There’s a new city manager in Regina.
City council announced Monday it had selected Niki Anderson for the position. She succeeds Chris Holden, who was dismissed by the city in February.
Jim Nicol has been handling the duties on an interim basis since Holden’s dismissal.
“Today’s announcement is the result of a cross-country search led by a selection committee comprised of Mayor Sandra Masters and councillors Bob Hawkins, Terina Shaw and John Findura, with support from a national executive search firm,” a statement by the city read.
The appointment is effective Nov. 1, following ratification by city council at its Wednesday meeting.
“We are excited that Ms. Anderson is joining the City of Regina as its administrative head,” Masters said in the statement. “My council colleagues and I are confident that we have found an extremely talented and experienced individual whose focus on service excellence in both the public and private sector will strengthen our efforts to build our community and grow the economy.”
Anderson has 20 years of experience as a senior leader. Over the past 4 1/2 years, she has held leadership roles with the City of Edmonton, most recently as deputy fire chief (planning and office of emergency management) and as an executive officer with Edmonton Fire Rescue Services.
Prior to that, she was with the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology in a number of senior roles, notably in strategic development and institutional engagement. Anderson was also a managing partner with Uniglobe Geo Travel for three years, after spending one year in Afghanistan providing logistics start-up expertise to the Department of National Defence.
“I am excited to take on this new responsibility and the many challenges and opportunities that lie ahead,” Anderson said in the release. “I look forward to working closely with the Mayor and Council and City employees as we support Council in the achievement of its priorities.”
As Anderson moves into her new role, Nicol and Amber Ackerman — currently serving as interim city clerk — will move back into their previous roles. Nicol will resume his duties as city clerk, and Ackerman returns to her position as deputy city clerk.
“On behalf of city council, we also express our appreciation to city clerk Jim Nicol for taking on the interim city manager duties during the search process,” Masters said. “Similar appreciation is extended to deputy city clerk Amber Ackerman for taking over responsibilities in the office of the city clerk during this time.”
As the administrative head of the city, the city manager is accountable to council and ensures city operations are well-maintained and managed efficiently for Regina residents while providing leadership to approximately 2,800 city employees.