Room151’s Local Authority Treasurers Investment Forum North 2024

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.

Clive Betts began his political career in 1973 and in 1976 was elected as a member of Sheffield City Council.  He became Leader of the Council in 1987, having served on the Housing and Finance committees for several years.  He remained on the Council until his election as Labour Member of Parliament for Sheffield Attercliffe from 1992 until 2010. From 2010 he was the Labour MP for the renamed Sheffield South East constituency and was re-elected in May 2015 and June 2017.

Clive was appointed a Government Whip in 1997 and held the post until 2001. In June 2010 he was elected as Chair of the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee(Formally the Department for Communities and Local Government Select Committee) and has been re-elected following each General Election.

Clive has been a key member on several Select Committees (Department for Environment, Transport and the Regions, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, Department for Communities and Local Government.)  His political interests include economic policy, local and regional government and housing.  He was chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Arms Length Management Organisations, the All Party Football Group and was also chair of the Netherlands Group in Parliament and Joint Chair of the Somali and Somaliland APPG.

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.

Laura Coroneo is a Professor of Economics at the Department of Economics and Related Studies of the University of York, coordinator of the Centre for Applied Macro-Finance and executive committee member of the Money, Macro and Finance (MMF) Society.

Her primary field of research is applied macro-finance, with a particular focus on time series econometrics and empirical finance. Her research concentrates on modelling interest rates and understanding their relation with macroeconomic fundamentals. She also works on issues about monetary policymaking and forecasting.

Her scholarly contributions have been published in leading peer-reviewed academic journals, and she has collaborated with several central banks, including the Bank of England, the European Central Bank, the Bank for International Settlements, the Federal Reserve Bank of Saint Louis, and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve Board.

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.

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.

Jon worked for the Royal Bank of Scotland for 16 years before joining Derbyshire County Council in 2002. Since 2009, he has been solely responsible for the Treasury Management function for both Derbyshire County Council and the Derbyshire Pension Fund.

Innes is Principal Treasury and Banking Manager for the City of Edinburgh Council. Prior to his appointment as Treasury Manager, he was head of the back office for Lothian Pension Fund. He has also been seconded to Lothian Pension Fund as Portfolio Manager responsible for Bonds and other Credit opportunities. From 2007 to 2017, he was Chair of CIPFA’s Scottish Treasury Management Forum, and a member of CIPFA’s Capital and Treasury Management Panel. He has also been a Trustee of a private sector Pension Fund. Innes’ qualifications include an honours degree in IT from St. Andrews University, the PMI qualification in Pension Trusteeship, and the CIPFA / ACT Certificate in International Treasury Management – Public Finance.  He won the LGC Investment Officer of the Year for the UK Award in 2010.

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.

Danny is Director of Finance at Warrington Borough Council responsible for all aspects of the Council’s corporate finance function and climate change.

Danny is an expert in treasury management, capital accounting, programme management, transformation, regeneration, governance, climate change and the commercialisation agenda.

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.

Michalis joined in September 2022 as a Fixed Income Investment Director. Within this role, he a client-facing representative for all Fixed Income strategies across public and private markets.  He previously spent 10 years at J.P. Morgan Asset Management as an investment specialist covering the European and global high yield markets and more recently held similar roles at SYZ Asset Management and AllianceBernstein. Michalis holds a MSc. In Economics, Banking and Finance from Cardiff University and a degree in accounting.

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.

Victoria is the Section 151 Officer at Leeds City Council, she joined the Authority in 2019 previously working at a number of Local Authorities both in Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire. Victoria started her early career working in the private sector within the Investments Department of an Insurance Company before joining the Public sector 24 years ago taking a role in Internal Audit.

As a Certified (ACCA) and CIPFA qualified accountant Victoria has experience and knowledge of working across both sectors, although she especially enjoys the challenges and extremely varied role of being the Section 151 Officer at Leeds City Council.

Victoria’s ambition is to enable the Council to be financially resilient and sustainable for the future ensuring the services provided achieve value for money and Public Money, while delivering the City Ambition. The Council’s gross Budget is £2bn with income around £1.5bn. Victoria is leading on a number of transformation projects including the Core Business Transformation Programme for the Council and the Financial Challenge for the Council.  

Victoria keeps active and enjoys walks around Chester with her family and two miniature schnauzers and a Wired Haired German Pointer and is also a season ticket holder for Manchester City.

An experienced Interim S151 Officer who has held a variety of roles. More recently working in Calderdale and Kirklees managing their budget delivery requirements.

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!

Julian has over 20 years’ experience in local government finance, having begun his career at Hull City Council in 2001 where he undertook CIPFA professional training. He joined East Riding of Yorkshire Council as Finance Manager in 2009 and was appointed to his current role as Director of Finance in 2015. Julian also holds responsibility for the East Riding Pension Fund on behalf of 324 employers and over 125,000 scheme members, and he is a director of SWAP Internal Audit Partnership. His specialisms include financial planning and strategy, financial reporting, technical accounting, and financial systems. 

As Head of Partnerships, Matt focusses on collaborating with Local Authorities and the finance industry to develop innovative financial solutions designed to ‘unlock’ private capital to support local governments’ decarbonisation plans.​

Matt is leading the pioneering partnership between the GFI and Greater Manchester Combined Authority, aiming to deliver solutions designed to offer attractive sources of finance to enable the decarbonisation of the built environment. ​

Prior to joining the GFI, Matt spent 13 years working at global banks, holding senior positions at Santander and Lloyds.​

Jo Wall has over 35 years’ experience across the multiple disciplines required to respond to the climate emergency including policy development, leadership, finance and an understanding of technical solutions.

