A quartet of senior executives have been recruited by Birmingham City Council to help lead its recovery from financial disarray. Recently-appointed chief Joanne Roney, known by the title managing director, and the council’s political leader John Cotton have overseen the recruitment of the new faces.
The team’s collective ambition will be to lift the authority out of ‘special measures’ and balance its finances, transform how services are delivered and prove they can manage without government intervention. Together the quartet will earn an annual salary of up to £900,000, with Roney additionally picking up a salary of just under £300,000.
Her former deputy CEO at Manchester City Council, Carol Culley, is taking up the mantle of director of finance, including the Section 151 officer job, which includes legal responsibility for financial affairs. She recently served as a government-appointed commissioner at Woking Council. She also brings extensive experience in financial management, governance and assurance. In 2020, she was awarded an OBE for her services to local government.
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The other recruits all have local connections. The list of new senior appointments reads:
- Rishi Shori, Deputy Chief Executive
- Carol Culley, Executive Director of Finance and S151 Officer
- Stuart Lackenby, Executive Director of Adult Social Care and Health
- Richard Lawrence, Executive Director of Places, Prosperity and Sustainability
Shori has led the council’s intervention response up to now and was promoted in November to deputise for Roney. He has worked for the council for five years.
Stuart Lackenby comes to Birmingham as Executive Director of Adult Social Care and Health. He is the current Deputy Chief Executive and Executive Director of People Services at West Northamptonshire Council, which includes oversight of adult social care, children’s services and public health.
He began his career as a support worker and later qualified as a social worker and learning disability nurse. He then worked as a staff nurse in the assessment and treatment unit for adults with learning disabilities, later working for local councils including Sandwell and Dudley. He said of his move: “My time at WNC has been highly rewarding and I have relished both the opportunities and challenges it has brought for me. I hope to build on this great experience with my move to Birmingham that offers the next exciting new opportunity for me at a larger local authority that’s closer to my home and family life.”
Richard Lawrence is currently Director of Regeneration at the City of Wolverhampton Council. He brings with him expertise and experience in delivering housing, property, economic development, transport, conservation and tourism. He has over 25 years’ experience in regeneration in both the private and public sector, including senior positions across local authorities. He has led on large-scale regeneration projects including in the West Midlands and the Combined Authority to drive growth, improve infrastructure and enhance quality of life for residents.
He has said of his departure from Wolverhampton: “I leave knowing there’s been some great successes in Wolverhampton with a talented team driving the agenda forward. While I’m sad to leave, I’m really excited about the fantastic opportunity ahead and being part of the next exciting phase of Birmingham’s growth.”
The jobs were advertised with salaries in the range of £174 to £226,000 each. Coun Cotton, Leader of Birmingham City Council, said: “I’m really pleased to welcome Carol, Stuart and Richard to Birmingham. Following the appointment of Joanne Roney as the council’s Managing Director, we are continuing to enhance our governance and leadership capabilities with these appointments, which further strengthen our corporate leadership team and are crucial to delivering a well-run, modern and effective council for Birmingham’s residents.”
Roney said: “It is important to Birmingham’s improvement journey to have a stable senior management team. I am delighted the national recruitment process has brought the best to Birmingham to work alongside the existing senior team who have already made substantial progress to the improvement journey.”
The new look executive team includes:
Managing Director Joanne Roney
Deputy Chief Executive, Rishi Shori
Executive Director of Finance and S151 Officer, Carol Culley
Executive Director of Adult Social Care and Health, Stuart Lackenby
Executive Director of Places, Prosperity and Sustainability, Richard Lawrence
Strategic Director of City Operations, Craig Cooper
Strategic Director of Families and Children, Sue Harrison
Strategic Director of City Housing, Paul Langford
Director of Strategy, Equalities and Partnerships, Richard Brooks
Director of People Services, Katy Fox
City Solicitor and Monitoring Officer (interim), Marie Rosenthal
Chief Executive, Birmingham Children’s Trust, James Thomas
Former director of adult social care Prof Graeme Betts has recently retired and director of public health, Dr Justin Varney-Bennett, left for a new role with NHS Devon last year.