City of Melbourne chief Alison Leighton to take leave as acting CEO appointed

City of Melbourne councillors have endorsed the council’s general manager of infrastructure and amenity, Rick Kwasek, as acting chief executive officer for a six-week period from June 26 to August 7 while CEO Alison Leighton is on leave.

Under the Local Government Act and the terms of a committee that oversees the CEO’s employment, the council is required to formally move to appoint a member of staff to the acting role if the CEO will be absent for more than 28 days.

A motion on the interim appointment moved by Lord Mayor Nick Reece and seconded by portfolio head on finance, governance and risk Cr Owen Guest, was unanimously supported at the May 26 meeting.

Cr Guest described Mr Kwasek as “a technocrat”, who had previously acted in a similar role for nine months.

“I have every faith in his ability to do Alison’s role while she’s away,” he said.

The City of Melbourne did not respond to a request for information about the nature of Ms Leighton’s leave, saying only that the leave was planned. •