Room151’s LATIF 2025

Tony Travers is a professor in the LSE’s Government Department and an assistant dean in the LSE’s School of Public Policy.  Research interests include public finance, urban politics and London government.  He has been an advisor to a number of UK Parliamentary committees. 

He was a Senior Associate of the Kings Fund from 1999 to 2004, and also a member of the Arts Council’s Touring Panel during the late 1990s.  From 1992 to 1997, he was a member of the Audit Commission.   He was a member of the Urban Task Force Working Group on Finance.

He is a research board member of the Centre for Cities and a board member of the New Local Government Network. He is an Honorary Member of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance & Accountancy.  He chaired the London Finance Commission (2012-13 and again in 2016-17) and was a member of the City Growth Commission (2013-14).

He chaired an independent commission examining local government finance in Wales and the London Finance Commission (2014 and 2017).  He was co-chair of the King’s Commission on London.    

He has published a number of books on cities and government, including Failure in British Government The Politics of the Poll Tax (with David Butler and Andrew Adonis), Paying for Health, Education and Housing   How does the Centre Pull the Purse Strings (with Howard Glennerster and John Hills) and The Politics of London: Governing the Ungovernable City.  Most recently, he published London’s Boroughs at 50.

Kelly is responsible for managing relationships with our clients.

Kelly joined CCLA in 2019 after 16 years finance and accountancy experience attained in both public and private sector. Kelly is a chartered accountant by background and her role prior to joining CCLA was Chief Finance Officer (Section 151 Officer) of a District Council in Local Government. Kelly has held a number of senior roles within local government and private sector and has a wide range of experience, managing finance, procurement and property amongst other services.

Kelly is a member of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) and is currently a member of the National CIPFA Council as well as involved with volunteer roles in her home base of the Midlands.

Michael Cullen is the Chief Executive of Stockport Council and Place Lead for NHS Greater Manchester

Michael started his career at Knowsley Council, before joining Stockport Council’s finance team in 2006, becoming its Borough Treasurer in 2016.  In 2020, Michael was appointed Deputy Chief Executive and was appointed Chief Executive in June 2024.  Michael is a proud and passionate public servant who has worked across local government and the NHS having also held the role of Chief Finance Officer at NHS Stockport Clinical Commissioning Group between April 2020 and June 2022. 

Michael holds the GM Chief Executive portfolio for Children and Young People, is a member of the GM pension fund local pensions board and a board member of the Stockport Town Centre West Mayoral Development Corporation (The Greater Manchester Mayor’s first Mayoral Development Corporation) helping to drive the creation of a new urban village within the Town Centre and supporting social infrastructure.

Michael leads colleagues in Stockport and is working with partners as One Stockport to make Stockport the best place to live happy and healthy lives and he aims to deliver the ambition to create opportunities for Stockport so that it is a place everyone is proud to call home.

Joanne joined Birmingham City Council in September 2024. Before her move to Birmingham, Joanne was the first female Chief Executive of Manchester City Council between April 2017 and August 2024. During her seven-and-a-half-year tenure in Manchester, Joanne dealt with several unprecedented events and led the council’s response to two major crises – the 2017 Manchester Arena terror attack and the Covid-19 pandemic. In September 2021, Joanne was named the Local Authority Chief Executive of the Year at the annual MJ (Municipal Journal) Awards. She then oversaw Manchester City Council attain ‘Council of the Year’ status in July 2022. 

Throughout her career to date, she has built a strong track record in transforming public services and delivering major regeneration initiatives across many cities in the UK. Joanne has extensive experience in local government having previously worked as Director of Housing at Kirklees Council and Executive Director with responsibility for housing, communities and adult care services at Sheffield City Council. Joanne also served as the President of the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and Senior Managers (SOLACE) between 2020 and 2022. In the 2024 New Years Honours list, Joanne was awarded a CBE for services to Local Government.  

Raised in Kirkby in a family of eight children, Steve left school at 16 to pursue a career as a bricklayer, starting out as an apprentice. In later years he went on to work for the Learning and Skills Council. 

Steve began his political career when he was elected to serve as a councillor in 2002, representing Fazakerley ward on Liverpool City Council and held the ceremonial title of Lord Mayor of Liverpool through the city’s European Capital of Culture year in 2008.

In 2010, Steve was elected as the Member of Parliament for the Liverpool Walton constituency. While in Westminster, he led campaigns for justice for the Hillsborough families; in support of blacklisted workers; for compensation for those suffering from mesothelioma and asbestosis; and to change the law on the use of old tyres on buses and coaches.

In 2017, Steve was elected as the first ever Liverpool City Region Mayor, representing 1.6m people across the boroughs of Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens and the Wirral and was subsequently re-elected in 2021.

Since taking office, Steve has created 60,000 jobs, 30,000 apprenticeships and 30,000 homes. He has taken the historic decision to take back control of the region’s buses, launched a new £500m fleet of publicly owned fleet of trains, and led the region’s economic recovery from the pandemic with a £150m COVID Recovery Fund.

In 2024, Steve was elected for a third term as Mayor with 68% of the vote, his highest personal mandate and more than any other elected Mayor in the country. During his third term, Steve has pledged to return to council housebuilding at scale, to increase foreign direct investment (FDI) into the region, to build three new train stations and to launch a free pilot of artificial intelligence (AI) in local schools. He has also revised the region’s net zero target to 2035 – the most ambitious target for a city region in the country.

Tony Travers is a professor in the LSE’s Government Department and an assistant dean in the LSE’s School of Public Policy.  Research interests include public finance, urban politics and London government.  He has been an advisor to a number of UK Parliamentary committees. 

He was a Senior Associate of the Kings Fund from 1999 to 2004, and also a member of the Arts Council’s Touring Panel during the late 1990s.  From 1992 to 1997, he was a member of the Audit Commission.   He was a member of the Urban Task Force Working Group on Finance.

He is a research board member of the Centre for Cities and a board member of the New Local Government Network. He is an Honorary Member of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance & Accountancy.  He chaired the London Finance Commission (2012-13 and again in 2016-17) and was a member of the City Growth Commission (2013-14).

