Investment NSW CEO Amy Brown is no longer CEO at the agency, although she remains as secretary of the Department of Enterprise, Investment and Trade, according to the AFR.
Brown has been the subject of controversy lately over her decision to appoint former deputy NSW premier John Barilaro as senior trade and investment commissioner to the Americas (STIC Americas).
An Investment NSW spokesperson told The Mandarin Brown had not resigned from the CEO position.
“Amy Brown, as secretary, made the decision to separate the roles [of department secretary and CEO] on 11 August 2022. These roles have been separated to allow the secretary to focus on a cluster leadership role and an Investment NSW CEO to focus on the core activities of investment attraction,” the spokesperson said.
“Investment NSW can confirm that Amy Brown has not resigned from her role as CEO, nor is it a requirement under the GSE Act, but rather due to the scale and significant nature of the work involved in both positions, the role of Investment CEO has been separated out from the secretary role description, title and accountabilities. This brings Investment NSW into alignment with Create NSW and Hospitality and Racing, with the three groups headed up by a CEO reporting to the secretary.”
Brown is currently on leave, with Lisa Braid in the role of acting secretary and Katie Knight in the role of interim CEO of Investment NSW.
Brown’s LinkedIn shows her time in the role ended this month.
- Brown’s LinkedIn at the time of writing
A draft memo to staff included in the AFR article from Brown said the ongoing saga from the past few weeks has led her to the conclusion she could no longer perform both roles at the same time.
“I have made the decision that I can best serve the needs of our state by separating my dual roles as chief executive officer of Investment NSW and secretary of Enterprise, Investment and Trade,” the email read.
The AFR reported with Knight acting as interim CEO, Ben Rooke will then take up Knight’s role.
Last week, former NSW public service commissioner Graeme Head’s inquiry into the process found some of Brown’s conduct to not meet the Code of Ethics and Conduct, particularly in her consultations about the role with then-minister for trade Stuart Ayres.
Brown has also appeared as a witness at the separate upper house inquiry into her role as the final decision maker into Barilaro’s conduct.
“Any conversations I had with minister Ayres were, therefore — to a degree — influential on my decision but, in my view, it did not amount to undue influence because, at all times, I felt the decision was mine, ultimately mine to make,” Brown previously told the upper house inquiry.
Former public servant Jenny West told the inquiry Brown described the role as a “present” for someone, which Brown has denied saying.
This article has been updated with comments from Investment NSW.
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Brown admits Ayres influenced her decision but says it was not undue
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