Salford unveils interim CEO ahead of Stannard’s departure to Manchester

Salford City Council has confirmed that Melissa Caslake is to be its new interim Chief Executive, after former CEO, Tom Stannard, announced in October that he is to become the head of neighbouring Manchester City Council.

Caslake is currently Salford’s Executive Director of Children’s Services and has been appointed following an internal recruitment process. The search for a permanent CEO will begin in the new year.

She has been in post at children’s services for two years. She will take up the interim CEO role on February 3, 2025.

She joined the organisation in December 2022, initially as interim Executive Director, before taking up the position permanently in 2023.

Prior to her arrival in Salford, she held roles as a Director for Children’s Services for a number of local authorities including Devon and the bi-borough arrangements between Kensington and Chelsea and the City of Westminster.

During her time at Salford as Executive Director of Children’s Services, Melissa has overseen a range of initiatives, all aimed at creating a fairer, greener, healthier and more inclusive city for all.

She has guided teams to improve the quality of children’s homes provision, launched the city’s attendance strategy, and secured partnerships with the National Literacy Trust and the Dolly Parton Imagination Library. Melissa has also been responsible for successfully leading both a key strand of the council’s internal transformation programme and the drive for Salford to become a recognised Child Friendly City.

Tom Stannard leaves Salford following almost four years of service. The council said under his leadership, the city has seen huge growth and the council has achieved significant success and made remarkable progress in various initiatives.

He is credited with leading the council to recent accolades, being crowned the ‘Best Place to Work’ by the Local Government Chronicle and recognised as ‘City of the Year’ by Estates Gazette.

He has been responsible for driving forward the development of Salford’s first Youth Zone and brought the Culture, Place Partnership into life as well as delivering the city’s We Invented the Weekend Festival.

He has overseen numerous regeneration projects, including the work on Salford Rise, preliminary work on the redevelopment of Eccles and Swinton town centres, the opening of 100 Embankment and the acquisition of the Salford Community Stadium.

Paul Dennett, Salford City Mayor, said: “Whilst I wish to express my heartfelt gratitude to Tom Stannard, for his outstanding leadership, I am now pleased to announce the appointment of Melissa Caslake as the new Interim Chief Executive of Salford City Council.

“She brings a wealth of experience and a strong commitment to our community, having served as Executive Director of Children’s Services over the past two years.

“Melissa’s expertise and dedication will be invaluable in driving forward our initiatives and ensuring that Salford remains a vibrant and thriving city. We are confident that she will continue Tom’s legacy of excellence and ensure that the good work is carried on throughout her time as interim.”