Council appoints new deputy chief executive

Wigan Council’s new deputy chief executive is to be Sue Johnson, who is currently director of programmes and transformation with Knowsley Council on Merseyside.

Sue succeeds Frank Costello, who will retire at the end of May. An accountant with over 20 years experience of working in local government, she has been leading on Knowsley’s ‘Building Schools for the Future’ programme, which will see ten secondary schools replaced with seven state-of-the-art learning centres.

Sue has worked for Knowsley in a variety of senior education posts since 1998, and has been director of programmes for the past three years. Before that she was director of finance for two NHS Trusts in the region, Southport and Formby, and Wrightington Hospital.

She has also worked for the Royal Mail in Preston as head of finance, and held a variety of finance posts for Knowsley Council in the 1980s.

Sue is married to Ken and they have a son, Matthew, aged 12. She takes up her new role with Wigan in June.

The job of deputy chief executive involves managing the council’s wide-ranging improvement programme and playing a key role in Wigan’s drive towards transforming local public services. She will help lead the council though a period of intense change as it aims to become more customer-focused and efficient.

Sue commented: “I am delighted and excited at the prospect of serving the people of Wigan borough. I look forward to helping the council enhance its already excellent reputation.”

Note to editors

Further information: David Mather, head of public relations at Wigan Council, tel. 01942 287164.