Speakers

Akash Paun is Programme Director for Devolution at the Institute for Government in London. He leads work on the state of devolution in all parts of the United Kingdom, and has a particular focus on the powers, performance and policy choices of mayoral strategic authorities in England. Akash has previously worked at the UCL Constitution Unit, the British Academy, the London School of Economics, and as an expert adviser to the Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales.

Amanda’s love of local government was ignited in the early 90’s when she joined the Audit Commission as a CIPFA trainee. After qualifying she moved into consulting and has spent the majority of her career supporting local government to transform services – including working across some of the most challenging demand led services such as children’s and adult services. A strong supporter of place-based working and systems thinking, Amanda has spent the last 18 months working closely with a significant proportion of the places going through LGR and has been banging the drum for Public Sector Reform as a way to reimagine future public services that deliver better outcomes and are financially sustainable.

Barry has worked for six London boroughs and, in the mid-1980s, was an elected member in a seventh. A former chief executive at LB Lewisham (1993 to 2017) and RB Kensington and Chelsea (2017 to 2022), Barry has been the Chair and President of Solace, the Chair of the Society of Metropolitan Chief Executives and is a lifetime member of the US-based ICMA. On leaving RBKC he completed a short course on values, ethics and political philosophy at the Blavatnik School of Government. Barry is an Associate of Inlogov, in the Department of Public Administration and Policy, at the University of Birmingham. At Lewisham, he introduced innovations in service design, democratic accountability, and public participation in budgeting. He steered the council through the first seven years of austerity, when the council’s overall budget was reduced by 34 percent in real terms. In 2017, he was invited by MHCLG and the LGA to move to RBKC in the immediate aftermath of the Grenfell Tower fire in North Kensington. For over five years, he led the council’s response and recovery arrangements in close collaboration with the many hundreds of bereaved and survivors. Barry has been an advisor to HM Treasury, MHCLG, as well as being a NED on the Board of HM Revenues & Customs. With a PhD in the geography of public policy, Barry is a regular lecturer and author on local government matters. His 2011 book Re-imagining Government met with critical academic acclaim. He has recently completed a new book — on ways to revive liberal democratic governance.

Camilla is an experienced public sector governance leader with a strong track record of working across local government and the charity sector. She works nationally leading complex governance, cultural change and organisational innovation and improvement work with public bodies across the UK. Camilla brings extensive expertise in scrutiny, governance, democracy and organisational effectiveness, alongside commercial experience in securing and delivering large-scale consultancy engagements. Camilla’s career spans senior leadership roles within local government and national influence in policy and practice. She focuses on helping organisations navigate complex governance, cultural and leadership challenges, often in high-profile or intervention settings where pace, credibility and impact really matter. She is particularly passionate about enabling public bodies to embed approaches that genuinely improve behaviours, decision-making and outcomes. Clients value her ability to combine strategic insight with hands-on delivery: She works closely with elected members, officers and boards to co-design solutions that are practical, owned and sustainable. She has extensive experience across local government, combined authorities and organisations in intervention, supporting governance reviews, scrutiny effectiveness and cultural change. Standout work includes designing governance models that have been adopted directly into new constitutional arrangements, and leading transformation programmes where her work has contributed to improved organisational effectiveness, stronger relationships and successful recovery from intervention.

Claire is a ‘strategic doer’, policymaker, and cross-sector public service leader, whose roles in public life have focused on changing how power works: where it sits, what it is used for, and how it is held accountable. She is a passionate devolutionary, working to end the mindset and associated practice that precipitates inequality, disenfranchisement, and distrust in public institutions. Claire is recognised as a national expert on the politics, policy, and practice of Mayoral Strategic Authorities (MSAs), drawing on her experience as a former councillor and as an official at both West Midlands Combined Authority and the East Midlands Combined County Authority. Drawing on this experience, she has provided leadership support to mayors, boards, and leadership teams of MSAs across the country. Claire currently works as the Chief of Staff to Claire Ward, the Mayor of the East Midlands, a role which she has held since December 2024. Alongside this, she keeps herself grounded in public service through her voluntary roles as Deputy Chair of the Board of Trustee Directors at Power to Change and Chair of Governors at Kings Heath Primary School.

