M.E.D. manager

Press, 9 December 1983, Page 5

M.E.D. manager

The new general manager of the Christchurch Municipal Electricity Department will be Mr C. S. Laurie. He will take over the post from Mr J. H. Donald, who will retire soon.

Mr Laurie, who is 33, joined the New Zealand Electricity Department as an engineering cadet in 1969 and later completed a bachelor of engineering degree (electrical) at the University of Canterbury. After a period as assistant engineer in the M.E.D. in Christchurch, Mr Laurie joined the Otago Central Electric Power Board in a similar capacity in 1973. Promotion to electrical engineer and subsequently chief engineer of the board followed. As such, he was responsible for a large staff and in addition to the usual electricity distribution responsibilities was involved in the design and construction of a hydro power station.

In his present post with the Christchurch Drainage "Board as operations engineer, Mr Laurie controls its largest division with a staff of more than 230. Mr Laurie

will take up his new duties on a date yet to be decided. In welcoming him to the City Council’s executive staff, the Mayor of Christchurch, Sir Hamish Hay, said that Mr Laurie’s career had been marked by considerable achievement and the sub-committee of the council that appointed him was confident that he would bring new ideas to bear in a functional area which the council regarded as being of the highest importance.