A final decision on the appointment of Hampshire County Council’s new Chief Executive will be made at an extraordinary meeting of the authority on 21 June.
Following national competition for the role, the council’s Member Appointment Panel is unanimously recommending Carolyn Williamson for the role.
Since 2017, Ms Williamson has been the authority’s Deputy Chief Executive and prior to this was the council’s Director of Corporate Resources.
Previously, she held the roles of Executive Director of Corporate Services and Deputy Chief Executive at Southampton City Council and also worked for Inverclyde Council as the authority’s the Director of Corporate Services.
Commenting, Leader of Hampshire County Council, Councillor Keith Mans said:
“The extent of Carolyn Williamson’s experience and knowledge of the county council and her high level abilities were markedly evident throughout the appointment process.
“In Carolyn, we believe we have found an extremely high-calibre leader with vision and a clear direction for taking the authority forward in its journey of transformation.
“The people of Hampshire rightly expect a high-quality service from the county council, which requires us to ensure that we are continually pushing boundaries with innovative and efficient methods of working. To do this, we need the best people working for us.
“The Appointment Panel is delighted to be recommending Carolyn to the full county council for the position of Chief Executive and I’m extremely grateful to the members of all parties who have helped in this process.”
As Head of Paid Service, Hampshire County Council’s Chief Executive is responsible, through the council Leader, for managing an overall annual budget of around £2bn, a workforce of around 37,000 and providing services for 1.4 million people across the county.
