Debbie Lascelles, Garry Dyet
Waipa¯ District Council has appointed two new group managers to its executive team.
Debbie Lascelles will join council in June as group manager, strategy and community services, reporting directly to chief executive Garry Dyet. Her position is a new one and follows a restructure of executive responsibilities. The role encompasses some of the responsibilities formerly held by group manager – strategy and planning, David Hall, who advised some months ago he would be leaving the organisation. The new role also picks up responsibilities for planning and managing open space.
Ms Lascelles has a background in community psychology and joins Waipā from Hamilton City Council. During her time in Hamilton she held senior roles, most recently unit manager of community services responsible for libraries, pools and all community development services. Her role saw her responsible for more than 200 staff and a $17.5 million operating budget.
Mr Dyet said the strategy and community services role attracted interest from 45 applicants, some international.
“Some outstanding people applied and it was particularly heartening to hear many of them had applied because Waipa District Council is held in such high regard and has an outstanding reputation within local government. The role offers real opportunities to make a positive difference in the community and Debbie has exactly the skills and experience required.”
This is the second recent appointment to Waipā’s executive team. In the last month, Wayne Allan was promoted to group manager – district growth and regulatory services, reporting to the chief executive. Mr Allan, who has been at Waipā for some time, was formerly planning and regulatory manager and now picks up additional responsibilities for development engineering and civil defence. He is already the local civil defence controller for the district.
Both Mr Allan and Ms Lascelles hold Masters degrees; Mr Allan in public policy and Ms Lascelles in social sciences.