She has led on the development of complex business cases, change management, public consultation, and project and programme management. She has a sound working knowledge of commercial project delivery and project finance.

During Jo’s career as a UK property sector professional, Jo has worked across local government, private practice and the corporate sector. Jo has 12 years’ hands-on experience in the UK renewables sector including project initiation, development, financing, Power Purchase Agreements, project sales and construction. Jo has supported the development of public sector solar schemes including the award winning Lamby Way scheme in Cardiff and the 4MW private wire scheme to Morriston Hospital. She has won national awards for three of her energy projects.

Jo was a member of the OZEV technical board for the development of guidance to local authorities looking to deploy Electric Vehicle charging infrastructure and is a regular contributor to seminar and webinars. Jo has authored guidance for the LGA on renewable energy and green finance.

Jo was previously Strategic Property Director at Nottingham City Council and Corporate Director for Place at Rutland County Council. Prior to that she worked in corporate property at Abbey National. Jo has a history of producing robust asset management plans and property strategies and was involved in one of the UK’s largest sale and leaseback deals. She is a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

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.

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.

Alison joined ICAEW in 2020 as Director of the Public Sector team, which supports chartered accountant members working in and with the public sector to deliver public priorities and sustainable public finances.  In September 2021, she also took on responsibility for the Tax team which is the professional and public interest voice of ICAEW in the field of tax. Alison is a chartered accountant and worked in practice for several years before joining HMRC in 1994, where she spent 25 years and held the post of Commissioners’ Advisory Accountant.

ICAEW represents more than 202,450 members and students around the world. Founded in 1880 under Royal Charter, ICAEW has a long history of serving the public interest and we continue to work with governments, regulators and business leaders globally. ICAEW members work in all types of private and public organisations, including public practice firms, and are trained to provide clarity and rigour and apply the highest professional, technical, and ethical standards. And, as a world-leading improvement regulator, we supervise and monitor around 12,000 firms, holding them, and all ICAEW members and students, to the highest standards of professional competency and conduct.

Alison is delighted to be part of the Room 151 event.

David Green is a director of Arlingclose, the local authority treasury advisers. He is a fellow of the Association of Corporate Treasurers and a CIPFA qualified accountant.

David is the strategic lead on Arlingclose’s approach to investment strategy and credit risk management, ensuring clients earn a suitable risk-adjusted investment income while remaining within their risk appetite. He is also a key member of Arlingclose’s technical team, maintaining relationships with CIPFA and DLUHC. He writes and delivers the annual workshops on investment strategy and accounts closedown.

Previously, David worked in the private sector for five years as a treasury manager where he managed the cash flows and banking activities of a large leisure business. He then joined the West Sussex County Council corporate finance team as Treasury Manager and then Principal Accountant. David joined Sterling Consultancy Services in 2008 and in 2011 was promoted to Head of Consultancy before moving to Arlingclose the following year. He joined the board of Arlingclose in May 2021.

David is a regular speaker at external conferences and blogs on treasury management issues on www.room151.co.uk.

Alan Harding is the founding director of Harding Jones Associates Ltd., an independent part-time Strategic Economic Adviser to the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) and a visiting Professor at the Manchester Institute of Innovation Research in the Alliance Manchester Business School.

During a full time spell with GMCA (2016-21), Alan was instrumental in building Greater Manchester’s national and international reputation as an intelligent and informed city-region.  He played a key role in building the evidence base that supports Greater Manchester strategies and led in the development of collaborative relations with academic institutions and on interfacing with international agencies, think tanks, Government departments and other public agencies on policy analytics.

Previously, he directed several applied research centres and institutes in Manchester, Salford and Liverpool universities which specialised in the study of urban-regional development, policy and governance.  He is a recognised expert on national urban and regional policies and on the economy and governance of Greater Manchester. Within the policy world, he is particularly associated with the movement that inspired UK experiments with city-regional strategies and governance arrangements.

Alan has advised a wide range of national and international public policy-related bodies and makes regular contributions to policy debate through dissemination of his work to professional and lay audiences.  He has been listed in Who’s Who? since 2004, has been a fellow of the Royal Society for the Arts since 2015 and has served as a Trustee for the Centre for Cities think tank since 2019.

Amy is the first permanent Chief Executive of the East Midlands Combined County Authority (EMCCA), leading one of the largest and most ambitious regions in the country. Home to more than two million people and a £65 billion economy, the East Midlands is entering a new era of collaboration and growth – powered by £2 billion in transport investment and a network of Growth Zones driving innovation, clean energy, and advanced manufacturing.

Working alongside Mayor Claire Ward, Amy is building stronger collaboration between the region’s key industries – which include world-leading employers such as Rolls-Royce, Toyota and Boots – and Government, investors, councils and the voluntary and community sector.  

Bringing a wealth of experience in regional development and delivery, before joining EMCCA, she held senior investment and regeneration roles at Durham County Council, SouthYorkshire Combined Authority, Transport for Greater Manchester and Sandwell Council.

She currently sits as a Commissioner on the Solace Commission on Professional Standards and Ethics,  supporting the UK’s local government leaders on the challenges of modern public service. 

Since his appointment in 2017 he has established the Northern Powerhouse Partnership as the business led organisation which convenes the North together. From having made the case consistently for both HS2 to the North alongside Northern Powerhouse Rail, to challenging for a better deal for the most disadvantaged from the education system, his team are focused on how government, business and partners can drive the North’s ambitions. Before joining the Partnership, he worked in senior research and policy roles in policing and financial services, and as a former senior local government figure in Newcastle upon Tyne remains a commentator on regional and wider industrial policy.

Since 2020 he has also served as a member of the Royal Society Science, Industry and Translation Committee, as well as this year being appointed to the Court of Newcastle University.

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.