Southern Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust’s new chief executive has been tasked with planning the next memorial park in the South East.
Laz Cotsios has been announced the new CEO months after the SMCT abandoned a controversial proposal for a burial ground in flood-prone wetlands off Heatherton Road, Dandenong.
Mr Cotsios will lead the trust’s four-year strategic plan and major projects such as a new memorial park.
“My approach has always been to listen to my customers, my team, my stakeholders.
“There is an opportunity at SMCT to look at how we can embrace the digital innovations available and also to look at the broader needs of customers as awareness on sustainable ways for burials emerge.”
Mr Cotsios has held senior executive roles at Medibank Australia, UBS, Westpac, Australia Post and South Australia Housing Authority, as well as in State and Federal Governments.
Most recently, he was chief operating officer at disability-support service provider Aruma.
According to a SCMT statement, “his track-record is transforming businesses and improving growth and very importantly for us understanding and servicing customers better.”
The SCMT’s nine cemeteries include Springvale Botanical Cemetery, Dandenong Cemetery and Bunurong Memorial Park.
It has been looking at sites for a new cemetery in the South East due to Springvale and Bunurong “nearing capacity” in “just over a decade”.
Recently, the SMCT said there were “limited” alternative sites to Heatherton Road.
The sites must include “enough land, for both burial and memorial needs; a significant proportion for green open space for community use and providing for the conservation values in keeping with SMCT’s values and community expectations”.
Mr Cotsios starts his role on 17 October.
