Quick Facts
Biography
Stephen Town (born 1959 or 1960) is a chief executive in New Zealand. Currently the chief executive of Auckland Council, Town will become the inaugural chief executive for a proposed vocational education provider New Zealand Institute of Skills & Technology on 6 July 2020.
Early life
Town received his secondary education at Wellington College and left there six weeks into seventh form. He graduated from Wanganui Regional Community Polytechnic and in his late 20s, he graduated from Massey University with an executive MBA after studying part-time. Town is married with six children; there are two grandchildren.
Professional career
Town's first leadership role was at Wanganui Regional Community Polytechnic from 1994 to 1998, making him the country's youngest chief executive at that time. He was chief executive for Franklin District Council from July 1998 to July 2002. He was the chief executive for Tauranga City Council from July 2002 to October 2010. He was regional director for the Auckland/Northland region of the NZ Transport Agencyfrom October 2010 to December 2013.
Since 15 January 2014, Town has been the chief executive for Auckland Council. He replaced the inaugural CEO, Doug McKay. Town had a starting salary of NZ$630,000. Later, his salary at Auckland Council was NZ$698,000. In early February 2020, it became known that Town has resigned prior to his employment term ending in December 2020. On 4 February 2020, it was announced that Town was going to be the inaugural chief executive of New Zealand's new mega-polytech, New Zealand Institute of Skills & Technology, commencing on 6 July 2020.