At an Extraordinary Council Meeting last night, Muswellbrook Shire Council appointed Derek Finnigan as its new General Manager following a lengthy recruitment process and two rounds of interviews with four candidates.
Mr Finnigan, pictured below, has extensive experience in local government and a career spanning more than thirty years across a variety of Council roles, mostly recently as Acting General Manager.
His experience with Council includes financial, governance and leadership roles with a focus on community engagement and collaboration and a positive high performing and supportive team culture.
His formal qualifications include an MBA majoring in sustainable business, Bachelor Business Administration, Diploma Occupational Health & Safety and Bachelor English Literature.
Mayor Steve Reynolds said this is a challenging time for Council with major Federal, and State Government and Council projects, financial challenges and extreme weather events stretching Council’s resources to the limit.
“We were very impressed with how Mr Finnigan has kept a steady ship since stepping into the leadership role during the recruitment period. It is a challenging job but he has a solid understanding of the importance of consolidation, organisational culture and in building a strong team to support business transformation.
Mayor Steve Reynolds“Council is looking forward to continuing working with Mr Finnigan and I am confident that staff and residents will value his leadership and commitment to our community.”
Mr Finnigan replaces Ms Fiona Plesman who resigned from Council in August 2022 after five years at the helm.
