POWYS County Council has appointed an experienced former senior civil servant as its new chief executive.
Dr Caroline Turner, who is currently assistant chief executive with Isle of Anglesey County Council, was appointed by a special meeting of the full council on Tuesday, November 20.
Councillors met in private to receive presentations from Dr Turner and one other candidate who had also taken part in a series of assessments and interviews with the council’s appointments panel.
A fluent Welsh speaker, with more than 25-years’ experience in local government and the civil service in Wales, Dr Turner will succeed Dr Mohammed Mehmet, Powys County Council’s Acting Chief Executive.
“I am delighted to have been appointed chief executive of Powys County Council and look forward to working with elected members, officers and partner organisations. Local government in Wales is facing challenging times but by working together we can deliver good quality sustainable services for the people of Powys,” she said.
Originally from Anglesey, she is married to Michael and has a 23-year-old daughter Gwenan. She has a Degree in Government, a Master’s degree in Leading Public Service Change and Organisational Development.
Dr Turner held senior positions in the Welsh Government for 17 years before returning to local government in 2015 when she joined Anglesey as assistant chief executive. The council had previously been beset by political infighting and for two years, from 2011 to 2013, was run by directors appointed by the Welsh Government.
Dr Turner tutured International Politics at University of Wales Aberystwyth before joining the former Gwynedd County Council and later Isle of Anglesey County Council holding a number of senior positions in economic development.
She joined the Welsh Government in 1999 and spent more than 17 years working in Cardiff and Merthyr holding a number of very senior positions including, Head of Communities, Head of Digital Wales, Head of Expert Services, Deputy Director of Welsh Language and Deputy Director of Governance.