Helen Bailey is the Chief Executive of the London Borough of Sutton. She has previously served as Chief Executive of the London Borough of Islington and on an interim basis at North Somerset. She was director of Public Services at HM Treasury, with involvement with Total Place 1.0. Helen also has experience leading the Mayor's office for Policing and Crime. She has been a management consultant working on public service leadership and organisation issues in a career that started with the Greater London Council.

James is currently the Chief Executive of the Birmingham Children’s Trust, leading Children’s Social Care in the largest local authority in Europe. Previously he has been the Corporate Director for Children and Culture for Tower Hamlets, driving improvements across schools and children’s social care, recognised with an Outstanding Ofsted judgement; Chief Executive of the formative Northamptonshire Children’s Trust as their alternative delivery model developed; Director of Children’s Services for Richmond-Upon-Thames delivered through community interest company Achieving for Children; Director of Children’s Services for Tameside Council, helping to drive their improvement plans as well as leading for Greater Manchester on safeguarding reform; Director of Children’s Services & Community Neighbourhoods for Newham; and the Director of Family Services for Westminster and Tri-borough. James remains registered as a Social Worker and held a number of posts as a children’s practitioner and manager before moving into strategic leadership roles across four different regions. James has long been an active member of the Association of Directors of Children’s Services, is Chair of the West Midlands ADCS Region and has for some years been their national lead on multi-agency safeguarding.

Joe Garrod is the Strategic Director of Place at Waltham Forest Council, where he has worked for almost eight years. During his tenure, he has led a wide ranging transformation programme that resulted in the council’s housing services being awarded a C2 rating—the second highest possible— by the Regulator of Social Housing. He also oversaw the construction and opening of Soho Theatre Walthamstow, a major cultural landmark for the borough featuring a 960 seat Grade II listed auditorium. Waltham Forest is recognised for its approach to inclusive growth and area based regeneration and is consistently ranked among the top ten council housebuilders nationally. A Chartered Surveyor, Joe has over 20 years’ experience delivering social infrastructure across the public and private sectors. He previously served as the Regional Manager for London in the Cabinet Office’s One Public Estate programme and was the Department for Education’s Launch Director for LocatED, the government owned property company established to acquire and develop school sites. In the private sector, he has worked with Cleanslate, a boutique developer and investor, and Navigant, a NYSE listed consultancy.

Dr Jonathan Carr-West has been Chief Executive of the Local Government Information Unit (LGiU) since February 2013 where he leads on all aspects of the think tank’s policy, membership and influencing work.

With over 15 years’ experience, Jonathan is a leading national expert on local government transformation, local democracy and public services. Some of his particular interests are in participative democracy, the evolving nature of public services and devolution. With extensive media profile and sector credibility, he has published on topics as diverse as localism and public service transformation, cognitive and behavioural science, and the politics of cultural memory. As well as being Chief Executive of the LGiU, he is also holds Director positions at LGiU International Limited, Local Energy Limited and the Local Information Unit Limited.

Prior to being appointed as Chief Executive, Jonathan was Director of Policy at the LGiU where he led on research and consultancy, policy development and piloting, best practice dissemination, learning and development.

Before joining the LGiU, he was Deputy Programme Director and Acting Head of Programme at the RSA (Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Commerce and Manufacturers) where he developed and managed projects across a range of issues including environmental policy, water and sanitation infrastructure, offender learning and rehabilitation, community cohesion, education, arts and drugs treatment.

Jonathan, who has served as chief executive at Localis since May 2018, has extensive experience in communications and journalism. After five years as a reporter, commentator and features editor for The Municipal Journal, in 2015 he became the first strategic communications officer for the District Councils’ Network. Prior to The MJ, he worked in online publishing where he originated a transformation in distributing government press releases edited a digital only government property and public estate magazine and helped run communications and marketing for anti-poverty charity Elizabeth Finn Care.

Dr Nugent joined Coventry City Council as Chief Executive in June 2023. She has a strong track record in attracting and delivering investment to support businesses, people, and communities. She has worked at senior level across a range of organisations, at national, regional, and local level – including senior roles in government, the voluntary sector and education. Previously, Julie was Executive Director for Economy, Skills, and Communities at the West Midlands Combined Authority. She was responsible for delivery across economic development, employment and skills, health, and communities, and played a critical role in negotiating two devolution deals that resulted in more funding being released to the region. This included leading on the investment of over half a billion pounds into training and employment support programmes that have helped thousands of local people to get the skills and support they needed to secure good jobs. Julie has also led on large-scale transformation programmes, overseeing the delivering of improved services to businesses and people.

