Living the dream in Port
DOUGLAS SHIRE’S NEW CEO MARK STOERMER HAS MOVED FROM THE BIG APPLE TO PARADISE VIA MELBOURNE AFTER TWO DECADES OF HOLIDAYING IN THE NORTH. HE IS EXCITED BY HIS NEW ROLE, WRITES JANESSA EKERT
FROM a career that began with crunching numbers on New York City’s Wall St, Mark Stoermer says he is “living and working the dream” as Douglas Shire Council’s new chief executive officer.
The 54-year-old first fell in love with the region almost 20 years ago during a holiday to Port Douglas.
Californian-born Mr Stoermer had moved to Australia in the late 90s to open a Melbourne branch for global financial IT company Advent Software.
“The first opportunity I had to take a holiday somebody said you should go up to Port Douglas and I have been coming up for 20 years,” he said.
That first visit ignited a slow burning desire to eventually move north.
Now living in Palm Cove he takes one of the country’s most spectacular drives to and from work each day.
“Every night I’m driving home the sun is setting, it’s hitting the sugarcane fields it’s hitting the mountains, it’s just unbelievably beautiful,” he said. “And I do not miss the traffic in Melbourne.
“I’m living and working the dream.”
His career as a corporate executive spans two continents and includes roles with a number of high-profile companies including JP Morgan and Merrill Lynch in New York.
But moving to Australia with Advent Software was the right fit for Mr Stoermer.
“I never missed home. I never felt out of place when I came to Australia,” he said.
“I grew up in California. I probably had more culture shock moving to New York.”
Settling in Australia, Mr Stoermer stepped into a general manager role with Moore Stephens before transitioning Fordham Group through a successful sale as its chief executive.
At a crossroads in his career, Mr Stoermer received a phone call that would ultimately carve out his future.
“I had a phone call the day the deal was announced from a head hunter saying, ‘ Mark have you ever thought about local government?’” he said.
This resulted in Mr Stoermer being offered a role as director of corporate services with City of Melbourne.
“This was a chance to do something totally different,” he said, adding that he welcomed the opportunity to work directly with the community.
“That’s something that’s kept me really interested in local government.”
Mr Stoermer had been the
EVERY NIGHT I’M DRIVING HOME THE SUN IS SETTING, IT’S HITTING THE SUGARCANE FIELDS, IT’S HITTING THE MOUNTAINS, IT’S JUST ... BEAUTIFUL MARK STOERMER
chief executive officer with Nillumbik Shire Council when a photo of Four Mile Beach in a local government publication caught his eye, advertising the Douglas Shire Council role.
“The rest is history on that,” he said.
Although he hadn’t planned on moving to the region that quickly, it was too good an opportunity to resist.
“It was pretty much the dream job I’ve always wanted,” he said.
“And how good is it that I was able to come to Douglas Shire right when we’ve just won this sustainable desti- nation endorsement,” he said.
The region is the only one in Australia to be ranked among the top 100 most sustainable destinations across the world, which Mr Stoermer said was amazing coup.
“As a local Douglas person, you know you’re living in one of the most beautiful places in the world,” he said.
He has just finished two weeks in the role and has been kept very busy getting across all the plans, procedures and policies.
“My vision is that we’re a very responsible organisation, that we listen to the community, that we run the organisation very efficiently,” he said.
“I love to facilitate community meetings… I find it challenging and rewarding.”
Mr Stoermer graduated
HOW GOOD IS IT THAT I WAS ABLE TO COME TO DOUGLAS SHIRE RIGHT WHEN WE’VE JUST WON THIS SUSTAINABLE DESTINATION ENDORSEMENT MARK STOERMER
with a Master of Finance from New York University and BA High Honours from University of California at Berkeley.
He also recently completed his Certified Public Accountant Accreditation exams and expects full accreditation shortly.
In his spare time Mr Stoermer loves to dig around in his garden and said he used to be a bit of a painter.
He also has an ongoing passion project: he’s writing a historical fiction book on a relative who was a pioneering feminist in the US during the 1920s and 1930s.