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Aberdeen City Council's chief executive Angela Scott is to stand down to take up the role of principal and vice-chancellor of Dundee University.Scott will take up the post from next month, following 12 years at Aberdeen.Prior to becoming chief executive, Scott was director of corporate governance at Aberdeen and served as head of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance & Accountancy's work in the devolved nations.Chair of the university's governing body, Esther Roberton, praised her ‘values-driven leadership, vision and financial discipline'.Scott said: ‘While the university has faced significant challenges in recent years, I am confident in its future.' Chad Thompson has joined Cheshire East Council as director of transformation in children's services.He has previously held roles at Liverpool, Bradford and Nottingham City Councils, and Middlesbrough Council.His most recent position was chief operating officer at Universal Care Group.Thompson said: ‘I'm looking forward to working with the leadership team to deliver its ambitious change agenda.‘I will be providing strategic leadership to transform services that will make a difference to improve outcomes for children and families of Cheshire East and deliver best value for the authority.' Tamsin Ramasut has been appointed as a co-chair of the Welsh Government's Town Centre Taskforce.Ramasut is a non-executive director for equality and diversity at Public Health Wales and a partner in MELA Cymru, the Welsh arm of MELA Social Enterprise.The taskforce will work alongside local government to provide practical, expert recommendations to Welsh ministers for regenerating town centres.Ramasut said: ‘Town centres are central to thriving communities-places where people connect, local businesses grow and provide employment and create a sense of belonging. I'm looking forward to working collaboratively to help our town centres thrive across Wales.' David Hill will not take up the role of chief executive of the Greater Cambridge Development Corporation.Hill, currently director for general water at the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA), was due to start in the role this month.However, the corporation has announced he has made the personal decision to remain at DEFRA, where he has previously served as interim permanent secretary.Hill is also a former director of strategic commissioning and policy at Essex CC.The corporation will be led by deputy chief executive and chief operating officer Beth Dugdale as it recruits a permanent appointment.Chair Peter Freeman said: ‘While we are of course disappointed not to be welcoming David to the development corporation in September, I fully understand his decision.' Balfour Beatty has announced the appointment of Emma Loxton as chief strategy officer.Loxton was previously a partner at McKinsey & Company, where she spent more than a decade, as well as spending time as a senior policy advisor to the Prime Minister's strategy unit.Balfour Beatty Group chief executive, Philip Hoare, said: ‘Emma is a proven strategy and transformation leader with a strong track record of helping complex organisations sharpen performance, strengthen competitiveness and deliver lasting change.' Liberata has appointed Owen Barry as chief executive officer.Barry joined the firm from Capita, where he led their central government businesses.Group chief executive officer Dolph Westerbos, said: ‘Owen brings exactly the right mix of public sector experience, client focus, commercial leadership and operational understanding to lead the business through its next phase.He has worked closely with major public sector organisations, understands the pressures our clients face and has a strong track record of building collaborative teams that deliver in complex environments.'Liberata has also confirmed that Tom Vanoverschelde has taken on interim chief financial officer responsibilities.He was previously group chief financial officer at CDER Group. Civica has recruited Marcus Baxby to join its local government team.He said his new role would see him ‘helping local authorities to navigate the challenges and opportunities that they face through software that delivers critical services to citizens'.Baxby previously spent 12 years with the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy, most recently as senior business development manager.

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Aberdeen chief executive announces departure

By Martin Ford | 02 September 2026

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