He chaired an independent commission examining local government finance in Wales and the London Finance Commission (2014 and 2017).  He was co-chair of the King’s Commission on London.    

He has published a number of books on cities and government, including Failure in British Government The Politics of the Poll Tax (with David Butler and Andrew Adonis), Paying for Health, Education and Housing   How does the Centre Pull the Purse Strings (with Howard Glennerster and John Hills) and The Politics of London: Governing the Ungovernable City.  Most recently, he published London’s Boroughs at 50.

Tim Seagrave is group finance lead for capital & treasury management at Manchester City Council. An economics graduate, Tim began his local authority finance career at Newcastle City Council, and moved back to his birthplace to join Manchester City Council in 2009. He has experience in directorate finance as well as corporate, including working on the city council’s response to local authority funding settlements and leading on the early stages of business rates reform for the city. Tim moved onto treasury management in 2010, and during his time with the treasury team he has managed the Council’s debt and investment portfolios and overseen the HRA debt settlement, including repayment of LOBOs. Since 2014 Tim has also led the team responsible for the financial management of the Council’s capital programme, from project inception through to accounting for schemes, and has led on the development of a new capital approval process. A CIPFA member, Tim attends CIPFA’s Better Governance Forum.

Sidhant is responsible for managing CCLA’s three deposit and money market funds.

Having graduated from King’s College London in 2013 with a BSc in Maths & Computer Science (joint honours), Sidhant worked in the consulting industry focussing on wealth and asset management clients for six years. Sidhant then joined CCLA in 2019 and specialised as a fund manager within Cash and Money Markets team.

Sidhant holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and Investment Management Certificate (IMC) qualifications. Outside of work he is a Governor for Foster’s Primary School in Bexleyheath.

Paige Wilhelm is head of the Prime Liquidity Group and is responsible for portfolio management and research in the fixed-income area concentrating on taxable liquidity instruments. She joined Federated Hermes in 1985.

Paige has more than 30 years of investment experience and more than 15 years of experience running local government investment pools. Her previous positions at Federated Hermes include senior credit analyst, performance analysis supervisor and performance analyst.

Paige earned her bachelor’s degree from Indiana University and an MBA from Duquesne University. She is a member of the CFA® Society of Pittsburgh.

Tim Chapple is the Treasury Manager at Oxfordshire County Council. Since qualifying as an accountant in 2008, he has spent the majority of his career as the principal officer in Treasury Management roles, with brief interludes in Pension Fund Investments and Capital Accounting. Having worked for both Oxfordshire and Warwickshire County Councils, he also has several years’ experience of working in the private sector as the Financial Controller of an Oxford University science spin off venture.

Oliver is Head of Finance for Capital, Treasury and Commercial at the London Borough of Brent. He joined six months ago after previously working in the local audit unit of the Financial Reporting Council, the Institute of Chartered Accounts (ICAEW) and the National Audit Office.

Currently chief accountant for the council, it’s subsidiary and pension fund. Leading the county council’s technical and financial services. Previously undertaking financial management roles within Adult Social Care, Public Health, district council and housing services.

Oliver is Head of Finance for Capital, Treasury and Commercial at the London Borough of Brent. He joined six months ago after previously working in the local audit unit of the Financial Reporting Council, the Institute of Chartered Accounts (ICAEW) and the National Audit Office.

Tim Seagrave is group finance lead for capital & treasury management at Manchester City Council. An economics graduate, Tim began his local authority finance career at Newcastle City Council, and moved back to his birthplace to join Manchester City Council in 2009. He has experience in directorate finance as well as corporate, including working on the city council’s response to local authority funding settlements and leading on the early stages of business rates reform for the city. Tim moved onto treasury management in 2010, and during his time with the treasury team he has managed the Council’s debt and investment portfolios and overseen the HRA debt settlement, including repayment of LOBOs. Since 2014 Tim has also led the team responsible for the financial management of the Council’s capital programme, from project inception through to accounting for schemes, and has led on the development of a new capital approval process. A CIPFA member, Tim attends CIPFA’s Better Governance Forum.

David joined Arlingclose 2010 and holds the Association of Corporate Treasurers Diploma in Treasury Management. David is a director of Arlingclose and responsible for client advisory services, he also heads up the debt management team, with an emphasis on the formulation and implementation of funding strategies. Current projects include managing iDealTrade.net, renegotiating long-term loans and developing alternative funding products with a variety of financial institutions. David also regularly delivers training for finance teams and Elected Members, covering debt and investment risk management and the local government finance regulatory framework. David has been providing treasury management consultancy services to public sector clients since 1997. He was Assistant Director at Butlers Treasury Consultancy, a division of ICAP plc, where he managed several client accounts and was a regular speaker at training events and seminars on treasury management issues.

Graham is a CIPFA qualified accountant and has over 30 years experience across the public sector, predominately in local government, and has managed teams across all the major services in management and financial accounting. In this time, he has managed finances across unitary, county, and district authorities, including Northamptonshire County Council, South Somerset District Council, London Boroughs of Southwark and Haringey. 

As a consultant, Graham has spent the past 10 years providing support covering areas such as chart of account design, new system procurement and implementation, collection fund accounting, business partnering, supporting closure of accounts, and clearing historic audits across diverse organisations including London Borough of Croydon, Harborough District Council, Department for Transport, Government Property Agency and Capita (as part of support across six district councils).

Additionally, he is an experienced trainee and a previous tutor for CIPFA, teaching the PSFR and Case Study papers.

Nemashe Sivayogan is an Associate member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants. Nemashe is currently working as Head of Treasury and Pensions at the London Borough of Merton. Before Merton, she worked at the LB of Lambeth where she gained her technical knowledge and skills. Nemashe has 18 years of Local Government experience, with significant knowledge in LGPS.

Joshua is Chief Impact Officer at Unity Trust Bank and leads Unity’s work to be the ethical bank of choice for UK organisations.

Josh has over 10 years of experience in impact investing, climate economics, and social cost-benefit analysis.

