About the commissioners and political advisors
The commissioner team will be accompanied by Chief of Staff, Tom Smith, David Facey and Elizabeth Thomas.
Commissioners
Max Caller CBE (Lead Commissioner)
Max Caller has worked in local government for over 50 years. He was the Chief Executive of the London Borough of Hackney and the London Borough of Barnet.
He was also the Chair of the Local Government Boundary Commission for England.
He has experience in many local council interventions, including:
- Commissioner at Slough and Tower Hamlets
- Best Value Inspector in Northamptonshire and Liverpool
- Lead Inspector for the Liverpool and Northamptonshire Best Value Inspections
The Secretary of State has nominated Max as Lead Commissioner to:
- bring together the team
- set the direction
- co-ordinate work to make sure the direction is followed
John Coughlan CBE (Commissioner 2)
John is very skilled in local council governance. He was the Chief Executive of Hampshire County Council and has a lot of experience in local council interventions, especially in children's services.
John has been asked to focus on broad improvement and governance by:
- supporting cultural change and transformation
- driving forward work on the long-term sustainability of the council
He will work alongside his role as Commissioner for special educational needs and disability (SEND) services in Birmingham, for which he reports to the Secretary of State for Education.
Chris Tambini (Commissioner 3)
Chris was the Director of Corporate Resources at Leicestershire County Council, where he has held other roles, including Section 151 Officer and Head of Strategic Finance.
He was the President of the Society of County Treasurers and worked at city unitary councils.
Chris will focus on the financial position and recovery of the council. This will include:
- supporting our work to develop and implement a plan for managing the significant equal pay liabilities that led to the section 114 notices
- overseeing the steps needed to manage other budget pressures for the current financial year (2023 to 2024) and beyond
- returning the council to a position of long-term financial sustainability
- considering what action may be necessary to make sure we have appropriate and effective processes, governance, and capacity in relation to our overall financial management
Pam Parkes FCIPD (Commissioner 4)
Pam is the current Executive Director for People and Transformation at Essex County Council, is an FCIPD qualified senior practitioner and was part of the Best Value Inspection Team in Thurrock Council.
Pam will focus on improving our human resource and organisational design capacity and finding solutions to the equal pay issue.
This includes making sure the correct steps are being taken at the required pace to address and manage our equal pay liabilities in a way that is sustainable and represents value for money.
Myron Hrycyk (Commissioner 5)
Myron is the Cabinet Office's Crown Representative for Oracle, IBM, and Microsoft.
Myron has held prior senior executive roles as Group Chief Information Officer, Chief Procurement Officer at Severn Trent Water, and Chief Information Officer at Yusen Logistics.
Myron has worked in a range of sectors, including:
- financial services
- technology
- utilities
- logistics.
Myron will focus on supporting us to fix our Oracle issues, improve IT, and provide commercial insight.
Jackie Belton (Commissioner 6)
Jackie is the Chief Executive of the London Borough of Bexley.
She was the Executive Director of Operations at the London Borough of Newham, where she was responsible for:
- housing
- planning
- regeneration
- environment
She was also Assistant Director of Housing Strategy at the London Borough of Camden.
Jackie will focus on supporting our housing services.
Political advisors
Lord John Hutton (Political Advisor)
Lord John Hutton was the Defence Secretary and Business Secretary under the previous Labour Government.
In 2010, he led a major review of public sector pension provision.
Recently, he was appointed Chair of Make UK.
He is currently the Prime Minister's Trade Envoy to Turkey and a current member of the House of Lords.
John Biggs (Political Advisor)
John Biggs was the Executive Mayor of Tower Hamlets and held prior roles there as Leader of the Labour Group and Council Leader.
He has also served in the London Assembly.
He has now retired from elected politics.
Page last updated: 15 February 2024
