Joanne Soderlund becomes the first woman to hold the role.
Mrs Soderlund heads a council at Tammin in Western Australia, where she was the youngest female chief executive appointed in local government in Western Australia at the age of 33 in 2021.
Announcing the appointment yesterday, Mayor Tania Gibson said Mrs Soderlund brought passion for rural communities and local government, and had a solid background in financial and business management.
"Joanne has a bachelor of commerce from the University of Southern Queensland. She worked for KPMG in Darwin, followed by seven years in the private sector covering tax accounting, mining and construction. She is dedicated to continuous professional development and received her MBA in early 2021," she said.
Council acting chief executive Paul Pretorius said Mrs Soderlund would bring "a fresh energy and solid business nous" to the position.
Former chief executive Mr Pretorius returned to his role of 22 years following the sudden resignation of Paul Morris from the role earlier this year.
By Meg Fulford