Kate Ogden is a Senior Research Economist at the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), the UK’s leading independent economics research institute. She works on English local government finance, and the distribution of spending on public services across places, and across people. She also works on higher education and student finance, and previously worked as an economist at the Cabinet Office.

Kate Josephs joined Sheffield City Council as Chief Executive in January 2021, following a 20-year career in national government in the UK and United States. She leads an organisation of over 8,000 staff, supporting Sheffield’s political leadership to deliver for England’s fourth largest city. Since joining Sheffield, Kate has led a major programme of organisational improvement and renewal, strengthening the Council’s focus on delivery, resident outcomes, partnership working and long-term strategic planning. She has championed a more ambitious, outward-facing agenda for the city, including the development of Sheffield’s ten-year City Goals and the city’s first inclusive Growth Plan, launched in 2024. Kate has played a central role in securing Sheffield’s position as a city of national significance for culture, investment and innovation. This has included work to secure the long-term future of the World Snooker Championship in Sheffield, support for major housing and city centre growth, and the development of a new investment prospectus to bring forward regeneration and inclusive economic growth. She chairs Sheffield’s Housing Growth Board and has helped build a strong strategic partnership with Homes England, supporting new models of delivery to unlock housing growth across the city. She has also driven Sheffield’s public service reform agenda, including the Council’s Test, Learn and Grow model, and work to develop Sheffield’s role as one of the Government's Thematic Policy Campuses. Before joining Sheffield, Kate held senior roles in HM Treasury, the Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit, the Department for Education and the Cabinet Office COVID-19 Taskforce. She was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath in 2021 for exemplary public service. Originally from Doncaster, Kate was educated at Oxford University and the London School of Economics, and lives in Sheffield with her husband and two children.

Kate Taylor is a senior public sector finance leader with over 20 years' experience delivering strategic financial leadership, organisational transformation, and commercial decision-making across local government, higher education, healthcare, and public audit.

She currently serves as Director of Finance and Commercial Services (Section 73 Officer) at West Yorkshire Combined Authority, where she leads financial strategy, governance, commercial services, and stewardship of significant public investment programmes. Kate has built a career at the intersection of finance, strategy, and public value.

Prior to joining West Yorkshire Combined Authority, she held senior finance leadership roles at the West Midlands Combined Authority, including Head of Finance Business Partnering and Strategic Planning and Deputy Section 151 Officer, supporting major regional economic development and infrastructure programmes and working in the implementation of the first Integrated Settlement.

Passionate about strengthening public sector organisations and delivering positive outcomes for communities, Kate’s career reflects a commitment to enabling organisations to achieve sustainable financial resilience while supporting economic growth, innovation, and excellent public services.

Kathy has worked in Local Government for over 35 years, for councils in Hampshire, Surrey and, since 2018, Gloucestershire. Kathy studied at the Universities of Leeds and Liverpool. She is a geographer by background and a town planner by profession, which sparked her early interest in place shaping. She was attracted to Stroud’s strong independent spirit, green credentials and fabulous natural environment well before the Sunday Times identified it in 2021 as the best place to live in the UK. Stroud District Council was in the first handful to declare a climate change and ecological emergency and is working towards the goal of achieving a carbon neutral district. This is challenging in the current financial environment following the Fair Funding settlement and with Local Government Reorganisation on the horizon. Kathy is experienced at working in a politically complex environment as Stroud District Council has been No Overall Control since 2012 and is now a minority Green administration working in a committee system following twelve years as a co-operative alliance of Labour, Green and Liberal Democrats. Kathy is the Solace spokesperson for the Environment and Climate Change portfolio and is the South West Chief Executive lead on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion.

Liz is Chief Revenue Officer at QRoutes, the UK's leading route optimisation engine for school transport. The company has grown rapidly since its launch in 2017, and today nearly 70 UK local authorities rely on QRoutes to help them organise appropriate and efficient travel to school for some of the country's most vulnerable children and adults.

