Handley to give away $100k
WELLINGTON: Tech entrepreneur Derek Handley was offered the role of the country’s first chief technology officer, but will now be paid out $100,000 after the offer was retracted.
The Government has called a halt to the appointment process for the position.
Megan Woods, the Minister for Government Digital Services, said a fullstop had been put on the process as the government reconsidered its approach to digital transformation.
Mr Handley, a New Zealand entrepreneur, will be paid out $100,000 — three months of the oneyear contract for services — and $7500 for setup expenses.
In a message posted on LinkedIn, Mr Handley said it had been a distressing time for his family, who moved to Auckland from New York for the role.
Ms Woods, who took over the ministerial role from the embattled Clare Curran, said she had asked officials to review the CTO position and to make sure there were no overlaps with any other existing roles.
In a LinkedIn message, Mr Handley said he was ‘‘deeply disappointed’’ to learn the Government was not following through with its offer.
He said he had decided not to accept the settlement money personally and would instead donate the proceeds towards ‘‘a fund that supports ideas, programmes and grants that seek to tackle this societal issue in creative ways’’.