Rob Phillips, chief executive of Environment Southland (ES), is retiring.

Over his two terms as the council's top executive, Phillips played a key role in initiating the Southland Regional Development Strategy (SORDS) - a plan to attract 10,000 more people to Southland by 2025. This ultimately lead to the creation of the Southland agency, Great South.

He was also a key driver in the eradication of Southland's 2016 Velvetleaf infestation.

Environment Southland chairman Nicol Horrell said "We have been fortunate to have a CE of Rob’s calibre leading the council for the past 10 years. His passion for Southland and his commitment to working with the community have been unwavering and he will be missed."

"A key strength of Rob’s is his relationship skills. He has been instrumental in strengthening community partnerships, building relationships with industry organisations, Te Ao Marama, government ministers and departments and this has been an important factor in successfully progressing our work programmes. He has also steadfastly supported councillors and led the staff across a board range of work, which is often both complex and demanding," Horrell said.

Phillips retires from ES in May 2022, but will continue with his governance roles, including as co-chair of the BioHeritage Challenge and as Environment Southland’s appointed representative on the board of Predator Free Rakiura.