Mark has extensive leadership experience across education, local, regional and national government. He has been a teacher and head teacher in a variety of special schools between 1985 and 2001. Subsequently, in local government, he became a Director of Children’s Services (Solihull 2006-09) and twice a council Chief Executive (Solihull 2007-14 and Birmingham 2014-17). Following 15 months of consultancy work with KPMG and CollaborateCIC, in June 2018 Mark became Director General for Children, Young People, Education and Skills for the Government of Jersey where he was responsible for implementing the findings of a child abuse inquiry. In January 2022, Mark moved back to the UK to become chief executive of the Leadership Centre (where he is now an Associate Director) and, since August 2023, he complemented this role first with leading the teams tasked with establishing the new East Midlands Combined County Authority (2023-25) and then the Hull and East Yorkshire Combined Authority (2025). Mark is now Interim Chief Officer for the Sussex & Brighton Strategic Authority which was established in March 2026 and will elect its first Mayor in May 2028. He and his team are leading the work on the area’s first Prosperity Strategy designed to capitalise on the opportunities presented by devolution to drive inclusive growth across Sussex. In his spare time Mark wonders where his spare time has gone.

Dr Martin Reeves OBE Chief Executive, OXFORDSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL

Martin has been Chief Executive of Oxfordshire County Council since March 2023. He was previously Chief Executive of Coventry City Council for over 14 years and was also the Chief Executive of the West Midlands Combined Authority from March 2016 to September 2017. He had previously been with Bedfordshire County Council for three and a half years as Assistant Chief Executive and Chief Executive.

Martin has held strategic leadership roles in a District and an outer London Borough and was Programme Director for Work Smart, Westminster City Council’s flagship transformation programme.

Martin spent much of his early career as a lecturer and researcher and has a PhD in applied economics.

He has an Honorary Doctorate from Coventry University in recognition of his service and commitment to the City of Coventry and is the first Honorary President of LARIA (Local Area Research and Intelligence Association).

He is a former President of SOLACE (Society of Local Authority Chief Executives & Senior Managers) and is the current Local Government Association (LGA) National Procurement Champion.

Martin also sits on the Thames Valley Integrated Care Board (TVICB) as the Local Authority Partner Member.

In June of 2026, Martin was awarded an OBE in the King’s Birthday Honours in recognition of his outstanding service to local government.

Martin Neale is a visionary entrepreneur and founder and CEO of ICS.AI, the UK’s fastest-growing profitable AI company focused on the public sector. Recognised as Public Sector Entrepreneur of the Year (2025) and named in The LDC Top 50 Ones to Watch, he was also included in the Computing AI Leadership Index 2026, reflecting his growing influence on the UK’s AI landscape. Under his leadership, ICS.AI has been ranked #4 in the TechRound 100 (2025) and recognised as the UK’s 23rd largest AI supplier to government, ahead of global firms such as PwC and CGI. Through a distinctive “velocity” approach to AI adoption, Martin has led the delivery of measurable outcomes at scale, including over £12 million in savings and more than 11 million citizen interactions, while shaping how AI is deployed responsibly across the public sector.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/martinneale/

Matt Gladstone has been serving as the Chief Executive of Peterborough City Council since January 2022. Matt has extensive experience in both central and local government, having held various positions including Executive Director for Place at Barnsley MBC, where he led the regeneration and growth agenda. He has also served as a Corporate Director and Assistant Chief Executive and has experience in the private sector working on digital infrastructure. Throughout his career, Matt has played pivotal roles in enhancing performance within local government and fostering strong relationships with key partners in the business and voluntary sectors to facilitate change and improvement. He is passionate about driving up standards and performance, achieving better outcomes, and improving the organizational culture. Matt's tenure at the National Audit Office has provided him with a solid understanding of finance, and he has since managed large and complex budgets.

