Ex-National Heavy Vehicle Regulator chief executive, state government bureaucrat Sal Petroccitto named new Toowoomba council chief executive
A Stanthorpe-raised former head of the national transport regulator has been named the Toowoomba Regional Council’s new chief executive. Get to know him here.
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The former head of Australia’s heavy vehicle regulator with 30 years of government experience has been named the new chief executive of the Toowoomba Regional Council – its first new appointment in more than 12 years.
Local, state and federal government veteran Sal Petroccitto OAM has pledged to take a “people-first” approach to the role, after he was endorsed unanimously by councillors at a special meeting on Wednesday.
His appointment comes after a six-month search by the 11 elected officials, which saw them sift through more than 100 inquiries and narrow down 60 applicants to just one.
Mr Petroccitto grew up in Stanthorpe, and most recently headed the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator for more than a decade until late last year.
The NHVR won three consecutive customer service awards during his tenure.
Prior to that, he was a top bureaucrat inside the Department of Transport and Main Roads during both the Bligh and Newman governments, focusing on the state’s road, rail and port systems.
An urban planner by degree, Mr Petroccitto sat in a number of roles within the Brisbane City Council from 1998 until 2006.
The 2023 Order of Australia Medal recipient said the move to Toowoomba was a “no-brainer” given the region’s potential for growth.
“I grew up in Stanthorpe, so for me, Toowoomba has always been that city where you came to, for those regional higher order services,” he said.
“But for me (right now), it was the opportunities that this city and this region just provides to grow, and it just was so exciting.
“I think while we’re number two, I think we will be the number one inland city in Australia because there’s just so much potential, so it was a no-brainer for me for sure.”
Mr Petroccitto, who takes over from long-term chief executive Brian Pidgeon following his retirement late last year, joins a council facing a number of challenges, including ballooning staff vacancies, a projected structural deficit this financial year and the looming prospect of having to the fully-fund the $266m Cressbrook Dam safety upgrades itself.
He said his leadership style prioritised people, arguing his background had demonstrated an ability to bring a variety of voices to the same table.
“I value my people, I value trust, I value respect, I value openness, and I think if I can bring that to this organisation and to the community, I think we’ll have a successful relationship,” Mr Petroccitto said.
“Walking into a role where everything is done is not my style, so the opportunity to actually get my head around things and really get that agenda going, that will give me a week to really start to get the lay of the land.
“I’ve left an organisation of 1000 people where we brought six different cultures together from each of the states to bring one organisational culture together, so that cultural piece is really important in how we build that as an organisation.
“Vacancies are opportunities – I don’t see that as a challenge. I see that as a massive opportunity as to how we decide to grow the city and really focus on where our services need to be.”
Toowoomba mayor Geoff McDonald said the selection process had helped distil a candidate all councillors broadly supported.
“This has been treated as a very serious decision for councillors to make, and therefore we took our time,” he said.
“The search actually demonstrated a real clear point for us to remember – that our region is a region where people want to be, and this position is (one) that individuals see as somewhere that they can contribute to a very buoyant community, the second largest inland city in Australia with great opportunities.
“Certainly part of Sal’s presentation (to councillors) demonstrated that his real and strong desire is to help us achieve those very important things, that every person wants (for Toowoomba) to be a great place to live, learn, work and play.”
Deputy mayor Rebecca Vonhoff believed Mr Petroccitto would be the “transformational” leader that the organisation needed.
“Sal has a reputation for being a transformational leader, transforming organisations, he’s got great relationships with the state and federal government, he knows infrastructure and he really believes in this region,” she said.
“So that is just tick, tick, tick, tick, tick (for us).”
Mr Petroccitto starts on July 14.
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Originally published as Ex-National Heavy Vehicle Regulator chief executive, state government bureaucrat Sal Petroccitto named new Toowoomba council chief executive
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