Hampshire County Council’s Corporate Management Team

The Corporate Management Team (CMT) comprises of eight Chief Officers for the main departments and led by the Chief Executive. Members of CMT work to ensure that Hampshire County Council is an excellent modern business serving the people of Hampshire. CMT will work with and for the Leader and Cabinet to realise the potential.

The role of CMT is to maximise the capacity and effectiveness of the organisation to make the greatest possible difference to the quality of life of all the citizens of Hampshire. CMT is the main interface between the Cabinet of the County Council and the officers employed to serve the organisation and the community.

It is the role of CMT to draw and hold together the varied services for which the council is responsible.

Andrew Smith, Chief Executive

Andrew Smith became Chief Executive in 2007. Prior to that, Andrew was the Director of Property, Business and Regulatory Services at Hampshire County Council since 1996. His principal responsibility was for the management of the Council's land and buildings, and to act as landlord for the Council. Andrew is the lead member for the South East Centre of Excellence for Procurement, where he is responsible for advising some 70 or so councils on more efficient and effective ways of delivering procurement and design within local government. He has recently been assisting OGC and the Treasury on the government national efficiency reviews. Andrew was recently awarded an OBE in recognition of his services to local government.

The Chief Executives department is at the heart of the organisation, and the role of the department is seen as providing a support framework which enables the delivery of our front line services to the residents of Hampshire. The Chief Executive’s department is a diverse one encompassing a range of different services covering both ‘back office’ and front line services and is split into six main divisions: Corporate and Legal Services; Policy Unit; Corporate Communications; Economic Development; Resources and Customer Services; Human Resources.

Karen Murray, Acting Director of Property, Business and Regulatory services

Karen Murray became Acting Director of Property, Business and Regulatory Services in December 2007.

Karen brings a wealth of experience to this role, being Assistant Director, Operations prior, which involved providing a major contribution to the management department and its resources, the modernisation of Regulatory Services, and to a number of corporate initiatives including mobile and flexible working and the strategic property review.

The Property, Business and Regulatory department was formed over ten years ago from seven separate departments and functions into 3 primary functions: Property services; Business services; Regulatory services.

Property services

Property Services is nationally recognised for its design, asset management and procurement expertise. Recent awards include recognition by the Royal Institute of British Architects, Royal Institute of British Architects, Royal Institute of chartered surveyors, Civic Trust and the Guardian.

Business services

A group of business units controlled by Hampshire County Council and comprising Corporate Procurement and County Supplies, Hampshire County Council catering Services, Hampshire Printing Services and Hampshire Transport Management.

Regulatory Services

Combines Registration, the Scientific Service, Trading Standards and Community Safety into an integrated service.

Jon Pittam, County Treasurer

Jon Pittam was born in Dorset, went to school in Tavistock, Devon and has a Geography honours degree from University of London, King’s College.  He started as a trainee accountant with the London Borough of Croydon, and was a CIPFA prize winner in 1975.  He moved to Cambridgeshire County Council as Chief Accountant in 1979 and was promoted to Assistant Director level before joining Hampshire in 1983 as Deputy County Treasurer. Jon Pittam has been County Treasurer of Hampshire since 1997.  

Jon is currently President of the Association of Local Authority Treasurers Societies, and a former President of the Society of County Treasurers.

He is also treasurer to Hampshire Police Authority, Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority and Hampshire Pension Fund.

He is:

• Local Government Association negotiator for Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR09)
• Lead Negotiator for Children’s Services (Local Government Association):
  - Schools Funding Implementation Group (DCSF)
  - Settlement Working Group on Education and Children’s Services
• Core Adviser , Local Government Association
• Member of Strategic Overview of Financial Issues (co-ordinating group LGA/Communities and Local Government)
• CIPFA council member
• Chair of CIPFA Role of the Public Services Director of Finance Panel
• Member of CIPFA Local Government Policy Panel
• Member of:
  - Society of County Treasurers
  - Police Authorities Treasurers’ Society
  - Hampshire and Isle of Wight Chief Financial Officers

The County Treasurer’s department is responsible for all aspects of finance for Hampshire County Council, and range from financial control of the County Council’s £1.6bn spend to payment of 39,000 employees and 31,000 pensioners and 700,000 bills incurred over all the County Council’s activities.

The County Treasurer also has the Corporate IT services department reporting directly to him via the Head of IT Services.

John Coughlan, Director of Children’s Services

John Coughlan became Hampshire’s first Director of Children’s Services in August 2005, bringing together the former Education Department and the Children and Families element of the former Social Services Department. John was Corporate Director of Social Care in Telford and Wrekin Council between 2001 and 2005. His role included that of former statutory Director of Social Services alongside responsibility for strategic housing, environmental health and trading standards. Between 1997 and 2001, he was Assistant Director for Children and Families in Dudley, and prior to that he held a number of senior management positions in Birmingham Social Services. He has worked extensively with children and young people in various settings, but especially children looked after. John was recently Joint President of the Association of Directors of Children's Services.

