Oldham Council is set to appoint a new interim Chief Executive at a special meeting of the authority’s full council next week.
Following a meeting of the authority’s Appointments Committee, Harry Catherall, was unanimously recommended to councillors for appointment as interim Chief Executive.
Mr Catherall has had a 40 year career in local government, starting as a 16-year-old apprentice and rising to Chief Executive at one of the best performing local authorities in the country.
A trained accountant, he has undertaken a wide range of roles, including leading high-performing children and adult social care services.
He has an impressive track record of delivery, including overseeing large-scale public service improvement programmes in a number of organisations.
Commenting, Leader of Oldham Council, Councillor Arooj Shah said:
“It’s great to be able to recommend Harry for appointment and I look forward to welcoming him to the team.
“I have been clear that what Oldham Council needed in a Chief Executive is someone with drive, determination and a real commitment to delivering great public services for local people.
"I have set a clear future direction and set of priorities for the role and it’s clear from the recruitment process to date that Harry is the right person to deliver that vision.
“His focus in his new role will be to forge stronger relationships between local people and their public services and to steer Oldham’s recovery from the impact of the Covid pandemic including, crucially, driving forward the regeneration and renewal of our town and district centres.”
Mr Catherall added:
“I’m delighted to be recommended to Oldham’s councillors as the new Chief Executive.
“Should I be formally appointed, I look forward to working with the wider council team to meet the priorities clearly set by the council’s Leadership.
“Oldham clearly has an ambitious and positive vision for its future and I am keen to play my part in making the town’s plans a reality.”
Mr Catherall is best known for his time at Blackburn with Darwen Council, where he held a number of senior roles over a 20 year service, including more than seven as Chief Executive.
During his time at the authority, he transformed the council, reducing spending by 40% to meet reductions in funding from central government while continuing to deliver great local services.
In addition, he drove forward an ambitious regeneration programme for the borough.
This work saw the authority named local authority of the year during his time as Chief Executive.
Most recently, Mr Catherall led St Helens Council as Chief Executive on an interim basis during 2019/20.
During this time, he oversaw the creation of a new council-wide delivery plan, with clear priorities and a balanced budget for the town.
He also helped to drive improvements in children’s services and progressed significant regeneration activity to boost inward investment and create local jobs during his tenure.
Currently an Associate Non-Executive Director at the East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, Mr Catherall will step down from this role to concentrate on his new position.
The single-issue meeting of Oldham Council’s full council meeting to appoint the interim Chief Executive will take place at 6pm on Wednesday 25 August.
Subject to approval, Mr Catherall is expected to take up the post from Thursday 26 August.
