Nottingham City Council names new interim chief executive

Nottingham City Council has appointed an interim chief executive to take over from current chief executive Ian Curryer, who leaves at the end of April.

Katherine Kerswell will take up the role from May 1. She will bring experience as chief executive of five local authorities over a 15-year period, most recently at the London Borough of Newham. Kerswell will oversee the period between Curryer leaving and the council appointing a new permanent chief executive – a process that the Council says is “well underway”.

Curryer announced earlier this year that he was leaving after more than 20 years of working in the city to take up an appointment by the Secretary of State for Education to the new role of chair of Children First Northamptonshire, a Trust for Children’s Services in the county.

Kerswell will work alongside Curryer from mid-April to ensure a smooth handover. As well as her local authority experience, from 2012 to 2014 she was the first director general in the Cabinet Office to have responsibility for civil service reform and efficiency. She has also worked for a Community Healthcare Trust in London.

The City Council’s leader, Councillor David Mellen, said: “These are very turbulent times, and we are assured that Katherine will provide steady and confident leadership to steer us through the current crisis, and set out a good foundation for our recovery, so that we can eventually move forward with our ambitious plans for the city and our citizens.

“We extend a warm welcome to Katherine and look forward to working with her in the coming months. We also thank Ian for the major contribution he has made to the city and the council and wish him well in his new role. Meanwhile we remain fully focused on keeping essential services running during these unprecedented times.”

Kerswell garnered in 2012 when she left Kent County Council and it emerged her remuneration in the last year of her employment there was £589,165  – thought to be the one of the highest-ever in local government. The figure included a £420,000 redundancy payment after her role was abolished in a council reorganisation.