New boss takes the helm of Great South
Southland’s regional development agency has appointed longtime Southern Institute of Technology executive Chami Abeysinghe as its new chief executive.
Abeysinghe has been the international director at SIT for the past six years but will step into the top role at Great South from September 19.
Great South board chair and interim chief executive Ian Collier said she would be leading the team in ‘‘an incredibly exciting phase of development and growth’’ as the region goes through a ‘‘significant period of transformation’’ in many sectors.
‘‘With so much going on across our region, it’s hard to imagine a more exciting time to be joining the Great South team,’’ Abeysinghe said.
While she was sad about leaving SIT, she was excited about the role and opportunities on the horizon.
Listing off projects like the new data centres and a proposed hydrogen plant, Abeysinghe said it looked like there was ‘‘lots of innovation coming our way’’.
She would have a lot to learn in her first few months on the job, she said, and was particularly interested in discovering how she could support Great South’s space operations and tourism teams.
Abeysinghe has previously held several executive roles internationally in the education, exporting, and marketing sectors, and has significant experience in stakeholder engagement, financial management and strategic planning; working for Fortune 500 companies in Sri Lanka and Dubai. It was her expertise in engagement and relationship building that she believed would be her biggest strength as the development agency’s CEO.
‘‘Great South is about the common vision to build a better home,’’ Abeysinghe said.
She calls herself a proud Southlander and has lived in the region for 12 years. ‘‘I haven’t lived anywhere else in New Zealand and I haven’t wanted to,’’ she said.