Dean Kimpton, former chief operating officer of the Auckland Council, has been appointed as the new chief executive of Auckland Transport.

Kimpton will take on the role for a fixed term of 18 months starting on April 3rd.

Auckland Transport spent $90,000 in its global search for a new chief executive last year, only to lose their preferred candidate at the last minute after failing to secure backing from the city's new mayor.

Kimpton, who has held senior roles in Infrastructure New Zealand and AECOM, will replace interim chief executive Mark Lambert.

Board chairperson Wayne Donnelly believes Kimpton's appointment will provide strong change leadership to overcome immediate challenges and will bring the experience and strategic oversight required to keep the focus on the future.

“Auckland Transport is at a critical moment in time, where we will need strong change leadership to overcome some immediate challenges, while also not losing a focus on the future. The Board is confident that Dean brings the experience and strategic oversight needed to do that, and we are pleased to have someone of his calibre join us.

“Dean understands AT through his previous roles, and he has the specific skills that we are looking for to lead this fundamental change, and deliver the significant budget savings that Council has proposed. The Board has elected a fixed-term CEO, as he will need to come up to speed quickly and make some crucial decisions for the organisation. We are confident Dean is the right person to do that”.

Mr Donnelly says, “AT has heard clearly that our shareholders and the people of Auckland want us to focus on better understanding their needs, doing the basics right, and working closely with Local Boards and communities.

It is also critical that AT plays a leading role in a strengthened regional transport plan for Auckland written by Aucklanders and works hard on our region’s recovery from the recent weather events. All of this needs to be done within the challenging fiscal environment we currently face.

“As a Board, we are excited about the opportunity to reset and focus on becoming a robust high performing organisation to meet the ongoing needs of an intensifying and growing Auckland. We look forward to welcoming Dean to the team.”