Leader of Birmingham City Council, Mike Whitby has today announced the appointment of a new Strategic Director of Development to lead one of the largest planning, regeneration and development departments in the Europe.
Cllr Whitby, said: “Recruiting the correct person to this role was of critical importance in helping us develop our economy, quality of life, global status and role as a regional leader, both now, and far into the future. We are therefore delighted to have identified a candidate which fits the role and the team so well.
“Mark has a clear track record in delivering challenging objectives in the public sector, whilst maintaining a strategic oversight of the challenges before him. What impressed me, and the selection panel, particularly was his passion and undoubted ability.
“By combining the established strengths of our vision, international influence and civic leadership, with his pedigree for successful implementation, I am confident we have a team which will drive forward this city’s decade of delivery.”
Currently Chief Executive of Newcastle under Lyme Borough Council, Mark Barrow, will take forward the city region and be responsible for:
• Providing strategic management to enable the economic success of Birmingham through the successful delivery of the city’s regeneration, development, planning, transportation strategy and climate change functions
• Ensuring economic vision and plans are implemented effectively lead to tangible benefits ‘on the ground’
• Liaising with Central Government and the private sector to secure new models for partnership working and funding
• Managing key stakeholder, business and partner relationships, in particular with respect to the City Region and Council’s response to Government’s proposals on Local Enterprise Partnerships
• Redesigning services, were necessary, to ensure they are best suited to achieving results in the current economic and political climate.
Mr Barrow’s ability to rapidly deliver tangible results is best illustrated by his experiences as Chief Executive of Newcastle under Lyme Borough Council, where within three years he transformed a string of universally under performing ‘one star’ services into ‘three and four star’ operations which were all rated among the top 25% in country by the Audit Commission.
Mr Barrow, said: “I am really looking forward to playing my part in helping Birmingham establish itself as a city which is economically strong, culturally rich and physically attractive.
“The city’s leadership has developed an exciting vision for the future, and I believe my skills and experience will perfectly compliment those already in place to ensure this ambition can be translated into reality.”
As a representative on the Regional Economic Taskforce, Mr Barrow led work focussing on mitigating the social impact of the current recession, a key issue for Birmingham in the current economic climate. He also represents councils within the Regional Economic Inclusion Panel.
An active member of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, Mr Barrow spent six years in the early 1990s working for Birmingham City Council as a senior surveyor, and more recently has led numerous reviews across the country looking at public/private partnership funding models.
Negotiations regarding Mr Barrow’s start date are on-going.
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For more information contact Simon Houltby on 0121 303 3503
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