Ex-Brisbane City Council CEO Colin Jensen named interim CEO of Toowoomba council while permanent recruitment starts

The Toowoomba Regional Council’s new interim chief executive was responsible for a budget worth more than $4.3bn last year. Here will be the priorities during his short contract:

An ex-chief executive of Australia’s largest local government has been named interim chief executive of the Toowoomba Regional Council, as the organisation moves to secure a permanent replacement within months.

Colin Jensen, who served as head of the Brisbane City Council for 14 years until last year, will take on a three-month contract with Toowoomba starting on February 24.

His appointment by mayor Geoff McDonald and 10 councillors comes after previous chief executive Brian Pidgeon announced his retirement.

Mr Jensen handled an annual budget in Brisbane worth nearly $4.3bn while overseeing essential services to more than 1.3 million people.

Mr McDonald said he and the council had laid out the key priorities for Mr Jensen while he was in the role, including measures to cut the projected budget deficit of more than $14m.

“It speaks volumes for the fact that we have someone of that calibre who can see they can add value to what we are doing,” he said.

Toowoomba Regional Council mayor Geoff McDonald and deputy mayor Rebecca Vonhoff at a press conference to announce an interim CEO, Tuesday, February 4, 2025. Picture: Kevin Farmer

“For us as a council, we will make sure that we are focused on the future – leveraging off the intelligence and intellect and experience of Colin and making sure that we set ourselves up for the full-time CEO when they are recruited.

“We’re looking down the barrel at the moment (of) a $14.5 million deficit and I’ve spoken to Colin privately around this when the contract was getting completed and said that that is one of the key criteria over the next three months.

“Let’s see how we can improve and assist the organisation to rein that back in, while continuing to deliver those essential services that we need to on behalf of our community. That’s the key KPI for, there is no doubt about that.

“We (also) need to make sure we can continue to deliver those essential services and maintain the liveability that our community expects and deserves.”

Former Brisbane City Council CEO Colin Jensen.

Other priorities for Mr Jensen will include managing the rollout of the $270m Cressbrook Dam safety upgrade, for which the council is still trying to secure financial support.

Mr McDonald said the executive leadership team, which will serve directly under Mr Jensen, were made aware of the appointment at the same time the media was on Tuesday.

“We’re very conscious as a council as elected representatives of the impact that a CEO can have to an organisation,” he said.

“We are in step with the executive leadership team and we need to make sure we’re in step the CEO, and that’ll flow through the organisation.

“That’s why we’re keeping everyone informed at the right time of this process.”

Mr Jensen’s contract can be extended or shortened depending on the recruitment process, but Mr McDonald said he was “confident” a full-time successor would be named before the end of the financial year.

“The contract has the ability to extend if required, (but) we remain confident, optimistically confident, that a region such as ours with great opportunity, knowing full well that will have an interim CEO who’s come from the largest local government across Australia, we will get the best possible candidate to lead our community,” he said.

“If that takes an extra week, if it takes an extra day or if it takes for an extra couple of weeks to make sure we get that person, we’ll be doing everything we can to make sure we do it.”

Originally published as Ex-Brisbane City Council CEO Colin Jensen named interim CEO of Toowoomba council while permanent recruitment starts