He specialises in capacity building for organisations in the impact economy and focuses on supporting organisations to achieve their goals while delivering positive impact.

Within Unity, Joshua co-leads Unity’s market engagement for Green Municipal Investments and leads Unity’s strategy to achieve Net Zero by 2045 with a focus on delivering an inclusive transition with customers.

Before joining Unity, he was Head of Impact at Big Issue Invest, leading impact management for both the investment arm and the Big Issue magazine

Mark joined West Midlands Combined Authority as Lead Treasury Accountant in 2020 and is responsible for all aspects of the Authority’s treasury management activities including an investment portfolio in excess of £400m. He has over 25 years Local Authority finance experience and, in addition to treasury work, has a background in capital accounting and the Housing Revenue Account. Mark is a member of CIPFA’s TIS Online Treasury Management Editorial Board, reviewing and writing articles for the website and has contributed blogs to Room 151. He has also participated in panel discussions at several treasury and housing finance events.

Biyi Adegbola is a seasoned Finance Professional with over two decades of experience in public sector finance, including 18 years in senior roles within Local Authorities.

Throughout his career, Biyi has demonstrated a strong commitment to supporting financial stewardship, strategic planning, and service transformation in complex and politically sensitive environments.

In the past six years, Biyi has specialised in Treasury Management, leading investment strategies, debt portfolio oversight, and ensuring compliance with regulatory frameworks. He brings strong experience in financial governance, budget management, and stakeholder engagement, which has supported sustainable service delivery and contributed to improved outcomes for local communities.

Nemashe Sivayogan is an Associate member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants. Nemashe is currently working as Head of Treasury and Pensions at the London Borough of Merton. Before Merton, she worked at the LB of Lambeth where she gained her technical knowledge and skills. Nemashe has 18 years of Local Government experience, with significant knowledge in LGPS.

Tim Chapple is the Treasury Manager at Oxfordshire County Council. Since qualifying as an accountant in 2008, he has spent the majority of his career as the principal officer in Treasury Management roles, with brief interludes in Pension Fund Investments and Capital Accounting. Having worked for both Oxfordshire and Warwickshire County Councils, he also has several years’ experience of working in the private sector as the Financial Controller of an Oxford University science spin off venture.

Tony Travers is a professor in the LSE’s Government Department and an assistant dean in the LSE’s School of Public Policy.  Research interests include public finance, urban politics and London government.  He has been an advisor to a number of UK Parliamentary committees. 

He was a Senior Associate of the Kings Fund from 1999 to 2004, and also a member of the Arts Council’s Touring Panel during the late 1990s.  From 1992 to 1997, he was a member of the Audit Commission.   He was a member of the Urban Task Force Working Group on Finance.

He is a research board member of the Centre for Cities and a board member of the New Local Government Network. He is an Honorary Member of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance & Accountancy.  He chaired the London Finance Commission (2012-13 and again in 2016-17) and was a member of the City Growth Commission (2013-14).

He chaired an independent commission examining local government finance in Wales and the London Finance Commission (2014 and 2017).  He was co-chair of the King’s Commission on London.    

He has published a number of books on cities and government, including Failure in British Government The Politics of the Poll Tax (with David Butler and Andrew Adonis), Paying for Health, Education and Housing   How does the Centre Pull the Purse Strings (with Howard Glennerster and John Hills) and The Politics of London: Governing the Ungovernable City.  Most recently, he published London’s Boroughs at 50.

Kelly is responsible for managing relationships with our clients.

Kelly joined CCLA in 2019 after 16 years finance and accountancy experience attained in both public and private sector. Kelly is a chartered accountant by background and her role prior to joining CCLA was Chief Finance Officer (Section 151 Officer) of a District Council in Local Government. Kelly has held a number of senior roles within local government and private sector and has a wide range of experience, managing finance, procurement and property amongst other services.

Kelly is a member of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) and is currently a member of the National CIPFA Council as well as involved with volunteer roles in her home base of the Midlands.

Michael Cullen is the Chief Executive of Stockport Council and Place Lead for NHS Greater Manchester

Michael started his career at Knowsley Council, before joining Stockport Council’s finance team in 2006, becoming its Borough Treasurer in 2016.  In 2020, Michael was appointed Deputy Chief Executive and was appointed Chief Executive in June 2024.  Michael is a proud and passionate public servant who has worked across local government and the NHS having also held the role of Chief Finance Officer at NHS Stockport Clinical Commissioning Group between April 2020 and June 2022. 

Michael holds the GM Chief Executive portfolio for Children and Young People, is a member of the GM pension fund local pensions board and a board member of the Stockport Town Centre West Mayoral Development Corporation (The Greater Manchester Mayor’s first Mayoral Development Corporation) helping to drive the creation of a new urban village within the Town Centre and supporting social infrastructure.

Michael leads colleagues in Stockport and is working with partners as One Stockport to make Stockport the best place to live happy and healthy lives and he aims to deliver the ambition to create opportunities for Stockport so that it is a place everyone is proud to call home.

Joanne joined Birmingham City Council in September 2024. Before her move to Birmingham, Joanne was the first female Chief Executive of Manchester City Council between April 2017 and August 2024. During her seven-and-a-half-year tenure in Manchester, Joanne dealt with several unprecedented events and led the council’s response to two major crises – the 2017 Manchester Arena terror attack and the Covid-19 pandemic. In September 2021, Joanne was named the Local Authority Chief Executive of the Year at the annual MJ (Municipal Journal) Awards. She then oversaw Manchester City Council attain ‘Council of the Year’ status in July 2022. 

Throughout her career to date, she has built a strong track record in transforming public services and delivering major regeneration initiatives across many cities in the UK. Joanne has extensive experience in local government having previously worked as Director of Housing at Kirklees Council and Executive Director with responsibility for housing, communities and adult care services at Sheffield City Council. Joanne also served as the President of the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and Senior Managers (SOLACE) between 2020 and 2022. In the 2024 New Years Honours list, Joanne was awarded a CBE for services to Local Government.  

