QLDC hits restart on CEO recruitment process

Queenstown Lakes District councillors have agreed to restart the chief executive recruitment process dropping the controversial plans put in place by former Mayor Glyn Lewers to recruit a replacement for council Chief Executive Mike Theelen.

On August 5, then Mayor Glyn Lewers emailed councillors to say CEO Mike Theelen (pictured) would not seek another term and would leave in February.

Six weeks later, he announced that a recruitment company had been engaged – without any involvement from the full council.

At the time councillor Niki Gladding criticised the seemingly secret procurement process saying it could erode confidence in the fairness and independence of the process.

At a full council meeting today councillors agreed to establish both a Chief Executive Relationship and Recruitment Committee made up of the full council, and a subcommittee comprised of mayor John Glover and councillors Jon Mitchell, Quentin Smith and Melissa White.

The committee would be responsible for selecting a recruitment agent for the purposes of recruiting the chief executive while the subcommittee would be responsible for selection and appointment of an interim chief executive, reporting a recommended appointment to the council in February.

They also agreed to delegate authority to the mayor to sign off on all interim CE and CE procurement on behalf of council.

Following the decisions, the role of recruitment agency will go out to public tender from December 3 until 17 and the subcommittee will shortlist possible options before Christmas for the council to select a recruiter early in the new year.

At the meeting, councillors Gavin Bartlett and Matt Wong expressed concerns about the process that had been followed.

“It does concern me, and has concerned me that we’ve spent six weeks spinning our wheels on this issue,” Bartlett said.

“We had a recruitment consultant appointed, that appointment was done by people with the appropriate delegation to do so with the intention that as a new council we’d be able to hit the ground running and be able to immediately commence the work we needed to do on this most important of tasks.

“Instead we’re in the position we’re in today proposing to restart the process from the beginning and we haven’t even taken the time or courtesy to review the original evaluation or speak to the selected party.”

He said he would still support the recommendations so “we can get on with the task” but felt the way it had played out had not been “ideal”.

“Hopefully we can put the past few weeks behind us and move on perhaps with more openness and transparency about things like this.”

Wong agreed.

“I made it clear I was happy with the original way procurement was approached. I was very conscious there were technicalities but when I look at practicalities of what we’re trying to achieve here, the substantive issue is finding the right candidates and the CEO that’s going to lead us forward and that’s ultimately what I’m focused on.”

The tender for a recruiter will be on the Government Electronic Tender Service (GETS) next week.