John has spent almost 40 years working in local government in mostly senior roles. He started as a graduate trainee in a district council and his final full time role was Chief Executive of Cumbria County Council where he was also the Senior Responsible Officer for delivering Local Government Reorganisation in the County. In this capacity he led a process that created two new unitary councils and a standalone fire and rescue service from six district councils and a county council. Prior to working in Cumbria John was the Chief Executive of the Isle of Wight Unitary Council for almost six and a half years. He considers himself very experienced in leading in challenging times and considers his key strengths as being a strong, visionary, strategic and transformational leader able to build and communicate compelling visions for key stakeholders and with particular skills in financial, performance and project management.

He is currently working with MHCLG as a Senior Sector Advisor for Local Government Reorganisation. He is supporting seven areas of the country through the LGR process, as well as advising MHCLG, on how to make the most of the opportunities of reorganisation.