Raised in Kirkby in a family of eight children, Steve left school at 16 to pursue a career as a bricklayer, starting out as an apprentice. In later years he went on to work for the Learning and Skills Council. 

Steve began his political career when he was elected to serve as a councillor in 2002, representing Fazakerley ward on Liverpool City Council and held the ceremonial title of Lord Mayor of Liverpool through the city’s European Capital of Culture year in 2008.

In 2010, Steve was elected as the Member of Parliament for the Liverpool Walton constituency. While in Westminster, he led campaigns for justice for the Hillsborough families; in support of blacklisted workers; for compensation for those suffering from mesothelioma and asbestosis; and to change the law on the use of old tyres on buses and coaches.

In 2017, Steve was elected as the first ever Liverpool City Region Mayor, representing 1.6m people across the boroughs of Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens and the Wirral and was subsequently re-elected in 2021.

Since taking office, Steve has created 60,000 jobs, 30,000 apprenticeships and 30,000 homes. He has taken the historic decision to take back control of the region’s buses, launched a new £500m fleet of publicly owned fleet of trains, and led the region’s economic recovery from the pandemic with a £150m COVID Recovery Fund.

In 2024, Steve was elected for a third term as Mayor with 68% of the vote, his highest personal mandate and more than any other elected Mayor in the country. During his third term, Steve has pledged to return to council housebuilding at scale, to increase foreign direct investment (FDI) into the region, to build three new train stations and to launch a free pilot of artificial intelligence (AI) in local schools. He has also revised the region’s net zero target to 2035 – the most ambitious target for a city region in the country.

Tony Travers is a professor in the LSE’s Government Department and an assistant dean in the LSE’s School of Public Policy.  Research interests include public finance, urban politics and London government.  He has been an advisor to a number of UK Parliamentary committees. 

He was a Senior Associate of the Kings Fund from 1999 to 2004, and also a member of the Arts Council’s Touring Panel during the late 1990s.  From 1992 to 1997, he was a member of the Audit Commission.   He was a member of the Urban Task Force Working Group on Finance.

He is a research board member of the Centre for Cities and a board member of the New Local Government Network. He is an Honorary Member of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance & Accountancy.  He chaired the London Finance Commission (2012-13 and again in 2016-17) and was a member of the City Growth Commission (2013-14).

He chaired an independent commission examining local government finance in Wales and the London Finance Commission (2014 and 2017).  He was co-chair of the King’s Commission on London.    

He has published a number of books on cities and government, including Failure in British Government The Politics of the Poll Tax (with David Butler and Andrew Adonis), Paying for Health, Education and Housing   How does the Centre Pull the Purse Strings (with Howard Glennerster and John Hills) and The Politics of London: Governing the Ungovernable City.  Most recently, he published London’s Boroughs at 50.

Dan Bates is a finance specialist at LG Improve. He leads LG Improve’s Financial Resilience function, enabling councils to adapt to a leaner, more outcomes focused way of working.   Working with all types of authorities on financing and funding to modernise financial management, outcomes-based budgeting and well-being and social value. 

Anisa Darr is the Executive Director of Strategy and Resources and S151 officer at London Borough of Barnet. Her remit includes finance, HR, strategy and community participation. Following the insourcing of Finance in 2019, the team then subsequently won the Public Finance team of the year in 2021. Anisa has also worked at the Metropolitan Police and Grant Thornton.

With a career in Local Government spanning over 25 years, and working for a number of different Local Authorities across from London Boroughs, Districts and also Unitary Councils,  Adele has a passion for the positive impact that finance and resource teams can have on our communities and our local areas and is always keen to encourage others to think about a career in Local Government whatever stage of their career they are at or their current sector experience.  She is a Fellow of CIPFA, and is currently the Interim Director of Finance and Operations (S151) at Cheltenham Borough Council.   Thanks to her interest and strengths around cultural and service change, especially assisting organisations on their improvement journeys and true transformation by ensuring finance is at the heart of organisations decision-making and through strong governance ethos, she currently enjoys working as an interim and takes it as an opportunity to learn from different organisations and take best practice from each and every place she goes.

Adele also likes to describe herself as an accidental runner who now gets as many questions about “which marathon is next” (Sierra Leone in October!) as she does about finance but she is also an extremely passionate volunteer in Girl Guiding which predates her Local Government career.  She believes she developed many of her leadership skills and ability to deal with wide-ranging and varied questions and queries through her weekly meetings with young people, which can often mirror working in Local Government! 

Joseph is the Chief Executive of West Berkshire Council and has previously been s151 officer at a number of different Councils. The Council has a range of exciting projects, is focused on financial sustainability and have been recent award winners for launching the UK’s first Community Municipal Investment and for digital transformation. The Council is proactively engaging in Local Government Reorganisation and the devolution agenda.

Pam is a very experienced senior public sector leader with over 35 years’ experience in strategic and operational leadership and management across varied disciplines and sectors. She is an experienced finance professional with a comprehensive technical accounting background who takes a holistic approach to the effective use of resources ensuring that they support and facilitate delivery of excellent services.

She is driven by a passion for making a difference and improving outcomes for people and communities and thrives on positive change.

She was the LGR finance lead for the Cumbria LGR programme supporting Cumbria County Council and the six district councils of Cumbria to create two new Unitary Councils and transfer the fire service to be governed by the Police and Fire commissioner. She also supported the transfer of the Cumbria Pension Fund to the new administering authority – Westmorland and Furness Council.

As the first Director of Resources (sct 151 officer) for Westmorland and Furness Council she was influential in establishing, stabilising and driving change within the new Unitary Council and led the council to becoming financially sustainable in the medium term.    In respect of work/ life balance she has recently taken time out to breathe and reset and is now supporting the sector through consultancy and advisory roles. She can often be found swimming in a cold lake to bring some calmness to balance life’s challenges!

Gary is the Corporate Director of Resources for North Yorkshire Council, one of the youngest unitary councils that came into being in April 2023. In this role he leads on Finance, Property, Procurement, Technology, Customer, Commercial and Change Management.

