He replaces Sarah Gardner who resigned in May amid tensions between staff and councillors which disrupted business-as-usual operations.
The position has since been filled by interim chief executive Dr Pim Borren, who will hand over to Mr Saunders on June 1 next year.
Mr Saunders worked in Auckland and for the Dunedin City Council before joining the regional council in 2019 as the general manager of the regulatory and communications portfolios.
As a self-described "straight-up" manager, he had no problems acknowledging it was a critical time for the regional council.
"It’s no secret there were some challenges" in recent times around Mrs Gardner’s resignation, he said.
He was part of the executive during that time and was "certainly aware" of what it went through.
Those challenges were laid bare in a report by High Court judge Sir Graham Panckhurst, who said there could be "fundamental problems related to leadership and culture".
Mr Saunders said the issues and report highlighted the importance of good relationships between governors, the chief executive and the wider council group.
Dr Borren had done "fantastic" work in improving those relationships, which he planned to continue, Mr Saunders said.
"We just need to make sure we don’t forget those lessons and we keep focused in the right areas."
Good communication was critical to successful operations, especially for the chief executive, he said.
"It has to remain a focus."
Recently Dr Borren expressed concern over the council’s high turnover rate and difficulties employing people.
"I’m under no illusions that it will continue to be a challenge," Mr Saunders said.
The labour supply was short across all of local government and with big reform packages and projects it was difficult to meet demands.
He was excited to work alongside Dr Borren in the lead-up to June.
"While I do have a really good understanding of the business, I’ll be using this time to learn about some of the things I’ve had less exposure to.
"I think we’ve got a group of people within the organisation that can achieve really positive things for Otago."
ORC chairwoman Gretchen Robertson said Mr Saunders was selected from a field of 29 candidates.
