Hackney agrees appointment of new Chief Executive

Published by Michelle Pacey for Hackney Council in Local Government

Hackney’s full Council agreed the appointment of Tim Shields as its new Chief Executive on 30 January.

Tim Shields has worked for Hackney for nearly six years. He was Corporate Director of Finance and Resources from December 2003 and has been Interim Chief Executive since last May.

In the eight months that he has served as Interim Chief Executive, Tim Shields has worked with elected Mayor Jules Pipe to focus on service improvement and identify areas where resources are needed to accelerate the pace of change.

Tim is an accountant by background and has spent over 27 years in local government working his way through a series of posts in Wandsworth, Epsom and Ewell and Lambeth before joining Hackney Council in July 2002.

Mayor of Hackney, Jules Pipe, said: “Tim has a track record of consistent achievement at senior level and has made an outstanding contribution to the Council. His successful management helped turn around the Council’s finances. He has led on key projects such as Building Schools for the Future and the Academies programme and made a significant contribution to improving services across the board. Tim was quite simply the best candidate for the job.”

Tim Shields said: “Hackney Council’s services are continuously improving. While we have made huge progress over recent years, there are still fresh challenges ahead. I am looking forward to working with staff, the elected Mayor and Councillors to deliver further improvements and continue Hackney’s journey to excellence.”

An appointments sub-committee, which involved representatives of all the three party groups, was established to oversee the recruitment process and undertake the final interviews. The sub-committee unanimously agreed to recommend this appointment.