Richard Carr has begun his new role as Woking Borough Council’s chief executive.

Appointed managing director commissioner by the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Homes and Communities in December 2023, Mr Carr fulfils the role of chief executive following Julie Fisher’s decision to step down.

Mr Carr brings with him a wealth of local government experience having worked for seven unitary, county, district and London borough councils, including East Cambridgeshire District Council, Aylesbury Vale District Council, Wolverhampton City Council, and between 2009 and 2020, chief executive at Central Bedfordshire Council.

Between 2017 and 2020, he was also senior responsible officer for the Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes Integrated Care System.

In 2020, he supported the Department of Health and Social Care’s response to the Covid pandemic, which he did until 2022 as regional convenor for the South West. The region delivered the fastest roll-out of the vaccination programme in the country.

Since 2022, he has undertaken several interim management and coaching assignments, including with the City of Edinburgh Council and, most recently, Colchester City Council.

He said: “I am excited to bring my knowledge and experience of working across the public sector to this role at a crucial time for Woking Borough Council.

“My primary focus is to enable the borough council to get back to discharging its statutory responsibilities in a way that is sustainable and focused on the needs of residents and communities in Woking. A huge amount of work lies ahead of us and there will be no shortage of challenges.”