty, and a month into his tenure the pair were already in mediation and no longer speaking.
He was also accused of bullying former staff members, leading to an online petition calling for his resignation.
In June, Bell took the unusual step of issuing a statement apologising to Parry, saying the media attention had caused “significant disruption, distress and hurt to the chief executive, staff, and councillors’’.
Correction: Interim CEO Stephen Parry will leave once the new chief executive is in place. This was amended at 12pm, February 28, 2024