Business 'disappointment ' as city Council chief leaves
Chris Naylor is to step down as interim chief executive of Birmingham City Council, who confirmed that there is currently no candidate available who “would be suitable to undertake the role on a permanent basis ”.
He has been in the role since May last year and will now return to Barking & Dagenham Council, from where he had officially been on secondment. The city council has said another interim will now take over, covering the period that includes next year 's local elections and the Commonwealth Games, before they look to recruit a permanent CEO towards the end of 2022.
Mr Naylor, who is the current Chief Executive of the Year, awarded by the MJ (Municipal Journal) Achievement Awards 2020, was the seventh chief executive in eight years when appointed last year, including acting and interim roles.
Current adult social care director Graeme Betts will act as chief executive pending the appointment of an interim, a role he took on last year.
Mr Naylor recently joined a patron event organised by Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce (GBCC), where he outlined his vision for the city, citing an exciting time for Birmingham with a number of significant opportunities on the horizon, notably the Commonwealth Games.
Paul Faulkner, the GBCC 's chief executive, said: “It 's hard to say that this is anything other than really disappointing news. Chris had made a very positive impact during his short time with the Council, and there was widespread hope that he would take the role on a permanent basis and help to bring stability to the senior executive team there following the churn in senior personnel over recent years.
“Only last month Chris outlined his impressive vision for the future of the city at an exclusive event for our Patrons, and this news very much came as a surprise and a disappointment.
“We wish him well with his future plans, and urge a swift appointment of the new interim given the vitally important 18 months coming up for the city. ”
Mr Naylor was preceded by acting chief executive and former finance chief Clive Heaphy, who took on the role after Dawn Baxendale quit as chief executive in July, 2019.
Before that, the council appointed Stella Manzie (interim), Angela Probert (acting) and Mark Rogers in the chief executive role.
Council leader Cllr Ian Ward said: “Chris has completed a significant amount of valuable work as interim chief executive over the last eight months.
“This includes the development of a strategy that will help improve outcomes for our citizens and ensure that the city council remains on a firm financial footing in the face of continued pressure on our resources.
“We are going to continue with the plans as set out in the 'Investing in our Future ' report which was recently endorsed at Cabinet.
“This provides a clear road-map to where we want to be as an organisation and what we need to do to get there.
“We intend to appoint an interim chief executive who it is envisaged will remain in post to take us beyond both next year 's local elections and the Commonwealth Games.
“This will provide much needed stability at a critical time. A permanent recruitment will begin after next year 's local elections in May.
“The reason for delaying a permanent recruitment is that we have been advised by the Local Government Association that there is not a pool of candidates currently available in the market that would be suitable to undertake the role on a permanent basis. ”
The Investing in our Future report sets out a plan to create a new corporate core including a chief executive and new director titles as well as a new layer of managing directors.
Mr Naylor said: “I have enjoyed my time at Birmingham City Council, but I now need to return to Barking & Dagenham as the secondment agreement with the city has concluded.
“I would like to thank the council leadership, senior colleagues, staff and partners in Birmingham for their support. ”
He listed achievements during the period including “setting an ambitious 10-year vision ”, “balancing the books this year and next ” and “getting rates of infection down across the city ” as part of the emergency response to Covid-19.
other points were: “Maintaining and sustaining improved relationships with government and partners across a range of issues from the Commonwealth Games, investment in homes and infrastructure and health and social care. ”
And he concluded: “Taking proactive steps to tackle historic inequalities within the council particularly as they relate to race and sex. ”
He added: “Whilst there are emerging, immediate challenges linked to the pandemic that will need to be overcome, this is also an incredibly exciting time for the city with a number of significant opportunities on the horizon, most notably the Commonwealth Games.
“I 've come to love the city over the last year and will look for opportunities to support Ian and the council in whatever way I can, now and in the future.
“I wish everyone working at the City Council all the best for the future. ”