Gareth Morgan

South Africa

Occupational Information

Job Title: Executive Director: Future Planning and Resilience, City of Cape Town

Professional History

Gareth is the Executive Director of Future Planning and Resilience in the City of Cape Town, a position he has occupied since July 2022. In this position, he leads the long terms strategy and planning of the City, organizational performance management, organizational effectiveness, climate change monitoring, capital planning, and corporate communications.

Prior to his latest role, Gareth was the Director of Resilience from 2017 to mid-2022. . He led the development of the city's first-ever Cape Town Resilience Strategy, in partnership with 100 Resilient Cities, pioneered by the Rockefeller Foundation. This strategy is a 21st-century roadmap to deal with a wide range of shocks and stresses that impact the city. He played leading strategic roles in both the City's drought response and pandemic response. Before that he was the Principal Trade and Investment Officer in the City, playing a leading role in establishing the Enterprise and Investment Department.

Gareth was a Member of Parliament for South Africa's official opposition party for nine years from 2004 to 2013. During his tenure in Parliament, he served on the Portfolio Committees of Environment, Health, Mineral Resources, and Water and Environmental Affairs at different times. During his last four years in Parliament, he was the Shadow Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs. Other positions held during his tenure in Parliament included Parliamentary Counsellor to the Leader of the Opposition, and Whip of the National Assembly. He resigned from Parliament in early 2013 to pursue other interests.

Prior to joining the City of Cape Town in 2015, Gareth consulted independently in a number of fields, including politics, environment, education, training, and executive coaching. Most of his work during this time was on improving climate change responses of local governments. In 2014 Gareth appeared on the inaugural list of South African climate change leaders produced by the Mail & Guardian. He also featured on the list of 200 top young South Africans published by the Mail & Guardian in 2010 and 2011.

Qualifications

BCom and Honours degree in Political Science (cum laude) from the University of Natal - PMB
MA in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics from the University of Oxford
MSc in Environmental Change and Management from the University of Oxford

Program

2014 Archbishop Desmond Tutu Leadership Fellow

Additional Tags: Politics, Economics, Environmental Change and Management, Investment, Water and Environmental Affairs, Health, Mineral Resources, Education, Training, Executive Coaching