Meet the Speakers

Gary McAllister, EMEA Public Sector CTO, Dell Technologies UK

Gary McAllister is the Chief Technology Officer for the NHS London Region and is responsible for the OneLondon programme – an award winning Shared Care Record programme. Gary has spent over 20 years working in the healthcare industry, previously the Chief Technology Officer at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust. Gary has an interest in technology, health policy and system level transformation and is a graduate of the Digital Leadership Academy. 

Damian Lyons-Lowe, Chief Executive, Survation 

Damian Lyons Lowe is the founder & Chief Executive of Survation Ltd, a leading political and social market research  company. 

Damian works with organisations and campaigns across the political and commercial spectrum to help better understand what the public really think.

Survation have been working with APSE since 2017 providing a detailed annual tracker of public attitudes to local government, and their trust and confidence in Council services, providing a benchmark for service delivery and public priority.

Robert Shoebridge, Group Manager, Derby City Council

Rob Shoebridge joined Derby City Council in 2006 when Civil Parking Enforcement was introduced. Prior to working for the council, Rob worked for Derbyshire Constabulary in the police prosecutions team within the Crown Court Support Unit, latterly managing the Central Summons Unit handling offences dealt with under the summons procedure.

Rob prides himself on innovation and marginal gains. He challenges his team to push for those 1% improvements and openly encourages challenges to working practices to keep ideas fresh.

Kerry Griffiths, Digital Enforcement Manager, Derby City Council

14 years of dedicated experience within local government.  Serving as the Digital Enforcement and Commercialisation Manager. I specialize in enhancing public safety through innovative solutions. My role encompasses the implementation of Traffic Regulation Orders, project management, leading camera enforcement programs to deliver road safety schemes.

Underpinned by a degree in Business Management and Leadership, which has proved valuable in developing collaborative partnerships with multiple local authorities, working together to improve road safety and contribute positively to the welfare of communities across the country.

John Sharp, Energy Team Manager, City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council

John is the Energy Team Manager for Bradford Metropolitan District Council. He has had a wide and varied career including as a production manager at a chemical plant, export sales manager, consultant focused on the environmental/low carbon sectors, business support manager and designer/installer of air source heat pumps. All useful in his current role. He has worked with over 600 companies in this sector, delivered major sector studies, influenced large-scale investment for UK government and installed HVAC in TV/Film studios. He moved into the public sector after 35 years in the private sector. He enjoys a challenge.  

Glynn Humphries, APSE associate

Glynn Humphries brings 45 years of experience in local government, spanning operational and strategic leadership roles across the sector. His career has included experience of managing large councils, giving him a deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing local government and the importance of effective leadership in delivering positive outcomes for communities.

More recently, Glynn has worked as an APSE Associate and consultant, drawing on his extensive experience to support councils and senior leaders across the UK and Northern Ireland. His work combines practical sector knowledge with a strategic perspective, helping organisations navigate change, improve performance and strengthen leadership capacity.

Glynn also provides coaching and support to strategic leaders, offering an experienced and trusted perspective to those working in demanding senior roles. His approach is grounded in a clear understanding of local government, a commitment to professional development and a belief in the value of strong, collaborative leadership.

Jonathan Holden, Partner and National Head of Employment & Education, Employment & HR, Forbes Solicitors

Jonathan has extensive experience in all areas of employment law having specialised in this area since 2005. He regularly advises local authorities, housing authorities and private companies on a wide range of employment matters. Jonathan prides himself on a pro-active approach tailored to the specific needs of the individual client; and works closely with clients to provide solutions to employment and HR issues. A skilled and experienced advocate, Jonathan appears regularly in the Employment Tribunal and Employment Appeals Tribunal. This enables Jonathan to give simple, straightforward advice with the experience of how issues are likely to be viewed by an Employment Tribunal; providing the best possible advice to clients.

