Memo to all staff – Thursday 26 October 2023
Time for a transition in management at OLOC
For some time now the OLOC Board has been aware that I intend to retire as CEO in the next six months. I have been at OLOC for nearly 20 years, so it is now time to think about handing over to someone else.
The Board has been doing some planning so they can find the best person to fill the job, and the position will be widely advertised. The recruitment process will start this weekend, with an expectation that I will hand over the role by early April 2024.
It has been a pleasure to work for an organisation that wants to do some good in the world. I found OLOC to be an organisation that wants to do things well and is prepared to try new things. In that respect I want to acknowledge both the FMM Sisters and the Board.
And of course, I want to acknowledge and thank the staff, who are OLOC in action. Working through the first years of Covid was a challenge that we did not see coming, but I was more than impressed with how staff responded – bravely, kindly – to look after residents and clients in their care. Thank you again.
Apart from that very difficult time, I have enjoyed working at OLOC and watching it grow and diversify in the time I have been here. We have had enormous growth in home care services and in community-based GYM programs, and we now have nearly 100 people living in our affordable seniors housing developments at Toongabbie.
Next year we will see the new St Clare and Assunta units open and already the transformation taking place in those units is quite stunning. The rooftop garden opening out from Assunta will be quite something. We will also have a new heated pool open next year as part of our GYM services at Toongabbie, servicing Toongabbie GYM clients, community care clients and residents at Rooty Hill.
So I am confident that the organisation is well placed and that it will continue to grow and will continue to flourish. They say that time flies, but after nearly twenty years, next year will be time to hand over to someone younger and get out of the way. Something I like about OLOC is that I can talk with just about everyone on staff, and over the next six months I will be trying to catch up with as many people as possible.
Kind regards
Barry Wiggins
Chief Executive Officer