Liverpool Council’s new interim chief executive officially has officially taken up her post this week.
Almost two months after her appointment to the beleaguered local authority was confirmed, Theresa Grant has stepped into the hot seat left vacant by the resignation of former boss Tony Reeves earlier this year. The former Northamptonshire County Council chief will take up the role at the Cunard Building until May next year.
Her appointment was formally ratified by members of the council when they met earlier this month, with Ms Grant’s experience lauded by Mayor of Liverpool Joanne Anderson. In July, former chief executive Tony Reeves announced his resignation after four years in post as the council's most senior officer.
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He was appointed in July 2018 having previously worked in the administration as a consultant. Speaking to the Local Government Chronicle (LGC) last month, Ms Grant said she was “delighted” to be taking up the role at Liverpool Council, having missed local government.
She said the interim posting would be her last in the public sector and had been left feeling “very humble” by the response she’d had in the city. Ms Grant told the publication: “I really want to make a difference in the eight months I will be there and not let anyone down.”
The experienced local government official said she hoped positivity would remain “when I start doing what I do best, which is disrupting the status quo and driving performance. But it needs to be done – and I’m glad I have been given the opportunity to do it.”
Before starting her role officially, Ms Grant told the LGC she had spoken to members, commissioners, senior officers and external partners which led her to believe “all the right ingredients are there to actually make the improvement that is needed.” She added: “I think I'm really lucky to be the one that's been asked to come in and help them to achieve it.”
Since Mr Reeves stepped down in July, the role of head of paid service had been held by Anne Marie Lubanksi, the council’s director of adult services and health, on a temporary basis. City solicitor Dan Fenwick had been acting as returning officer and electoral registration officer.
Ms Grant’s appointment was made by the commissioners overseeing the local authority. Mayor Joanne Anderson, opposition leader Cllr Richard Kemp, and cabinet member Cllr Frazer Lake were involved in the process of confirming Ms Grant.
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