Deborah became Chief Executive of the Birmingham City Council in June 2021, following over 30 years’ in public services.
Previous senior roles included Chief Executive of the WMCA, Head of Policy at Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council and Local Government Advisor to the Ministerial Team at the Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions.
Following roles as the Audit Commission's Best Value Service Lead Inspector for the London region and Chief Executive for St Edmundsbury Borough Council and the East of England Development Agency, Deborah was Chief Executive of Suffolk County Council from 2011 to 2017.
She was born and bred in Birmingham and attended the University Birmingham. Deborah has a degree in politics as well as a master’s degree in economics and a further Master’s degree in management practice.
She recently received Honorary Doctorates from Loughborough and Aston University.
Deborah received an OBE in 2006 for services to local government. She was recently high commended in the Chief Executive of the Year category at the Inclusive Companies Awards 2019.
She is a trustee of the Joseph Rowntree Trust and Joseph Rowntree Housing Foundation and as a dedicated and passionate female advocate at the forefront of the public sector, Deborah recently won the First Women Award for Public Service.
Deborah is also a trustee for Centre for Cities and recently joined the Reform Advisory Board.
Deborah is listed in Local Government Chronicle’s ‘100 Most Influential in the Sector’ and received the UKREiiF Public Sector Impact award.