3.3 Our Executive Team
Brian Pidgeon
Chief Executive Officer
Brian Pidgeon has over 30 years of experience in local government , as well as extensive management experience and professional qualifications in environmental health .
He was appointed as Acting Chief Executive Officer in September 2012 , a position he has subsequently undertaken as a full-time appointment . Brian ’ s previous roles include Manager of Health and Director of Environment and Community Services at Toowoomba City Council and General Manager Environment and Community Services Group with the Toowoomba Regional Council following amalgamation .
He has previously worked at Ipswich City Council in various environmental health roles and as a Manager of Waste Services . Brian has three children and is an avid motor sports enthusiast .
Stewart Somers
General Manager Planning & Development Services
MBA , B App Sc-Planning , Dip App Sc-TP , GC Proj Mgmt , MPIA , GAICD
Stewart Somers has worked since the early 1970s as an urban planner and senior manager in local and state government organisations and as a consultant to the private and public sectors in Queensland , Victoria , New South Wales , South Australia and Yanchi ( China ).
He has coordinated and managed multi-disciplinary professional teams on diverse projects such as environmental impact studies for major projects , strategy plans , structure plans , urban master plans and feasibility studies .
Stewart has also been involved in master planning projects in China , which included detailed programming , resource planning , budgeting and ongoing project performance analysis . Stewart has a Degree in Planning , a Diploma in Town Planning from RMIT University and a Master of Business Administration ( MBA ) from Griffith University .
Stewart joined Toowoomba Regional Council in 2008 . He is married to Jung Ah and enjoys gardening and travelling overseas .
Arun Pratap
General Manager Finance & Business Strategy
Arun Pratap is charged with charting the future financial sustainability of Council .
The Finance and Business Strategy Group consists of Financial Services , Information Management Services , People and Organisational Development , Customer Service and the Stakeholder Engagement and Customer Services branches .
Arun is also the Executive Sponsor of two organisational transformation programs being undertaken by Council . The first is the replacement of existing corporate applications ; Finance , Human Resources , Payroll and introducing Strategic Asset Management for the first time . The second program is to implement a structured approach to better optimise service delivery capacity and capability across the organisation .
Arun brings to Council a background in finance , strategic business planning and stakeholder management in government and quasi-government sectors , including the Queensland Audit Office .
Prior to joining the Toowoomba Regional Council , Arun was Executive General Manager Corporate and Stakeholder Management with the Queensland Bulk Water Authority . Prior to that , he was Chief Financial Officer with the former Caboolture Shire Council .
Arun ’ s particular interest is in implementing and integrating asset management systems into longer-term financial planning and service delivery .
44 CHAPTER 3 Our organisation TOOWOOMBA REGIONAL COUNCIL Annual Report 2015 - 2016