Previous roles include Assistant Director in Finance and then a period as Assistant Chief Executive support on Policy, Performance and Partnerships. He became the S151 Officer for North Yorkshire County Council in late 2012 and was heavily involved in the development of proposals for Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) and then played a key role in managing the transition from eight Councils to the new single Council for North Yorkshire. Since then, he has been overseeing the transformational work that follows from the opportunities of LGR and wider change to both improve effectiveness and reduce costs. To date LGR annual savings of circa £60m have been identified with over half of that already delivered. Further LGR inspired savings are also expected over the next few years as work progresses.

Gary has held the position of President of Society County Treasurers and is a peer reviewer for the LGA.

Gary’s interests include reading, archery, Burnley FC and running/repairing his rather clapped-out 1990 VW van!

I am the Head of Local Government for Grant Thornton UK LLP and have worked with the sector in a variety of external assurance roles for nearly four decades. I have worked with London Boroughs, Mets, unitaries , counties and districts.  I lead our relationship with sector intermediary bodies and MHCLG. I  am a CIPFA qualified accountant and also a Board member at Fighting Fraud Locally.  The firm has issued a number of reports in respect of LGR including  Learning from the new unitary councils.   We see LGR as a major opportunity for the sector but one that is fraught with risks . We need to ensure the lessons of the past are learnt and that new unitaries focus on developing the right governance and the right stewardship of public funds.

Michael is the Executive Director of Finance & Resources at Cambridgeshire County Council as well as the President of the Society of County Council. Michael began his carrer with the Audit Commission before moving to KPMG. He has been a section 151 officer across unitary, city, district and county councils for 20 years. Outside of work his passions range from Liverpool FC to walking and cycling.

Emma Foy is the Industry Lead for Local Government at TechnologyOne, where she champions digital transformation across councils and public sector organisations. She brings deep expertise in modernising services and helping local authorities unlock the power of connected, cloud‑based technology. With a background of over ten years of being Section 151 in various local authorities, she now works closely with leaders to streamline operations and drive meaningful community outcomes. Emma is known for her collaborative approach, her commitment to innovation, and her passion for helping local government build more resilient, efficient, and future‑ready services. 

Andrew is a qualified accountant (FCA) with 15 years of experience in ERP systems implementations, business cases, options appraisals, requirements gathering, data migration, management and statutory accounts, financial analysis and modelling across both public and private sectors. Andrew has extensive experience in leading data migration activities from legacy to new or upgraded systems. He has been working with central government and local authority clients, he has a deep understanding of the complexities of government organisations and the challenges they face.

Philip is the Director of Finance and Commercial Services at Sheffield City Council. In addition to his role as S151 Officer he has responsibility for procurement, revenues and benefits, internal audit and corporate performance. He has previously held senior finance roles at the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, the City of London Corporation and East Herts Council. 

Alison is the Director of Finance for Three Rivers Council. Alison previously worked for CIPFA as their Head of Standards and Financial Reporting and is past President of the SDCT.

A highly regarded and well-known expert in the sector, Jonathan has worked in local government for more than 20 years, including seven years as strategic director at London Borough of Barking & Dagenham and the creator of B&D Reside, the council’s affordable housing company. Jonathan continues to support councils on the development and delivery of affordable housing and regeneration schemes. He has been a board member of Barnsbury Housing Association since 2017.

Pat joined Slough Borough Council as executive director of regeneration, housing & environment in October 2022.

Prior to this Pat was Managing Director of Be First, Barking and Dagenham Council’s independent regeneration arm, with a mission to accelerate growth. Be First aims to capitalise on the borough’s position as London’s hottest investment and development opportunity to deliver 50,000 new homes and 20,000 jobs in the next 20 years.

Previously, Pat was Executive Director of Regeneration & Housing with Ealing Council during which time the borough became one of the most successful in London at attracting in new developments and transforming its public housing stock.

Pat was responsible for bringing forward the Southall Waterside development with the Berkeley Group, South Acton Estate with Countryside Properties and the delivery of Ealing Film Works with St George.  He oversaw the evolution of the Council’s housing company Broadway Living as a major build to rent developer.

Before joining Ealing, Pat worked for Transport for London as Director of Borough Partnerships and prior to that, spent four years at Lewisham Council as Executive Director for Regeneration and Environment. Pat has also worked for five other boroughs during a 25-year career in local government.

Outside work Pat cycle races, has an allotment and watches Leyton Orient Football Club.

Maria interim chief finance officer (S151 officer) at Somerset Council. Prior to this she was the Corporate Director of Resources & Section 151 Officer of the London Borough of Redbridge and Finance Director & Section 73 Officer of the East London Waste Authority since 2016. Her remit includes Finance, Pensions, Audit, Insurance, IT, Revenues, Benefits, Registrars, Modern Day Slavery and Anti Poverty

Maria is also the former and now Past President and member of the Society of Municipal Treasurers a member of the Association of Local Authority Treasurers, Society of London Treasurers and Vice Chair of the London Finance Advisory Committee

Maria has worked in Local Government for more than 20 years in a number of authorities and has extensive experience in a wide range of leadership and advisory roles

Dan Bates is a finance specialist at LG Improve. He leads LG Improve’s Financial Resilience function, enabling councils to adapt to a leaner, more outcomes focused way of working.   Working with all types of authorities on financing and funding to modernise financial management, outcomes-based budgeting and well-being and social value. 

Conrad Hall has over twenty years’ senior financial management experience in London local authorities, more than ten of which have been in chief finance officer roles.

He trained with the Audit Commission, qualified as a CIPFA accountant in 1998 and is a former winner of the Accountancy Age UK Accountant of the Year award for his work in transforming Lambeth Council.  He is currently the Corporate Director of Resources for Croydon Council, having previously held similar roles at Newham and Brent Councils.  He chairs the CIPFA/LASAAC board, which sets the financial reporting and accounting standards for UK local government

Carol is currently the Executive Director, Finance at Birmingham City Council after completing a spell as a Commissioner at Woking Borough Council and her year as CIPFA President.

