Knox City Council operates under a functional organisation structure, led by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
The Chief Executive Officer reports directly to Council. The CEO is responsible for establishing and maintaining an organisational structure that ensures the decisions of Council are implemented, and its vision and Council Plan is delivered. The CEO also provides timely advice to Council.
The Executive Leadership Team is appointed by the CEO and assists in the overall leadership and governance of the organisation. Each executive is supported by a directorate leadership team.
Executive Leadership Team members include:
- Chief Executive Officer – Bruce Dobson
- Director Customer and Performance – Greg Curcio
- Director City Liveability – Matt Kelleher
- Director Connected Communities – Judy Chalkley
- Director Infrastructure – Grant Thorne
- Chief Financial Officer – Navec Lorkin
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) – Bruce Dobson
Bruce Dobson joined Knox City Council as Chief Executive Officer on 8 September 2021.
Bruce is an experienced senior leader. He has a track record of driving organisational performance and delivering superior outcomes and service to the community.
He has a deep understanding of local government and community. Bruce is passionate about the opportunity local government has to improve the lives and experience of local communities.
Before Knox, Bruce served in senior executive roles at the City of Boroondara. He worked across portfolios including:
- Corporate services
- Environment and infrastructure
- Customer experience
- Business transformation
Before that, Bruce held senior executive and management roles at the City of Darebin in Melbourne’s north and Yarra Ranges Shire Council.
He is a chartered accountant with a commercial background working at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Melbourne and London before entering local government.
Reporting structure
- Director Customer and Performance – Greg Curcio
- Director City Liveability – Matt Kelleher
- Director Connected Communities – Judy Chalkley
- Director Infrastructure – Grant Thorne
- Chief Financial Officer – Navec Lorkin
Director Customer and Performance – Greg Curcio
Greg Curcio commenced as Director of Customer and Performance in September 2022.
Before Knox, Greg worked with the City of Stonnington as the Chief Customer and Transformation Officer overseeing the modernization of the Council.
Greg joins Knox with over 20 years of experience across private, public and government sectors in:
- strategy
- transformation
- digital
- technology
- cyber security
- Smart Cities/IoT
- data
- service design
- customer experience
- operations management
Greg has also launched several start-ups, and regularly mentors local entrepreneurs.
Greg’s formal qualifications include a Bachelor of Business Systems, Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt, Prosci Certified Change Practitioner, and Design Thinking and Innovation from Macquarie Graduate School.
Reporting structure
- Manager Customer and Communications – Imogen Kelly
- Manager Strategy and Transformation – Jennifer Reid
(Liesl Westberry acting until January 2025) - Chief Information Officer – Scott Coleman
- Manager Governance and Risk – Andrew Dowling
- Chief People Officer – John Rashed
Director City Liveability – Matt Kelleher
Matt Kelleher joined Knox in May 2019 as Director City Development, responsible for leading City Futures, City Planning and Building and City Safety and Health.
Before joining Knox, Matt was Director Community and Planning at Nillumbik Shire Council.
Matt has extensive experience in senior leadership and executive roles in the local government sector, leading teams across a diverse range of functional areas, including planning, city strategy, community services, customer experience, regulatory services and OD/HR.
Matt has a strong track record of delivering on a range of complex strategic projects, with strong community and stakeholder engagement supporting his ability to make a positive difference for communities.
Experience in service reviews and leading change has enabled Matt to build high performing teams with a clear shared vision in delivering improved services and results for customers and stakeholders. Matt’s experience across a range of urban planning, community liveability, service performance and organisational capability projects and initiatives is focused on supporting teams and organisations to effectively position for strategic challenges in the external environment.
Matt’s formal qualifications include an MBA along with a Bachelor of Applied Science in Planning and a Graduate Diploma of Management, and he is a certified change management practitioner (Prosci). Matt is a fellow of Local Government Professionals (LGPro) and has completed its Executive Leadership Program, XLP.
Reporting structure
- Manager City Futures – Shiranthi Widan
- Manager City Planning and Building – Paul Dickie
- Manager City Safety and Health – Jonathan McNally
- Manager City Projects – Nicola Ward
Director Connected Communities – Judy Chalkley
Judy Chalkley commenced as Director Connected Communities on 28 March 2023.
Judy has worked in Local Government for 15 years starting at Maroondah City Council. Judy moved to Knox in 2016 as the Coordinator Service Access and Home Support Assessment before being appointed as Manager Community Access and Support.
Judy has extensive experience working at a senior level in a wide range of community service programs in Local Government and State Government. She is a highly regarded industry leader, renowned for her collaborative in the regional and sector leadership and has extensive experience leading teams and organisations through significant change.
Reporting structure
- Manager Community Wellbeing – Kerryn Jansons
- Manager Active and Creative Communities – Nicole Columbine
- Manager Family and Children’s Services – Sarah Kleine
- Manager Community Access and Support – Gail Power
Director Infrastructure – Grant Thorne
Grant Thorne joined Knox City Council as its Director Infrastructure in September 2020.
Prior to joining Knox, Grant was Director City Infrastructure at Moreland City Council for over 6 years.
Grant has 27 years of experience across rural, growth and metropolitan councils and extensive experience in senior leadership and executive roles within local government. Grant’s experience includes leading large and complex teams including open space design and development, open space maintenance, street cleansing, roads, fleet, waste, engineering, asset management, building maintenance, building projects, local laws, parking, animal management, transport and project management.
He brings strong leadership skills and a passion for working with and improving the local community.
Grant’s formal qualifications include Bachelor of Engineering (Civil), Graduate Diploma of Management and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Reporting structure
- Manager Engineering Services and Operations – Mark Varmalis (Acting)
- Manager Green Spaces and Environment – Andrew Dodd
- Manager Major Projects and Facilities – Monica Micheli
- Manager Strategic Infrastructure – Matt Hanrahan
Chief Financial Officer - Navec Lorkin
Navec Lorkin joined Knox City Council as Chief Financial Officer in March 2021.
Prior to joining Knox, Navec was Manager Business and Governance with the Bureau of Meteorology. Navec has held a number of senior roles within large and complex organisations.
She is strategically minded, people focused and a performance driven leader with 20 years' experience across all levels of government (local, state and commonwealth) while also having experience across industries including water, land and asset management and retail.
Navec’s formal qualifications include Bachelor of Commerce and Certified Practicing Accountant (CPA). She is also a certified change management practitioner (Prosci) and a Prince2 program manager practitioner.
Reporting structure
- Manager Strategic Procurement and Property – Shelley Starrenburg
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