Driven by community SPIRIT

CRAIG NIEMANN GREW UP ON A DAIRY FARM JUST OUTSIDE OF BENDIGO, AND AS CEO OF THE CITY OF GREATER BENDIGO, HE’S PROUD OF HIS UPBRINGING; THIS IS WHERE HE LEARNED THE MEANING OF COMMUNITY, HARD WORK AND A PASSION FOR GIVING BACK.

- ANASTASIA PRIKHODKO

Even though Craig Niemann has always had a love for numbers, he preferred being active over studying at university. His enthusiasm to be involved in the community and create change was a clear path into the local government sector. When he moved away from his family’s dairy farm and landed a job as a junior clerk at the Borough of Eaglehawk in 1993, it was the stepping stone that eventually gave Craig the confidence to take a major leap into executive leadership. In 1997, he entered the role of CEO of Loddon Shire, a local government area in Victoria, Australia.

It was eight years later, when his children were starting high school, that Craig decided to move to Bendigo, a goldrush boom town in regional Victoria. It proved to be a good move for Craig, who has been the City of Greater Bendigo’s CEO for the past 12 years.

Craig is passionate about working with the local community. “It’s in my DNA,” he says, adding that his parents were both strongly involved in the community. It’s no wonder, then, that the importance of giving back and improving the lives of others is so ingrained in him.

Feeling that he is able to make a valued contribution to the people in the community, Craig and his team are dedicated to providing civic services that engage the public.