New assistant chief executive for Surrey

Surrey County Council has completed the strengthening of its senior management team with the appointment of a new assistant chief executive.

Susie Kemp, 49, currently the Head of Organisational Development and Performance Improvement at Hillingdon Council, has been selected to complete Chief Executive David McNulty’s new team.

Dr McNulty started in his new job just three weeks after Dr Andrew Povey became the new Leader at County Hall in June and the recruitment of Mrs Kemp completes the six-strong senior management team reporting to the former Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council Chief Executive.

A wealth of experience

Dr Povey said: “I am extremely pleased to welcome Susie to our already very strong senior management team. She brings a wealth and breadth of experience to the role and has a proven track record, particularly in improving value for money and driving improvements in performance so that staff provide excellent services that meet and exceed residents’ needs.”

Mrs Kemp joined Hillingdon Council in March 2006 and took up her current role, in which she has focused on improving the skills of the workforce and motivating and developing staff, in June 2007. She started her career in local government in 1996 as a councillor for West Berkshire Council after running her own recruitment business, standing down in 2006 to move to Hillingdon Council as Corporate Improvement Manager.

For 10 years from 1996, Mrs Kemp held a range of other posts. At the Local Government Association, the organisation representing more than 400 councils in England and Wales, she was the chairman of the Public Protection and Planning Executives. She was a member of the Brussels-based Committee of Regions, a European Union consultative body, a peer member for the Improvement and Development Agency for local government and a regional chairman for the Environment Agency.

A top-class appointment

Dr McNulty said: “Susie is a top-class appointment and I look forward to working closely with her to ensure Surrey is a genuinely leading-edge authority. That is my aim and Susie shares it. She is a recognised as being a strong leader and motivator and will be a major asset as we focus our efforts on what matters most to our residents and providing the services they need in the most effective way.”

Mrs Kemp said: “I am delighted and excited to be joining Surrey County Council to help the authority build on its many strengths. I look forward to focusing on what is important to the people of Surrey and the issues that concern them the most so we can provide the best possible services and maximum value for money for local taxpayers.”

She takes over from Michael Jennings, who retired at the end of July after 25 years at County Hall, in January.