Joe McCabe

WORK HISTORY

EDUCATION

SKILLS

ABOUT JOE MCCABE

I am a highly experienced local government professional with many years at senior executive level, including the as Chief Operating Officer (10 years) at City of Gold Coast. For 19 years I have acted in the position of CEO at City of Gold Coast (second largest Council in Australia) during absences, including recently acting full-time for a period of eleven months. Performed the role of interim CEO at Alice Springs Town Council during 2023. Commenced at Townsville City Council in May 2024 as interim CEO and now permanent CEO. My scope of responsibilities has covered every aspect of local government administration including, Corporate Finance, Corporate Planning and Performance, Legal Services, Corporate Asset Management, Corporate Communication, Corporate Procurement, Information Technology, Corporate Assurance, Wellness Health and Safety, Integrity and Ethical Standards and Risk Management.I have a particular passion for Financial Sustainability and Corporate Governance. For many years I led a team at City of Gold Coast which put in place best practice long-term financial plans, and included meeting some significant financial challenges as part of a $1.7Billion annual budget. Critical components include a well-managed debt portfolio, ongoing renewal of a $20Billion infrastructure asset portfolio, specific funding plans for signature city assets and identification of alternative funding sources in order to keep rate increases to a minimum. Continually achieving Value for Money was also a key component of our financial planning, including a particular focus on procurement and infrastructure delivery. A critical part of excellent financial planning is ensuring that strategic objectives are in place, their delivery funded, and performance regularly assessed. Accordingly, I was recently involved in developing and having adopted a Council Plan for the next five years. I have an excellent understanding of Board governance. I have been a Director of the City of Gold Coast Insurance Company. I was a regular attendee and presenter to the Audit and Risk Committee. I was heavily involved in the establishment of Major Events Gold Coast and the new HOTA organisation, including on-going negotiation of funding arrangements and performance management requirements with the CEOs and Chairpersons. As the City of Gold Coast is the primary funding body of organisations including Destination Gold Coast and Study Gold Coast, similar arrangements in relation to funding and performance were required.