Chief Executive re-appointed

Harry O’Rourke – Waitakere City Council

Waitakere City Council Chief Executive, Harry O’Rourke, has been re-appointed for a further two years.

The Council’s Performance Review Committee unanimously agreed to exercise its option to extend Mr O’Rourke’s contract.

Waitakere Mayor, Bob Harvey, said the decision was “a clear endorsement of Mr O’Rourke and the direction in which he is taking the organisation.”

During his term as Chief Executive, Mr O’Rourke has been a champion of organisational excellence, driving a comprehensive review of the Council’s structure and strategic direction and a programme of staff empowerment.

Mr O’Rourke has a long history of local government service to the City, having first joined the Waitemata County Council in 1972. He was managing the Council’s Works and Parks departments by 1984, became Town Clerk in 1985 and was Chief Executive of the Waitemata City Council in 1988.

When Waitemata and other local boroughs amalgamated to form Waitakere City Council in 1989, Mr O’Rourke took the position of General Manager – Finance and Administration. He became General Manager – Corporate Services in 1994 and was appointed Acting Chief Executive in 2000 and Chief Executive in 2001.

Mr O’Rourke is also president of the Commonwealth Judo Association and the NZ Judo Federation and was awarded a Queen’s New Zealand medal in 1990 for service to sport.