She was previously the Deputy Chief Executive and City Treasurer at Manchester City Council . As well as being the S151 officer, she had responsibility for the Corporate Core and for driving a number of priorities such as the leading on the Council’s Zero Carbon Action Plan and as SRO for The Factory and Town Hall projects. Her previous experience in Manchester has included her role as Deputy City Treasurer responsible for Finance and Performance and ICT as well as being a member of the Health and Social Care Devolution Team, as Assistant Chief Executive overseeing Finance and Performance and as the Assistant Director of Finance and Commissioning for Social Services.

She is CIPFA qualified and has a diploma in management. Carol has a wealth of experience in financial management, governance and assurance and fulfilling trustee roles. 

Tony Travers is a professor in the LSE’s Government Department and an assistant dean in the LSE’s School of Public Policy.  Research interests include public finance, urban politics and London government.  He has been an advisor to a number of UK Parliamentary committees. 

He was a Senior Associate of the Kings Fund from 1999 to 2004, and also a member of the Arts Council’s Touring Panel during the late 1990s.  From 1992 to 1997, he was a member of the Audit Commission.   He was a member of the Urban Task Force Working Group on Finance.

He is a research board member of the Centre for Cities and a board member of the New Local Government Network. He is an Honorary Member of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance & Accountancy.  He chaired the London Finance Commission (2012-13 and again in 2016-17) and was a member of the City Growth Commission (2013-14).

He chaired an independent commission examining local government finance in Wales and the London Finance Commission (2014 and 2017).  He was co-chair of the King’s Commission on London.    

He has published a number of books on cities and government, including Failure in British Government The Politics of the Poll Tax (with David Butler and Andrew Adonis), Paying for Health, Education and Housing   How does the Centre Pull the Purse Strings (with Howard Glennerster and John Hills) and The Politics of London: Governing the Ungovernable City.  Most recently, he published London’s Boroughs at 50.

Kelly is responsible for managing relationships with our clients.

Kelly joined CCLA in 2019 after 16 years finance and accountancy experience attained in both public and private sector. Kelly is a chartered accountant by background and her role prior to joining CCLA was Chief Finance Officer (Section 151 Officer) of a District Council in Local Government. Kelly has held a number of senior roles within local government and private sector and has a wide range of experience, managing finance, procurement and property amongst other services.

Kelly is a member of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) and is currently a member of the National CIPFA Council as well as involved with volunteer roles in her home base of the Midlands.

Michael Cullen is the Chief Executive of Stockport Council and Place Lead for NHS Greater Manchester

Michael started his career at Knowsley Council, before joining Stockport Council’s finance team in 2006, becoming its Borough Treasurer in 2016.  In 2020, Michael was appointed Deputy Chief Executive and was appointed Chief Executive in June 2024.  Michael is a proud and passionate public servant who has worked across local government and the NHS having also held the role of Chief Finance Officer at NHS Stockport Clinical Commissioning Group between April 2020 and June 2022. 

Michael holds the GM Chief Executive portfolio for Children and Young People, is a member of the GM pension fund local pensions board and a board member of the Stockport Town Centre West Mayoral Development Corporation (The Greater Manchester Mayor’s first Mayoral Development Corporation) helping to drive the creation of a new urban village within the Town Centre and supporting social infrastructure.

Michael leads colleagues in Stockport and is working with partners as One Stockport to make Stockport the best place to live happy and healthy lives and he aims to deliver the ambition to create opportunities for Stockport so that it is a place everyone is proud to call home.

Joanne joined Birmingham City Council in September 2024. Before her move to Birmingham, Joanne was the first female Chief Executive of Manchester City Council between April 2017 and August 2024. During her seven-and-a-half-year tenure in Manchester, Joanne dealt with several unprecedented events and led the council’s response to two major crises – the 2017 Manchester Arena terror attack and the Covid-19 pandemic. In September 2021, Joanne was named the Local Authority Chief Executive of the Year at the annual MJ (Municipal Journal) Awards. She then oversaw Manchester City Council attain ‘Council of the Year’ status in July 2022. 

Throughout her career to date, she has built a strong track record in transforming public services and delivering major regeneration initiatives across many cities in the UK. Joanne has extensive experience in local government having previously worked as Director of Housing at Kirklees Council and Executive Director with responsibility for housing, communities and adult care services at Sheffield City Council. Joanne also served as the President of the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and Senior Managers (SOLACE) between 2020 and 2022. In the 2024 New Years Honours list, Joanne was awarded a CBE for services to Local Government.  

Raised in Kirkby in a family of eight children, Steve left school at 16 to pursue a career as a bricklayer, starting out as an apprentice. In later years he went on to work for the Learning and Skills Council. 

Steve began his political career when he was elected to serve as a councillor in 2002, representing Fazakerley ward on Liverpool City Council and held the ceremonial title of Lord Mayor of Liverpool through the city’s European Capital of Culture year in 2008.

In 2010, Steve was elected as the Member of Parliament for the Liverpool Walton constituency. While in Westminster, he led campaigns for justice for the Hillsborough families; in support of blacklisted workers; for compensation for those suffering from mesothelioma and asbestosis; and to change the law on the use of old tyres on buses and coaches.

In 2017, Steve was elected as the first ever Liverpool City Region Mayor, representing 1.6m people across the boroughs of Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens and the Wirral and was subsequently re-elected in 2021.

Since taking office, Steve has created 60,000 jobs, 30,000 apprenticeships and 30,000 homes. He has taken the historic decision to take back control of the region’s buses, launched a new £500m fleet of publicly owned fleet of trains, and led the region’s economic recovery from the pandemic with a £150m COVID Recovery Fund.

In 2024, Steve was elected for a third term as Mayor with 68% of the vote, his highest personal mandate and more than any other elected Mayor in the country. During his third term, Steve has pledged to return to council housebuilding at scale, to increase foreign direct investment (FDI) into the region, to build three new train stations and to launch a free pilot of artificial intelligence (AI) in local schools. He has also revised the region’s net zero target to 2035 – the most ambitious target for a city region in the country.

Tony Travers is a professor in the LSE’s Government Department and an assistant dean in the LSE’s School of Public Policy.  Research interests include public finance, urban politics and London government.  He has been an advisor to a number of UK Parliamentary committees. 

