New chief executive for council

Terry Dodds is the new Tenterfield Shire Council CEO.

By Jeremy Sollars

Terry Dodds of Tura Beach in New South Wales has accepted the role of chief executive at Tenterfield Shire Council after the council unanimously endorsed his appointment last Tuesday 5 September at an Extraordinary Meeting to conduct final interviews.
Mayor Peter Petty said Terry was chosen after a search of candidates from across Australia and overseas and following “a very competitive selection process from a high-calibre field of 23 experienced candidates who came from NSW, Queensland, the Northern Territory, Victoria and Canada.
“Terry highly impressed all councillors with his collaborative leadership style, his passion for local government and serving communities and his obvious project and asset management experience,” Cr Petty said.
“We interviewed eight highly credentialed candidates from the 23 candidates, even one from Canada, an Australian working there as a city manager.
“Overall, Terry demonstrated he has the experience, qualifications and desire to do an outstanding job.
“With Terry’s leadership and the hard-working staff of the council, Tenterfield is in very good hands.”
Mr Dodds replaces former Tenterfield Shire Council chief executive Damien Connor, who left the role in mid-June this year.
Sydney consulting firm Blackadder Associates was engaged by the council to undertake the recruitment process.
Mr Dodds will take up the new role in October.
He is currently the director of Transport and Utilities at Bega Valley Shire Council on the south coast of NSW, and has been a local government infrastructure director at Merriwa, Port Hedland, Wagga Wagga and Ryde councils. He has also served as chief executive officer at the Isaac Regional Council in Queensland.