INTERVIEW
Can you tell me a little about yourself and your career so far? I started my career in Ireland, and I had completed almost 43 years in local government when I retired in March last year. That was a very interesting journey across two different countries, two different systems and – throughout that time – very many different experiences and opportunities. Since retiring, I’ve moved into the semi-private sector working with Municipal Partners Limited. We work to provide high-quality housing for local authorities. I’m still pleased that I’m using my experience of the public sector to bring something to this role. Congratulations on winning the AMBA MBA Leadership Award 2022. How did it feel to win and has it made any impact on your career so far? I was very humbled to be chosen. I have to be honest, when I saw my competitors for the actual award, I thought didn’t think I’d win – they looked amazing in terms of what they had achieved, and some of them were still reasonably young to have achieved so much. To be chosen from such a high-calibre group of people really made me feel humble. I was absolutely delighted to be put forward by Manchester Metropolitan University. To win was such a privilege; it really showed me the quality of learning I had received during my MBA, and the benefit that it has brought me over the years.
You were recently awarded an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) in recognition of your outstanding leadership, innovation, determination and commitment to Northamptonshire, and service to Local Government in the UK. Could you tell me more about this? The OBE was awarded for two things. One was my turning around of Northamptonshire County Council, and my overall service to local government (for 42 years, at that point). I felt it was an award that should have been given to a whole team, and not an individual, because obviously I didn’t turn Northamptonshire around on my own, and it was a tremendously strong team of people who worked very closely with me for three years. I was employed by Northamptonshire in a role that was advertised as the most difficult job in local government. When I saw the advert, I thought I must do it; why would you not take this job? It was a very challenging experience. The council was the first to declare bankruptcy in more than 50 years, and it didn’t just declare it once, it declared it twice. It was severely in debt, and, in my view, had previously been very badly managed. I was asked to turn it around and take it out of bankruptcy. During the period that I was doing this, I was asked to lead on local government reform for the county, which involved abolishing all aid councils and creating two super councils for the area. All of that had happened by end of
March 2021; then Covid-19 arrived. As a County Council, we managed the Covid response for a population of 750,000 people. At this time, we were in the process of building a new children’s trust and also turning the council around from bankruptcy, as well as building two new super councils. So that might give you some understanding of why I was awarded an OBE in the end, because we successfully turned the council around, we successfully created a children’s trust and our two new super councils went live on time. Most importantly, I left them with a legacy of £105 million in a reserve. We went from minus £65 million, to a reserve of £105 million at the end of the three years. As I said it was very much a team effort. Why did you choose to do your MBA at Manchester Metropolitan University Business School, Manchester Metropolitan University? I chose Manchester Metropolitan University because, at the time, I worked for Manchester City Council, and several colleagues – who I respected and who were more senior than me – had successfully done an MBA there. They strongly advised me to follow in their footsteps, and that influenced me. I didn’t just look at Manchester Metropolitan University, I explored other Business Schools as well. But I felt it was the most relevant MBA, not just for my skills but for my future career. I thought it would add most value and that’s
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Ambition | BE IN BRILLIANT COMPANY
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