Mr Wood was initially hired as the interim CEO, to remain in the role for 12 months until a new council was elected.

However, when the local government elections were pushed back until December, it was decided to recruit someone permanent to lead the organisation.

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Mr Wood said he was "genuinely humbled and excited" to have been offered the position.

"We have lots of opportunities and challenges in our region and the same goes for our organisation. We have had this magnificent pulse of building new community assets and lots of new experiences for both our community and our visitors," the CEO said.

"But we are facing challenges ahead in terms of financial sustainability and it's about having those open and transparent conversions with our community."

Mr Wood said he wanted to build a better, more transparent relationship with the community.

One of the biggest changes to council will be in December when a new cohort of councillors is elected.

"There will be a significant changeover and to be fair to them we need to get them to understand their roles and responsibilities. It's very complex but I see my obligations to do that in a way that's very digestible, and able to be consumed and understood by a new council," Mr Wood said.

As the leader, Mr Wood said one of his most important attributes would be to listen, and empathise with the community.

"A CEO can't be an expert on everything. We employ lots of technical experts and I've got to be open to listen and understand their views," he said.

"You've also got to have that openness and transparency when making difficult decisions and that builds that trust. I think people understand, if they're brought all the way through, if you do have to make a difficult decision they may still disagree with it but they'll understand how we got there."

Mayor Stephen Lawrence was full of praise for Mr Wood.

"He is the kind and ethical leader that Dubbo needs now and into the future," Cr Lawrence said.

"He's a person who listens, he's a person who's not afraid to give hard advice and not afraid to make hard decisions, which he does with a good measure of emotional intelligence."

The selection panel for the CEO recruitment was comprised of Cr Lawrence, deputy mayor Anne Jones, councillor Jane Diffey and an independent third-party appointed by Local Government NSW.

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