The Children’s Services department was formed in 2005 from the Education and Social Services departments to ensure the Every Child Matters/Children Act 2004 was implemented effectively in Hampshire.

The vision of the department is to make Hampshire a better place for children and young people and everyone offering services to children, young people and their families in Hampshire shares a vision that every child and young person:

• has the best possible start in life and develops to their full potential
• receives an excellent education in preparation for a fulfilled life as an adult
• has their achievements celebrated
• is able to grow and develop is safety and free from discrimination of every sort
• receives the highest possible standard of health care
• is listened to and has their views taken into account.

Gill Duncan, Director of Adult Services

Gill Duncan was appointed Director of Adult Services in 2008. Prior to this, Gill has worked in Adult Services previously as Director for Residential Nursing Care and more recently Assistant Director for Older Person’s and Physical Disability Services. Gill has extensive background across social care and health working at front line and senior management level. She began her career in nursing and progressed to Chief Executive of one of the original Primary Care Trusts in Hampshire.

The Adult Services department provides information, advice, services and support to over 86,500 Hampshire residents per annum, which includes the 22,000 people who meet our eligibility criteria thresholds of critical and substantial and who receive fully care managed services – an additional 4,000 people receive intermediate care.

Yinnon Ezra, Director of Recreation and Heritage

Yinnon Ezra has been Director of Recreation and Heritage since 2002. Yinnon started his Chief Officer career in 1990 and has a strong track record of finding innovative and radical solutions to delivering Community and Cultural Services which engage with communities by widening participation. Yinnon's passion is finding new and innovative ways of exciting and attracting new people to these services, all of which make a huge contribution to the quality of life in Hampshire. One example is the development of Discovery Centres now in Gosport and Winchester where the use, including the range of those going regularly, has doubled. This initiative was awarded Cultural Pathfinder status by the Government. These services also have a vital role in supporting Adult and Children's Services, as well as supporting the economic development impact of the creative and cultural industries which should not be under estimated. Yinnon is hugely committed to improving the performance of these services and customer satisfaction for most of them is above 80%. The department has nine 'charter marks' and is  rated as '4 star' by the Audit Commission's Comprehensive Performance Assessment.

Yinnon is also advisor to the Local Government Association, a National Board member of the Museum's, Libraries and Archives Council, is a National Trustee of the   Heritage Lottery Fund/National Memorial Fund ,a Governor of the University of Winchester and was awarded the MBE in the New Year honours list of 2008 for services to local government.

Yinnon is also the corporate lead on Community Engagement and 2012 for CMT.

As Director of Recreation and Heritage, Yinnon’s portfolio covers Arts, Tourism, Outdoor Learning, Community Support, Countryside - including both looking after and promoting 3,000 miles of rights of way and Country Parks, The River Hamble, Museums and Archives, Libraries, Adult and Community Learning and Sport.

Alison Quant, Director of Environment

Alison Quant has been Director of Environment since 2002. Alison has had a varied professional career in UK Local Government over the last 20 years, working for different Councils, Districts, Counties and a London Borough. Alison spent eight years in Australia, where she first joined local government as an urban planner working for the Victorian State Government. As Director of Environment, Alison is responsible for services covering transport planning, highway management and maintenance, traffic management, passenger transport, waste disposal, minerals and waste planning, strategic planning, advice and protection of the built and natural environment. She is the corporate lead on Sustainability.

Key issues affecting these services include:

• the rising cost of waste management and optimising recycling levels in the County
• rising bus industry costs and declining passenger numbers in rural areas, making the current network unaffordable
• capitalising on and managing growth pressures to create a more sustainable Hampshire with adequate supporting infrastructure
• rising traffic levels and increasing congestion
• replacing an aged street lighting stock
• meeting rising public aspirations for higher standards of road maintenance when budgets are falling in real terms
• adapting to climate change – Hampshire has an extensive coastline which will be affected by sea level rises and weather events, which is heavily populated.

Gavin Wright, Director of Human Resources

Gavin was appointed Director of Human Resources in October 2007 and before this he was Deputy Director of HR and Head of the Employment Practice Centre.  Gavin has had a number of roles within both the public and private sector.  Prior to joining the Council he worked as a management consultant, specialising in organisational change and leadership development.  His last public sector role was as Director of Human Resources for Basingstoke and North Hampshire NHS Foundation Trust.  He has also held a number of broader management roles including General Manager of a long stay hospital for people with learning disabilities.  In the private sector Gavin has worked for Glaxo Smithkline and the John Lewis Partnership, both within HR roles.

As Director of Human Resources, Gavin has responsibility for services covering training and development, employee relations, remuneration and benefits, recruitment and selection, health and wellbeing and operational HR services.