The City of Winnipeg is starting a search for a new chief administrative officer after CAO Doug McNeil gave notice today he is retiring April 26. McNeil has been in the CAO’s position for four years.
“We very much thank Doug McNeil for his service,” MHCA President Chris Lorenc said. “After nearly 36 years of outstanding public service, Doug deserves his time with his family.”
McNeil joined the City of Winnipeg as CAO April 7, 2015. He brought to a wealth of experience, including over thirty years of work in the public sector, with more than twenty years of experience working with elected officials. This work included serving as a deputy minister of Infrastructure and Transportation with the Province of Manitoba, working with the Manitoba Floodway Authority, as well as for the City of Winnipeg’s Water and Waste department where he helped lead the City’s flood fighting efforts during the 1997 flood of the century.
McNeil is the City of Winnipeg’s first CAO to make his entire employment contract publicly available. He was also the first of the statutory officers to do so demonstrating the leadership necessary to underscore the importance and significance of openness and transparency in the public sector.
Mayor Brian Bowman said recruitment of a new CAO will begin shortly with the appointment of a new selection committee tasked with leading the recruitment and selection process, as well as recommending to council the appointment.