BOPLASS welcomes the recently appointed Chief Executive of Western Bay of Plenty District Council, John Holyoake effective 19 July 2021. 

Prior to joining Western Bay, John was the chief executive of the Tamaki Regeneration Company - the largest urban regeneration project in New Zealand, a role he has held since 2015. Previously, John worked for Serco NZ, Housing NZ and Department of Corrections in senior leadership roles.

Originally from Rotorua, John says it is great to be back in the Bay of Plenty and he is eager to bring his skills and learnings to the rohe (area) and the inevitable challenges Council will face, particularly with reforms like the Future of Local Government and Three Waters.

Western Bay Mayor Garry Webber says Holyoake's appointment reflected the council's anticipation of central government's well-signalled national reforms of the Three Waters and the Resource Management Act and the desire to be ready for the changes. 

John has considerable experience in the public and private sectors with leadership of large-scale projects and strong relationships with government, agencies, iwi and large stakeholder groups.