He was a Senior Associate of the Kings Fund from 1999 to 2004, and also a member of the Arts Council’s Touring Panel during the late 1990s.  From 1992 to 1997, he was a member of the Audit Commission.   He was a member of the Urban Task Force Working Group on Finance.

He is a research board member of the Centre for Cities and a board member of the New Local Government Network. He is an Honorary Member of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance & Accountancy.  He chaired the London Finance Commission (2012-13 and again in 2016-17) and was a member of the City Growth Commission (2013-14).

He chaired an independent commission examining local government finance in Wales and the London Finance Commission (2014 and 2017).  He was co-chair of the King’s Commission on London.    

He has published a number of books on cities and government, including Failure in British Government The Politics of the Poll Tax (with David Butler and Andrew Adonis), Paying for Health, Education and Housing   How does the Centre Pull the Purse Strings (with Howard Glennerster and John Hills) and The Politics of London: Governing the Ungovernable City.  Most recently, he published London’s Boroughs at 50.

Sarah has over 20 years experience in economic development, finance and social entrepreneurship both in the UK and internationally. Prior to founding The Good Economy, Sarah worked for the World Bank, the New Economics Foundation and Big Issue Invest, the social investment arm of The Big Issue.  She has a holistic and strategic view of the role of business and finance in social change with experience in fund design, impact measurement and investor relations in the areas of microfinance, social enterprise development, SMEs and public markets. 

George retired from his role as Director of the South Yorkshire Pensions Authority after nearly 8 years in December 2025, after a career in local government finance and pensions which included senior finance roles in district and county councils and leading the Lancashire Pension Fund during the creation of LPP follows by leading LPP’s administration business. He now acts as an independent adviser to Border to Coast Pensions Partnership on local investment and is Independent Chair of Lincolnshire’s Local Pension Board as well as providing advice on a range of issues to other LGPS funds. 

Steve is the Group Chief Finance Officer at Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA). 

Steve has worked in public sector finance for 25 years having started his career on the NHS Graduate Financial Management Training Scheme in 1996. 

He worked in a variety of roles across the NHS including Director of Finance and Deputy Chief Executive for Wirral Community NHS Trust and Director of Financial Control for NHS England nationally. 

Steve moved from the NHS to regional government in December 2019 taking up the role of Group CFO for GMCA. This role involves overseeing the finances of the combined authority including Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service, the offices of the Mayor of Greater Manchester and the Deputy Mayor for Police, Crime and Fire. 

Steve combines his day job at GMCA with the role of Non-Executive Director, Deputy Chair and Chair of the Finance and Performance Committee at Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust. 

Steve is a Trustee for St Ann’s Hospice and a Director of Southway Housing Trust. 

He lives in Manchester with his wife and two teenage children. He is an avid (and regularly disappointed) Derby County fan where he has recently been appointed to the Supporters Board.

Alex is the Head of Pensions at Torfaen County Borough Council, where he is responsible for management of the Greater Gwent Pension Fund’s investment and administration functions.

Alex leads the investment strategy of the Greater Gwent Pension Fund and was heavily involved in the establishment of an Impact Investment policy during 2023. An active voice across the Wales Pension Partnership, Alex is a member of the officer working group supporting the development of pooling objectives across all workstreams.

Prior to joining Torfaen in 2019, Alex worked for Gloucestershire County Council, initially as a graduate trainee before moving into a finance and investment management role with the Council’s Pension Fund.

Alex is a CIPFA qualified accountant and is actively studying for the Investment Management Certificate.

George retired from his role as Director of the South Yorkshire Pensions Authority after nearly 8 years in December 2025, after a career in local government finance and pensions which included senior finance roles in district and county councils and leading the Lancashire Pension Fund during the creation of LPP follows by leading LPP’s administration business. He now acts as an independent adviser to Border to Coast Pensions Partnership on local investment and is Independent Chair of Lincolnshire’s Local Pension Board as well as providing advice on a range of issues to other LGPS funds. 

Iain has worked with the public infrastructure sector for over 25 years. He has worked in corporate finance at PwC and KPMG advising the UK Government on privatisations and developing PPP models for investment and enhanced service delivery. He later joined RBS working in structured finance, where he worked with local authorities and large UK and international corporates to deliver debt and equity solutions for areas such as ports, transport, and waste management. Following this, Iain led the UK Green Investment Bank’s public sector lending team, specialising in energy efficiency, building retrofit, and heat network projects. Since joining UKIB as the Director of Lending, he has helped to develop the Local Authority functions flexible and efficient lending offer to support local authorities in the delivery of net-zero and economic infrastructure.

Gemma leads Big Society Capital’s property investment and market building strategies which aim to increase the supply of good quality, safe and secure affordable housing in the UK. Gemma’s built environment experience spans impact investment, property and regeneration, consultancy and Local Government.

Prior to Big Society Capital, Gemma worked at Lendlease, a global investment, property and construction company, with roles across construction ops, corporate sustainability and urban regeneration. Gemma was previously the Head of the Lendlease Foundation and a social enterprise, Be Onsite, that supports long-term unemployed including current serving prisoners and ex-offenders into employment. Gemma’s earlier career was in environmental consultancy as a Contaminated Land and Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) specialist working on due diligence for land acquisitions, remediating heavily contaminated sites and delivering environmental protection programmes for some of the UK’s largest infrastructure projects.

Gemma is a Trustee and a volunteer, has a degree and Masters in Chemistry from the University of Surrey and is a Chartered Environmentalist.

Sam is TGE’s Head of Place-Based Impact Investing, advising local government, fund managers and asset owners on how to drive more impact-focused investment in places. He brings 30 years of experience developing, reviewing and delivering investment solutions from both an advisory and investor/developer perspective. Sam played a leading role in delivering the Royal Society of Arts (RSA) UK Urban Futures Commission’s report ‘Unleashing the potential of the UK’s cities’ and also advises the Royal Foundation’s Homewards project seeking new ways to end homelessness across the UK.

