Cheshire East Council is set to appoint Rob Polkinghorne as its new permanent chief executive.
The council's appointments committee is due to recommend Mr Polkinghorne as the preferred candidate in a report to full council. The decision to appoint a new chief executive will be taken at the meeting of full council on 13 December.
Mr Polkinghorne began his career in local government in 1996 and has worked in unitary, county, borough and district councils, covering both urban and rural areas.
Beyond local government, he assumed leadership roles in the fire and rescue service and the NHS before securing the post of chief operating officer at Aberdeen City Council and then becoming chief executive at Southend City Council in October 2022 before stepping down after just eight months in the role.
Councillor Fiona Wilson, chair of the appointments committee, said: "I would like to thank my fellow committee members, the members of the stakeholder panels and all the candidates for their positive engagement with the recruitment and selection process.
"The recommendation of a preferred candidate for the role of chief executive is one of the most important functions of the appointments committee – and identifying the best candidate for Cheshire East was not a decision taken lightly.
"I would like to congratulate Mr Polkinghorne on being named as preferred candidate."
The former Chief Executive of Cheshire East Council, Dr Lorraine O'Donnell, left in October 2023 to take up a new role as Chief Executive of Bradford City Council.
Comments
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The salary obsession and usual barrage of abuse and comparisons. Makes zero sense.
Just get the best candidate. Reform it, rid of waste and pen pushing computer says no types and give us better local services whilst reducing our local taxes. Thanks
I’d surmise that the obsession with salary will be based on the fact that recent Cheshire East CE’s have failed (miserably) to do all of the common sense things you describe in your last paragraph despite having lined their pockets with oodles of our hard-earned cash.
https://www.wilmslow.co.uk/news/article/17003/external-investigations-into-conduct-of-suspended-officers-to-cost-160000-this-year
Perhaps this is why "the usual barrage of abuse and comparisons" (where was the barrage of abuse, incidentally?) are valid questions, even with the, generally excellent, new management in control it is always good practice to take note of historic failings in order to avoid making the same mistakes.