Melissa Caslake, Executive Director for Children’s Services, Salford City Council
Melissa has over 25 years’ experience in local government, more than half in senior leadership roles in children’s services and as a corporate leader. She also worked at national level delivering improvements to safeguarding for adults and children in the Church of England during the IICSA inquiry. Melissa has a broad track record of delivering better outcomes for children across education, social care and SEND, including the recent development of Child Friendly Salford. Prevention and early support is at the heart of her vision and values in local government, including creating change through integration, partnership, co-production and a relentless focus on outcomes for residents

Naisha Polaine is Executive Director of Growth at London Borough of Barnet. She leads one of London’s most ambitious growth strategies, with major development and regeneration schemes taking place in neighbourhoods across the borough. This includes the £8bn Brent Cross Town regeneration scheme, delivered in partnership with RelatedArgent, with a planned 6,700 new homes, 50 acres of parks and open spaces, new and improved schools, new community, retail and leisure infrastructure, plus three million square feet of office space. Alongside this, she works with communities, developers and partnership boards to deliver the newly adopted Local Plan ambition for 44,000 new homes, aiming for over 10,000 of those to be affordable and meet Barnet’s commitment to being a NetZero borough by 2042. Previously, Naisha was Director for Harlow and Gilston Garden Town, where she led a partnership of five councils delivering 23,000 new homes across four neighbourhoods, as well as significant associated transport and community infrastructure. Prior to this, Ms Polaine was a senior adviser to the Department for International Trade, connecting international investors with large-scale real estate and infrastructure inward investment opportunities across the UK. She has also held senior executive positions at Homes England (formerly the Homes and Communities Agency), the Housing Corporation and Cambridge City Council. Naisha was also a Non-Executive Director for Cambridge University on their award-winning North-West Cambridge 3000 home urban extension at Eddington. She has held previous Directorships at Countryside Maritime Ltd, and a number of local delivery vehicles and is currently a Non-Executive Director at Hill Holding Group Ltd, one of the HBF top 5 UK housebuilders. She graduated from SOAS, London University and with a Masters degree from the London School of Economics.

Owen was appointed as CEO of CIPFA in July 2024. Prior to joining CIPFA he spent five years as Chief Executive of Hertfordshire County Council and three years as the council’s Executive Director of Resources and s151/Chief Finance Officer. His time in local government followed an eight-year tenure in the Senior Civil Service, where he held Finance Director positions at the Home Office, HM Courts Service, and the Legal Aid Agency.

Paul is the Director of Planning and Placemaking for Milton Keynes City Council, leading the city’s long-term growth agenda. He oversees the delivery of high-quality, sustainable places, embedding culture and innovation. Paul has more than 20 years’ local government experience and is a member of the Royal Town Planning Institute. He is also a director on the boards of Destination Milton Keynes and the Milton Keynes City Centre BID.

Richard has served as Chief Executive in North Yorkshire for more than 16 years, first leading North Yorkshire County Council for 12 years and, more recently, the new unitary North Yorkshire Council. Covering the largest geographical area in England, North Yorkshire Council serves around 640,000 residents and is the third-largest unitary authority in the country, widely recognised as one of the highest performing councils in England.

During his tenure, he led the council through the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and local government reorganisation, while also playing a key role in securing the devolution deal for North Yorkshire and York, which resulted in the establishment of the Mayoral Combined Authority in 2024.

He chairs the North Yorkshire Chief Executives Group, the North Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum and the North Yorkshire Locality Health Board. He is also Honorary Secretary of the Association of County Chief Executives, Chair of the Yorkshire and Humber Children’s Services Improvement Board, and a member of the National Lead Chief Executives Board for Children’s Services.

In addition, Richard is a member of the College of Fellows for Trading Standards and was recently made Vice President of the Chartered Trading Standards Institute.

Richard Gawthorpe is a Chartered Surveyor and strategic business leader with more than 30 years' experience spanning private practice, local government, shared services, and public sector partnerships. As Group Director at Norse Group, he leads strategic growth, partnership development, and market engagement across the UK, working with local authorities to deliver sustainable solutions for communities and places. Having spent a decade in local government and a further eight years leading regulatory shared services across multiple councils, Richard brings a deep understanding of the challenges facing local authorities in planning, housing delivery and service transformation. He has played a leading role in developing public-private partnerships and joint venture models that unlock housing growth and deliver long-term social and economic value. Richard is passionate about helping councils translate planning and housing reform into tangible outcomes that create sustainable places and stronger communities.

