Nick Bell
Nick Bell

The appointment of Staffordshire County Council’s new chief executive has been approved.

Council leaders backed the decision to appoint Nick Bell as the replacement for the retiring Ron Hilton.

Mr Bell is currently the deputy chief executive of Essex County Council and also acts as their finance director.

Council leader Philip Atkins said:

“We had high expectations of the type of person we wanted to replace Ron Hilton. After a thorough nationwide recruitment search, I am delighted to announce that we have offered the job to Nick Bell.

“Nick has had a vast range of experience from finance, to transforming the way councils do business to service-based experience, all of which makes him ideal to lead Staffordshire County Council.

“The county council is on the right track – our services are improving and we are in a stable financial position. We need to maintain and improve the pace of change and take the next step up to deliver excellent services, manage the financial pressures ahead and put Staffordshire on the map regionally and nationally. Nick’s values reflected our own with innovation, efficiency and residents at the core.”

Mr Bell added:

“I was absolutely delighted to receive the call offering me the job of chief executive. This is my ideal job and one that I feel I can bring a lot of positive experiences to, particularly from my time at Westminster City Council and Essex County Council.

“During the recruitment process, I have been really impressed by the passion and commitment demonstrated by the council leaders. It is the opportunity to deliver their vision that is particularly exciting. Staffordshire is a fantastic, beautiful county that deserves to be on the national stage. The county council has a great reputation especially resulting from the improvements made in recent years.

“Success in this job is however only possible with the support and hard work of staff and partners throughout the county. Ron Hilton is a tough act to follow but I am sure that if the same sort of commitment, loyalty and hard work is shown by staff and partner colleagues then the sky is the limit.”

Founder of Lichfield Live and editor of the site.