Across Australia, local government CEOs shape the communities we call home. From metropolitan councils to remote shires, these leaders are at the forefront of delivering essential services, driving innovation, and responding to the unique challenges facing their regions. In this new Council magazine segment, we’re shining a spotlight on the individuals steering our councils – exploring their career journeys, leadership philosophies, and the vision they bring to their communities. For our first profile, we spoke with Alison Leighton, CEO of the City of Melbourne.
A diverse path through local government
Leighton’s career began with an undergraduate engineering degree, followed by her first job at VicRoads through their graduate engineering program.
“I really found an affinity with the public sector. I enjoyed knowing that the work I was doing was making a difference to the community and to the places that I lived and visited,” Leighton said.
Her next step took her back to her roots at the Mornington Peninsula Shire, where she grew up.
“I joined as an infrastructure planning engineer and went on to do a diverse range of roles. I think that’s what is so appealing about local government, you have the opportunity to learn about the many different services we offer community, and you can have a diverse career,” she said.
Leighton’s roles at Mornington Peninsula Shire spanned corporate strategy, sustainability, engineering, and eventually, leadership.
“I think I may have been the first female director of infrastructure at the Mornington Peninsula Shire, and ultimately took up the role of Chief Operating Officer,” she said.
Her leap to the CEO role came sooner than expected.
“The first role that I considered was the CEO of Baw Baw Shire. I remember thinking, I’ll throw my hat in the ring – it will be good practice for what I was imagining would be many interviews at the CEO level before I was successful. But to my surprise, I got the job!”
After nearly three years as CEO in a regional setting, Leighton was encouraged to apply for a general manager role at the City of Melbourne. She joined just as COVID-19 hit, which she describes as a “challenging and unpredictable time to join an organisation like the City of Melbourne.”
Despite the circumstances, she focused on connecting with her team.
“As a people-first leader, my priority was to get to know the people who I was working with, and I found that, while a little more difficult, I could still do that online,” Leighton said.
Within months, she was promoted to Deputy CEO, then acting CEO, and finally, in July 2023, became the CEO of the City of Melbourne.
Overcoming challenges: Work, life, and leadership
Leighton’s journey was not without obstacles.
“I have been a single mother throughout my career and while my son is now an adult, I understand what it’s like to juggle parental responsibilities with full time work. I also added to the juggle by studying a Master’s of Business Administration,” she said.
She credits her support network for helping her manage these demands.
“Working with good people and having strong networks around me; friends, family, mentors and coaches made a big difference to helping me manage and balance my time,” Leighton said.
“Being a woman in engineering – a traditionally male-dominated field – had its moments in terms of trying to work out how to best operate. But I have to say, I have had some great champions throughout my career – both male and female – who really provided me with opportunities to take on new challenges and push me outside of my comfort zone,” Leighton said.
Culture, collective intelligence, and kindness
Leighton’s leadership philosophy centres on culture and people.
“Culture is so critical to having an organisation that is effective and high performing, but also one that looks after its people and ensures that we can create conditions where our people can thrive. Our people really are our most important asset,” she said.
Leighton believes in empowering subject matter experts and fostering collective intelligence.
“You can never be the expert on everything. In my view, the role of the CEO is to create alignment, build collective intelligence and support experts to excel together,” she said.
Achievements and vision for Melbourne
Leighton explained that among her proudest achievements are the cultural transformations she has led, resulting in “significant improvements in talent, attraction and retention, performance, service delivery to community, customer service, as well as the use of digital tools and techniques to enhance productivity.”
Leighton is particularly proud of the Melbourne 2050 vision.
“Recently we held a Melbourne 2050 summit at the town hall, and had 700 people from across Melbourne join us and share their views and aspirations around the kind of city they want Melbourne to be in 2050,” she said.
Championing diversity and equity
Leighton is a strong advocate for diversity and gender equity.
“Gender equality and gender equity have both improved over the years, but there’s still a gender pay gap in many councils. We’re working on understanding the reasons and drivers for ours at City of Melbourne, and how we can continue to improve,” she said.
“It’s not just about gender diversity though; it’s about cultural diversity. It’s about diversity of thought and background and experience and perspective. Because diversity is a strength. Research shows the more diverse executive teams, boards and councils are, the better they service their communities, the stronger they perform, and the more informed their decisions are.”
Facing the future
Looking ahead, Leighton sees population growth and affordable housing as Melbourne’s biggest challenges.
“Melbourne is currently Australia’s fastest growing city, and soon we will be Australia’s largest city. We’re expecting a population of 9 million by 2050. With that additional population comes challenges, like affordable housing, adequate open space, sufficient recreation and community facilities,” she said.
Despite the nationwide housing development challenges, Leighton is committed to ensuring that Melbourne’s growth is managed wisely.
“Affordable housing, improving our housing stock and population growth are key issues for Melbourne, and we’re aiming to solve these issues through proactive planning policy and infrastructure delivery,” Leighton said.
“We’re also partnering with other levels of government so that we can ensure Melbourne continues to be a liveable, vibrant, prosperous city.”
A people-first CEO
At the core of Alison Leighton’s leadership is a commitment to people.
“The best way to excel and achieve high performance is through taking a people first, culture first approach, and really providing the opportunity for our team to thrive. It’s a critically important part of my approach and the type of CEO that I aspire to be,” she said.
Leighton’s vision and leadership perfectly places her to guide Melbourne into a thriving, inclusive future.