Sally Roberts is the Chief Nurse, Clinical and Quality Officer for the Birmingham and Solihull and Black Country Integrated Care Board, a role she assumed in December 2025. She has more than 15 years' experience as an Executive Nurse Director across Primary Care Trusts, Clinical Commissioning Groups and Integrated Care Boards, providing strategic leadership across complex health and care systems. A Registered Nurse and Specialist Practitioner, Sally has dedicated over 40 years to the NHS, with experience spanning provider organisations, commissioning and higher education. She has built strong partnerships across health, social care, local government, academia and the voluntary sector, leading collaboration to improve services and outcomes for local communities. Her career has been shaped by a commitment to reducing health inequalities, improving population health and delivering high-quality, person-centred care. Drawing on her clinical background in community nursing, including District Nursing and Community Practice Teaching, she champions care closer to home and integrated models that improve access, quality and consistency. Known for her collaborative and compassionate leadership, Sally is passionate about supporting the healthcare workforce and driving innovation to ensure services remain safe, effective and financially sustainable. She believes lasting transformation is achieved through partnership, continuous improvement and evidence-informed practice. Looking ahead, Sally is focused on strengthening integrated community services across Birmingham, Solihull and the Black Country. Working with partners, patients and local communities, she is committed to creating equitable, sustainable and high-performing health and care services that improve outcomes, reduce inequalities and enhance the experience of those who use them. Sally was awarded an Honorary Doctorate, University of Wolverhampton in July 2025.

Sandra holds a PhD in Environmental Psychology and has conducted academic research on sustainable household behaviours. Alongside her academic work, she served as an elected member of a local council and worked as an Associate Lecturer in Psychology before joining the Civil Service as a Government Social Researcher. At the Climate Change Committee (CCC), Sandra is the Lead Analyst for People and Places, focusing on the role of households, communities, and local authorities in delivering both climate change mitigation and adaptation.

Sarah Norman has been Chief Executive of Barnsley Council since 2019, championing digital innovation and transforming the town’s economy. Under her leadership, Barnsley has become a pioneer in applying AI to public services, working closely with Microsoft as an early adopter of Copilot to enhance operations across the council. Her collaborative approach has delivered projects such as Health on the High Street and free bus travel for under 18s. Sarah also played a pivotal role in Barnsley being named the UK’s first Tech Town. Local schools, businesses, the NHS and other partners are now receiving bespoke government support to unlock the opportunities of AI. This work supports the town’s ambition to put AI to work in transforming public services and businesses, while blazing a trail for the rest of the UK to follow. In 2023, Barnsley was named Council of the Year at both the LGC and MJ Awards, recognising its regeneration and community impact.

Dr Sarah Longlands is the Chief Executive of the Centre for Local Economies (CLES) based in the UK. CLES is a think and do tank in the UK dedicated to development of local economies and the lead organisation in the UK for community wealth building, Sarah is an expert in regional and local economies with a PhD in Urban Studies from the University of Glasgow. She is an advocate for economic and social justice and the creation of places that enable people to live good lives. Her work is deeply influenced by her experience of growing up in Northern Ireland. Before joining CLES she worked for the Institute of Public Policy Research in the North of England (IPPR North). She began her career working in local government in the North of England.

Simon has been a Chief Executive in the NHS for 12 years in several different organisations and has previous Director and Board level experience in NHS commissioning and provider organisations after joining the NHS in 2008. Prior to that Simon spent the first 10 years of his career in Local Government, working in different communications, customer services and business development roles at Wyre Forest District Council, Worcestershire County Council and West Midlands Passenger Transport Authority.

Susan has 20 years' experience working in local authorities, with a strong background and passion for social care and economic growth.

Tom Bridges leads Homes England’s work across the North East and Yorkshire, working closely with Combined Authorities, Local Authorities and developers (including developer Registered Providers) to turn shared ambitions into delivery.

His focus is on building strong partnerships that unlock sites, overcome barriers and accelerate the development of new homes (including social and affordable homes) and regeneration projects across the North East and Yorkshire. He oversees a multidisciplinary team, working closely with Homes England technical experts in their national technical hub, supporting locally-led priorities. He ensures national investment and expertise are aligned with local needs and priorities to deliver high-quality homes, regeneration, economic development and thriving communities. Homes England are an important place-based delivery partner, that is seeking to support devolution, working with and through Mayoral Strategic Authorities and Local Authorities to deliver housing and regeneration.

Tom joined Homes England in March 2026 from Arup, the global firm of designers and engineers working across every aspect of the built environment, where he was a Director, UK Government Business Leader, and Leeds Office Leader. Between 2012 and 2018 Tom was Leeds City Council’s Chief Officer Economy and Regeneration.