The Greater Cities Commission (GCC) has appointed Jacki Johnson as the first Illawarra Shoalhaven City Commissioner, to lead the planning for the new region for the next four years.

The GCC is a NSW Government planning initiative to ‘create a globally competitive city region’ along the lines of San Francisco, Greater London, Netherlands’ Randstad and China’s Pearl River Delta, to service an expected nine million residents by 2050.

Mayor Neil Reilly, who was on the selection panel with the Mayors of Wollongong and Shellharbour and the Deputy Mayor of Shoalhaven, welcomes Ms Johnson's appointment.

“We saw a lot of applicants, all of whom were truly inspiring. The final selection was very difficult, but Jacki’s attitude toward the individual nature of each of our local government areas was the outstanding decider for me,” he says.

“I have high hopes there may be some great advocacy done particularly for the character of Kiama through the Commission.

“She is very personable, extraordinarily qualified and talented.”

The GCC explains the commissioner role this way: City Commissioners are the connective tissue between state and local government. They facilitate the conversations and empower stakeholders to set common goals for their city. As key holders of the relationships within their cities, City Commissioners ensure connectivity between the Six Cities Region Plan and their City Plans, and that the ground up work done by local government and other entities informs into the City Plans.”

Ms Johnson has lived in the Illawarra since 2008, was CEO of Insurance Australia Group New Zealand from 2010-16 and in this capacity held roles including President of the Insurance Council of NZ and Chair of the Christchurch Recovery Chief Executive Forums.

In 2015 she was recognised as NZ Herald Executive of the Year and in 2022 she received the Australian New Zealand Institute of Insurance and Finance Lifetime Achievement Award.

In 2019 Ms Johnson retired from her Group Executive role with Insurance Australia Group to embark on a PhD focused on Australian publicly listed firms and how they create value for all stakeholders. She continues to advise boards and management teams and mentor leaders on strategy, climate change, sustainability and resilience.

She has recently been appointed to the faculty of the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership.

In addition to the commissioners covering geographic areas, there are also commissioners focusing on economic, environmental and social aspects of the planning.