May 23, 2019 - Cassowary Coast appoints new Executive Manager

Cassowary Coast Regional Council has appointed Ms Anne Pleash of Mission Beach as its new Executive Manager.

Her appointment follows Australia-wide advertising for suitable candidates and short-listing and reference checking by external employment agency Peak Services.

Mayor John Kremastos said Ms Pleash would add a new dimension to Council, bringing with her a wealth of experience in advocacy in both local and federal government, and the business sector.

“We had a wide-ranging field of candidates and we are delighted that the best person for the job was already living here on the Cassowary Coast,” Cr Kremastos said.

“Anne is a well-respected local resident and the fact that she knows and understands our region intimately augers well for the future.

“She is a very strategic thinker and will assist our vision for the Cassowary Coast to be realised.”

Ms Pleash is well-known and respected in Federal Parliament and in the Kennedy electorate as the Chief of Staff for Member for Kennedy, the Honourable Bob Katter MP, a position she held from 2013.

She is president of the Mission Beach Surf Life Saving Club and a volunteer patrol member, and last year became the 207th Australian to swim the English Channel.

“I am really thrilled to be working for the community within an area that I love, an area that I call home,” Ms Pleash said. 

“I started in local government and I am really delighted to be coming back to local government. I am very much looking forward to it and believe I will bring diversity and youth to the role.”

Ms Pleash began working with the Carpentaria Shire Council as a Community Development Officer in 2006 after completing a dual arts and business degree at the University of Queensland.

She was soon promoted to Manager of Community Services and in 2009 coordinated the national local government award-winning ‘Domestic Violence – it’s not our game’ project. This involved sponsoring the local football team and resulted in a 55% reduction in domestic violence incidents in Normanton and a cultural shift to where domestic violence was no longer considered ‘normal’.

As a Communications and Community Consultant contracted to United States-based Fortune 500 engineering and consulting firm AECOM, Ms Pleash worked on major infrastructure and planning projects and Indigenous community engagement. This included project-based roles for major government and private sector clients, including Brisbane City Council, Queensland Government and Origin Energy.

Ms Pleash takes up her new role with Council on June 10.

ENDS