Woking Borough Council has announced that its new Chief Executive has begun his role, after being appointed last week.
Richard Carr has taken over from previous Chief Executive Julie Fisher, who made the decision to step down from her position. Richard was, in December 2023, appointed as the Managing Director Commissioner for the council by the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.
Bringing a catalogue of experience across local government, Richard has experience in working for numerous councils, with these including:
- East Cambridgeshire District Council
- Aylesbury Vale District Council
- Wolverhampton City Council
- Central Bedfordshire Council
During the Covid-19 pandemic, Richard also supported the Department of Health and Social Care’s response, with this being done until 2022 when he began undertaking a number of interim management and coaching assignments. These include working at the City of Edinburgh Council and Colchester City Council, the latter of which saw him leading the authority’s wholly owned trading companies as Managing Director.
Richard commented on his appointment, saying:
“I am excited to bring my knowledge and experience of working across the public sector to this role at a crucial time for Woking Borough Council
“My primary focus is to enable the borough council to get back to discharging its statutory responsibilities in a way that is sustainable and focused on the needs of residents and communities in Woking. To achieve this, a huge amount of work lies ahead of us and there will be no shortage of challenges.
“There can be no illusions about the scale of the challenges facing the council, which is why it finds itself under government intervention. However, with the support of committed staff, elected members, and my fellow commissioners, together with partners and communities, I am determined that we will continue Woking’s recovery. Local people deserve nothing less.”
Image credit: iStock
