McNeill named Wasaga Beach CAO

Mayor Brian Smith, on behalf of council and staff, is pleased to announce that Andrew McNeill is the new chief administrative officer for the Town of Wasaga Beach, effective Jan. 10, 2023.

“Andrew brings a wealth of experience to the role and will be an integral part of ensuring the successful implementation of council’s plans for this term,” Mayor Brian Smith said. “Andrew served as our director of economic development during the 2014-2018 term of council and we welcome him back to the town.”

Gerry Marshall, interim chief administrative officer, will stay with the town and focus his efforts on special projects.

“We thank Gerry for his contributions during this period of transition and look forward to working with him as he spearheads special projects for us. As a former warden, mayor, and corporate leader, Gerry has a background that will allow him to achieve successful results.”

McNeill said he is excited about taking on his new position.  

“I am humbled by the opportunity to return to the town as CAO, and look forward to working with the newly elected council, town staff and the community to build a vibrant and complete community, full of opportunities and experiences for generations to come,” he said.

For more than 25 years, McNeill has worked tirelessly in the fields of land use planning, transportation planning, environmental planning, economic development and real estate development to build vibrant and complete communities in both Canada and the United States. 

McNeill has held numerous leadership roles in the municipal sector in Ontario, leading cross-disciplinary teams and overseeing capital and operating budgets, including his most recent role as director of city planning and design for the City of Brampton.

At Brampton, McNeill was responsible for leading the long-range planning, growth management, heritage planning, and housing and urban design portfolios for the city.

In addition to the City of Brampton, McNeill spent 14 years with the City of Mississauga in various leadership roles where he led cross-disciplinary teams to help transform Mississauga from a suburban auto-centric community into a more vibrant, urban, walkable, transit-oriented and economically successful city.

McNeill has also held multiple private sector roles, including vice-president with Live Work Learn Play, a mixed-use development and advisory services firm based in Montreal and Toronto. As well, he has had roles with Urban Strategies Inc., in Toronto and Glatting, Jackson, Kercher, Anglin, Lopez, Rinehart, in Orlando Florida, where he worked on numerous large-scale community master plans and resort projects across the state of Florida and the northeastern United States.

Throughout his career, community engagement, collaboration and partnerships have always been central to McNeill’s work.

For the past five decades, McNeill has split his time between Wasaga Beach and the GTA. He has deep roots in the Wasaga community, where his family first settled in 1921 and ran a successful cottage court until the mid-1970s.

McNeill grew up playing golf at Marlwood, windsurfing at Allenwood, kayaking the Nottawasaga River, cycling Tiny Beaches Road, cross-country skiing at Blueberry Trails, building and working at “World of Golf” (Waterworld) and enjoying all of the experiences that Wasaga had to offer.

McNeill is married to his loving wife, Teresa, and has twin 10-year-old children (Sienna and Noah) who enjoy spending time with their grandparents at Allenwood Beach.