Surfing dad-of-three ready to lead Wollondilly Council
A surfing dad-of-three from Sydney’s northern beaches has fended off all challengers to win Wollondilly Council’s top job. Find out why Ben Taylor can’t wait to meet you.
Macarthur
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Ben Taylor is the surfing dad-of-three from Sydney’s Northern Beaches, ready to lead the rural villages of Wollondilly Council into the future.
The 44-year-old, who boasts a lengthy list of achievements including the delivery of $2 billion worth of infrastructure to the Northern Beaches, fended off all challengers during a nationwide recruitment drive for the position.
In an exclusive interview with the Macarthur Chronicle, Mr Taylor revealed why Wollondilly was his perfect match and what he will bring to the role.
Why Wollondilly?
The nature-loving Mr Taylor first words to the Chronicle was “Wollondilly is a really beautiful part of the world”.
After leading the amalgamation of Northern Beaches Council and inspiring a high-performing culture within, Mr Taylor said he was ready for the next challenge.
“I’m really pleased Wollondilly came along because it was exactly what I was looking for,” he said.
“For me, what I’m really most excited about is getting to know the local area, getting to know the local community, getting to know the staff, and really understanding what are their priorities and how I can help them deliver an even better and better local area.
“I love local government because we can make a difference for the community and really improve their lives if we do our job well.”
Experience
Mr Taylor has high-level experience in local and state government, with roles including a NSW Government Office of Water director, Northern Beaches Council acting CEO and Shore Regional Organisation of Councils (SHOROC) CEO.
“In my former role with SHOROC, I brought in around $2 billion worth of infrastructure to the Northern Beaches through strategic planning, through relationship management and through advocacy for the local area,” he said.
On his LinkedIn profile, Mr Taylor lists his strengths as inspiring and empowering staff, change management, strategy, integrity and communication.
The process
About 150 days ago, Wollondilly Council began the recruitment process for the new CEO following the resignation of former CEO Luke Johnson in March.
Council engaged a recruitment agency which launched a nationwide recruitment campaign. The agency then culled the list to 25 candidates, which was then reviewed by a recruitment panel, set up by the councillors, with ten candidates short-listed.
The ten remaining candidates, which included two internal staff, were interviewed last month.
The top-three candidates were ultimately interviewed by all councillors at an extraordinary council meeting on August 20, in which Mr Taylor was unanimously endorsed.
Why Ben Taylor?
Wollondilly Mayor Matthew Deeth said Mr Taylor’s experience in a larger organisation, his leadership skills, political acumen and experience in strategic planning saw him well-positioned for the position of CEO.
“He got a passion for customer service, and improving customer service and developing the organisation around a customer centric model,” Mr Deeth said.
“He really focused on delivering great services to the community, through innovative approaches.”
Mr Deeth also highlighted Mr Taylor’s energy and enthusiasm for the area.
“One of the other things that was a bit of a standout for Ben was that he’s very keen to understand the area,” he said.
“He’s also really keen to get to know the unique communities, people and villages that make the Shire what it is. So that was that’s been really encouraging.
What now?
Mr Taylor is preparing to move to the Wollondilly area with his wife and three kids. He will begin in his new role on Monday, September 23.
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