New CEO for Murrindindi Shire Council

Published on 05 May 2021

Murrindindi Shire Council is very pleased to announce the appointment of its new CEO, Ms Livia Bonazzi. Ms Bonazzi will take up the CEO role on 9 June 2021.

On 14 April 2021 at a Confidential Unscheduled Meeting of Council, Council resolved to appoint Ms Bonazzi as CEO following an extensive recruitment process facilitated by an external recruitment agency. 

Ms Bonazzi is currently the General Manager Strategy and Innovation with Western Water, a role she has held since 2015. Ms Bonazzi has over 20 years’ experience in senior executive roles, in both private and public sector positions and spanning a diverse range of disciplines, including strategy, governance, planning, asset management and customer service.       

Ms Bonazzi holds a Master in Business Administration and Bachelor Degrees in Architecture and in Planning and Design. Ms Bonazzi is currently completing the Australian Institute of Company Directors Course. 

Mayor Sandice McAulay said she was thrilled with the appointment and said Ms Bonazzi was joining Council at an important time. 

‘Council is in the process of creating a new Council Plan which will guide our work over the next four years. We are a newly-elected Council and have been working hard to set a strategic, positive direction for our work, in collaboration with our community’, said Cr McAulay.  

‘Ms Bonazzi has wide-ranging experience and skills which make her the right choice for this role. She has worked collaboratively and strategically with government and across sectors to deliver a range of key programs, with a focus on economic and environmental performance. As a member of various forums and committees, she has devised and driven successful initiatives and attracted funding to advance large-scale projects.  She is skilled at driving organisational improvement, including in a local government setting.  

‘Ms Bonazzi also has substantial experience in implementing complex projects and new initiatives which attract high levels of community support. Helpfully, Ms Bonazzi also brings to this role a good understanding of the challenges facing rural communities’, added Cr McAulay.   

‘Ms Bonazzi has built a reputation as a respected and empowering leader in her field and for building a high-performing culture. Ms Bonazzi is well-placed to lead the organisation in continuing its ‘Customer First’ journey, to ensure our services are designed and delivered first and foremost with customers in mind and to help Council build the future we all want to see for Murrindindi Shire’.   

Ms Bonazzi said she was delighted to have been appointed as Council’s new CEO. 

‘I am genuinely excited about this opportunity. Murrindindi Shire is an amazing part of the world and I look forward to settling into the Shire, learning more about it and meeting members of the community and community groups so I am fully informed about local priorities and the vision for the future of the Shire. I enjoy collaboration and working creatively with communities. I look forward to identifying and advancing opportunities to deliver the community vision, including by creating vibrant and beautiful spaces and to enhance prosperity of the Shire.  

‘I have heard good things about the people who work at Murrindindi Shire Council, including that they really care about their community.   I am looking forward to getting to know and work with the team at Council and to building on the work they are already doing to ensure we understand and are meeting the needs of the community’, added Ms Bonazzi. 

Cr McAulay said it was important for Council to acknowledge the organisation for its work since the departure of former CEO Craig Lloyd in October 2020.     

‘My heartfelt thanks go out to everyone who works for Council and, in particular, to Mr Michael Chesworth, who so ably stepped into the acting CEO position late last year. He has been a source of wise and considered counsel for newly-elected Councillors and for the organisation, including through the latter stages of the pandemic. Mr Chesworth is much-respected and appreciated by Councillors and his community and will be a valuable source of local knowledge and guidance for Ms Bonazzi as she settles into the role of CEO’, said Cr McAulay.