23 December 2004

ARC appoints new CEO

Auckland Regional Council has appointed its new Chief Executive Officer.

Peter Winder, who has extensive public sector experience, will begin his term on 1 January 2005.

Announcing the appointment today, ARC Chairman Michael Lee says Mr Winder was an outstanding candidate.

“Peter’s wide-ranging public sector experience, combined with his strong interpersonal skills, impressed the council. He is a very experienced and an especially talented public servant. We had no hesitation in recommending his appointment,” Mr Lee says.

Mr Winder has held a number of important positions in the public sector. He is the former Director of Transport at ARC and was previously Chief Executive of Local Government New Zealand.

Mr Lee says the ARC is committed to providing high quality public service to the Auckland region, and, under the management of Peter Winder, the organisation will continue to be recognised for its high level of service to the region. Mr Winder is an Aucklander, having grown up on the North Shore. He has an MA with First Class Honours in Geography from the University of Auckland.

As the former Director of Transport with the ARC, he had responsibility for the development of the region's transport strategy, and the design and purchase of passenger transport services for the region.

Over the last year he has made a considerable contribution to the establishment of the new Auckland Regional Transport Authority. This work marked a return to Auckland for Mr Winder, who started his career with the ARC and has worked across transport planning, regional development, resource management, urban modeling, tourism, and advocacy.

Mr Winder joined the ARC last year after two and a half years as Chief Executive of Local Government New Zealand. In that role he was the national spokesperson and advocate for all of New Zealand's city, district and regional councils. In his time at Local Government New Zealand Mr Winder led the local government sector's input into a wide range of policy issues and legislation, including the review of the Local Government Act.

Before joining Local Government New Zealand, he worked for five years as a senior executive for Tourism New Zealand. He first started his career in 1988 when he joined the Auckland Regional Authority.

ENDS

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