Council Chief Executive Kym Fell accepts executive Wellington role
Published on 24 August 2021
Whanganui District Council Chief Executive Kym Fell has accepted the role of Chief Customer and Community Officer with Wellington City Council, after serving Whanganui for almost six years.
In January 2016, Mr Fell was appointed for a five-year fixed term, however early in his initial term, Council resolved to extend his contract for a further two years, the maximum amount permitted in accordance with the Local Government Act.
Mr Fell says he has enjoyed leading the organisation “under the guidance of a very progressive elected Council”.
“In this role, working with other community leaders and organisations is key and no two days are the same. From day one, my focus was to make the Council more user-friendly and accessible to the community. This involved transformational change and a shift towards a customer-centric approach and away from bureaucracy and resistance.
“There were a number of highly complex challenges when I first joined the organisation including a new wastewater treatment plant, the Sarjeant Gallery redevelopment and recalibrating our council-controlled organisations. We now have a very effective organisation, which makes me immensely proud.
“The Chief Customer and Community Officer is a great opportunity which I could not turn down. I am really looking forward to building on the great work of Wellington City Council, particularly when it comes to creating a ‘customer-centric’ environment where staff are empowered to deliver outstanding customer service.
“I am also excited to be part of an executive leadership team who are forward-thinking, innovative and solutions-focused and to be leading a number of high performing teams within a larger, more diverse metropolitan environment.
“The timing was right, as I made a commitment to Mayor Hamish McDouall that I would see through the adoption of Whanganui’s Long Term Plan 2021-2031, before exploring opportunities outside of the region,” says Mr Fell.
Although Whanganui District Councillors have already begun a search for Kym’s replacement, Mr Fell will remain as Whanganui District Council’s chief executive until late October 2021.
Mr Fell’s highlights include combining Whanganui Venues and Events into a one-stop-shop, re-designing the customer service centre to enable staff to be more interactive with the community and strengthening relationships with hapu during the Upokongaro cycleway bridge project.
“Another highlight was being awarded the Overseas Manager Exchange to the United States by the NZ Society of Local Government Managers in 2020. I have not yet travelled to the United States for this exchange, but I look forward to going in the future.”
Mayor Hamish McDouall says Mr Fell has provided, “stable, level-headed leadership” to Whanganui during a time of great change.
“During Kym’s time at the Council he inherited some large projects, such as the $40M rebuild of the wastewater treatment plant and has been part of the team leading the Sarjeant Gallery and Port redevelopment.
“He has built a strong team and brought impressive leadership to the council which has resulted in an increasingly positive organisational culture. During his time here Whanganui has received many awards and we have seen a population increase, in part due to the Council creating and promoting a liveable, creative and vibrant city. Kym will be missed and we wish him all the best with his Wellington role. Personally, he has become a good friend and I’ve really enjoyed working with him,” says Mayor McDouall.
In Mr Fell’s new role, which is part of the executive leadership team, he will be responsible for a wide range of frontline Wellington City operations and services, including parks, sport and recreation, city housing, arts and culture and economic and commercial services.
“The skills, experiences and challenges Whanganui has provided me will definitely support me in this new role,” says Mr Fell.