Prior to joining TGE, Sam worked for Grosvenor where he led financial analysis, research and strategy in the UK property business for several years, including playing a leading role in developing Grosvenor’s net zero and social impact strategies. He also led the creation of Grosvenor Hart Homes, an impact-focused housing business.

Gemma leads Big Society Capital’s property investment and market building strategies which aim to increase the supply of good quality, safe and secure affordable housing in the UK. Gemma’s built environment experience spans impact investment, property and regeneration, consultancy and Local Government.

Prior to Big Society Capital, Gemma worked at Lendlease, a global investment, property and construction company, with roles across construction ops, corporate sustainability and urban regeneration. Gemma was previously the Head of the Lendlease Foundation and a social enterprise, Be Onsite, that supports long-term unemployed including current serving prisoners and ex-offenders into employment. Gemma’s earlier career was in environmental consultancy as a Contaminated Land and Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) specialist working on due diligence for land acquisitions, remediating heavily contaminated sites and delivering environmental protection programmes for some of the UK’s largest infrastructure projects.

Gemma is a Trustee and a volunteer, has a degree and Masters in Chemistry from the University of Surrey and is a Chartered Environmentalist.

Simon Cunnington is Portfolio Manager at Border to Coast Pensions Partnership where he leads on the UK Opportunities portfolio within private markets. He joined from the British Business Bank where he led on the establishment and management of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II, a £660m fund of funds supporting the growth of smaller businesses across the North of England.

Simon previously qualified as an accountant with Nottinghamshire County Council where he spent 11 years overseeing the Council’s pension fund and treasury investments, gaining extensive experience of managing and monitoring investments within the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS).

Simon has a law degree (LLB) from the University of Nottingham.

Richard has extensive and wide ranging financial, commercial and transformation experience. He is a CIPFA qualified accountant whose career spans both public and private sectors. He previously worked for Southampton City Council, where he was the interim Director of Finance. His other previous roles have included Transformation Director at City of Edinburgh Council, Board Director of a mid-sized technology consultancy, Interim Resources Director at Cornwall Council and Executive Director at Somerset County Council. Prior to these roles, Richard worked in public sector consultancy for KPMG and PwC. As Executive Director Resources, Richard leads EMCCA’s finance, HR, commercial, digital, and business operations. He also plays a key role in developing EMCCA’s financial strategy and its commercial relationships.

Victoria leads Better Society Capital’s place-based net zero investment and market building strategy which aims to contribute to a Just Transition by enabling public and private investment partnerships to deliver local net zero transition plans, speeding up decarbonisation, improving resilience to climate breakdown, and creating new green jobs.

Prior to Better Society Capital, Victoria worked as an investment manager for AgDevCo, an impact investor supporting agribusinesses addressing food insecurity and reducing poverty in sub-Saharan Africa. Victoria has a Bachelor of Business Science degree from the University of Cape Town and completed the CFA qualification.

Justin is a Senior Funding & Investment Manager working within the Environment Directorate of the West of England Combined Authority 

Justin also acts as the Finance Lead for the Department of Energy Security & Net Zero (DESNZ) Local Net Zero Accelerator Programme supporting Greater Manchester, West Midlands and York and North Yorkshire Combined Authorities. 

Justin has an extensive 35-year career background in education management, curriculum development, consultancy, investment banking (capital markets and infrastructure finance), social enterprise, and sector specialisms in renewable energy and environmental goods & services. 

Beverley is Founder and Managing Partner of Clean Growth Investment Management, a venture capital fund manager that  invests in the UK’s most promising early stage cleantech companies that have the potential to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. She is also CEO of Carbon Limiting Technologies (2006), a cleantech consultancy for corporates, financiers, government officials and SMEs. Prior she was she was a founder and Vice President, Shell Technology Ventures. 

Beverley is a thought leader in early stage cleantech investments and commercialisation with over 40 years’ experience in the international energy sector. She specialises in accelerating innovation to market and scaling companies by providing strategic insights, developing industry partnerships and identifying novel ways to overcome barriers to entry. Her ambition is to create a better, sustainable world and she firmly believes that this will be achieved through climatetech innovation playing a transformative role in the global economy. In 2023, Beverley was awarded an OBE by His Majesty King Charles III for services to Net Zero innovation. She is a NED and Chair of Investment Committee at Great British Energy and previously an independent member of the UK’s cross-government Net Zero Innovation Board chaired by the chief science advisor, Dame Angela McLean. Beverley is a Fellow of the Energy Institute. She holds a BSc in Mining Geology from University College Cardiff.

Wyndham North is Managing Director, Capital Formation for the British Business Bank. He has led the Bank’s work to establish British Growth Partnership as a vehicle to catalyse pension fund investment in UK growth, which announced a first close earlier in 2026. Previously he was Policy and Strategy Director for the Bank, and prior to that spent eleven years at HM Treasury leading the development of policy relating to tax, investment and international co-operation, including as Deputy Director for Customs Negotiations

Puneet leads SME Funds at London Treasury under the banner of Funding London and is responsible for all direct and fund investments in the high-growth, early-stage space.

He brings extensive expertise in direct investing as a fund manager, as well as of creating and managing funds as an active limited partner. He has been involved in over 200 investments through their full lifecycle of origination, diligence, negotiation, and legals to post investment board level support and exits. He has also managed a portfolio of SME investment funds focused on high-growth businesses, creating economic as well as social impact. Previously Puneet worked for Partnerships UK, Deutsche Bank, DB Ventures and EY.

Shiv is a member of the senior leadership team at the West Midlands Pension Fund and co-leads the Fund’s investment division. He oversees the development and implementation of the Fund’s approach to responsible investment including climate change and the integration of ESG risk factors across the Fund’s investment strategy. Prior to joining the West Midlands Pension Fund Shiv spent his career in investment consulting at Isio, and formerly KPMG, where he advised a range of institutional clients on all aspects of their investment strategy. As part of his role in investment consulting Shiv was heavily involved in asset class and manager research through his role as Head of Credit Research. Shiv has a degree in Economics and is a CFA charterholder.