Jonathan is equally adept at dealing with Tribunal cases of all types, as well as providing internal advice on issues of various complexity, including large-scale restructures, job evaluation and equal pay issues. Jonathan speaks regularly at external seminars and events on current employment law issues, and is regularly quoted in local media. Jonathan also holds a particular specialism in dealing with employment & HR issues in an education context, having advised a number of schools and academic institutions on such matters.

 

        

Debbie Sutton, Chief Officer, Operations and Maintenance, Highland Council

Debbie is a native of the Highlands and has been working in local Government since 2005.  Debbie developed the Greenspace Strategy for Inverness ‘We All Need Space’ in 2006 and has previously been responsible for managing diverse services such as car parking, roads, winter maintenance, street cleansing, pest control, sheltered housing, and anti-social behaviour. 

Debbie has worked for 16 years managing Amenities which includes all aspects of ground’s maintenance, grass cutting, cemeteries, war memorials, play areas and public conveniences.  Debbie has recently been promoted to Strategic Lead for Community Operations and Logistics which includes managing the Amenities Managers and the Service Lead for Fleet and Logistics.    

 Paul Naylor, APSE Associate

Paul Naylor brings more than 40 years of hands-on local government experience to the annual seminar, with a career built around improving services, understanding communities and delivering better value for residents.

Paul began his career in 1981 as an apprentice gardener with Liverpool City Council, progressing through the ranks before moving into senior management roles with Wiltshire County Council, Bath and North East Somerset Council and, most recently, Eastleigh Borough Council.

At Eastleigh, Paul became Director for Neighbourhoods and Greenspaces, where he led significant improvements across parks, street cleansing and a range of wider neighbourhood services. His work helped establish Eastleigh as a leading performer and contributed to the council being named APSE Council of the Year in 2022.

A key theme throughout Paul’s career has been his belief that good data should inform decisions, but local knowledge and community intelligence should shape them. By bringing these together, Paul has successfully redesigned services to better reflect local needs, improve outcomes and exceed the expectations of residents and councillors.

His approach has also delivered substantial efficiencies, contributing to around £7 million in savings across grounds maintenance, waste and recycling, fleet and transportation, parking and CCTV.

Paul’s career offers valuable insight into how councils can combine evidence, experience and local understanding to deliver better services, stronger communities and greater value for money.

Darren Crossley, Director of Place and Economy, Cumberland Council

Darren Crossley is the Director of Place, Sustainable Growth and Transport for the newly formed Cumberland Council and has more than 30 years of experience in local government working for Metropolitan and District Councils in Preston, Sheffield, Bedford, Wigan, Lancashire and now Cumberland.

Darren has substantial experience of leading public sector organisations, the education sector and social enterprise.  He is skilled in place-based leadership, crisis management, major capital project delivery, regeneration and economic programme management, local government transformation, arts, culture and tourism development, community engagement, climate change policy and transport planning.  

Away from council duties, Darren has significant board experience in the further education sector as the Chair of the Carlisle College board, city health development and social enterprise as a Director of iSH (Industrial Solutions Hub). Darren was the Chair of the Carlisle College Board for four years and is a member of the NCG Search Committee. Darren joined the NCG Corporation Board in March 2024.

Dawn Roberts, Chief Executive, Dumfries and Galloway Council

Dawn has been Chief Executive of Dumfries and Galloway Council since 11 July 2022, responsible for all local government services in the region serving 150K residents, and employing 6500 staff. Previously, Dawn was the Executive Director of Corporate, Customer and Community Services for Cumbria County Council and for a time had additional responsibilities as Deputy Chief Executive.  Key responsibilities have included leadership of transformational change, most notably in relation to customer and digital services, leadership of corporate/enabling services and leadership of community services such as libraries, archives, and registration.  Dawn has recently taken the lead role for Solace on Digital Health and Care, supporting Thomas Glen who carries the Digital Portfolio. Dawn’s interest is how digital developments can enable seamless access to services, improved customer experience, and more efficient working practices for colleagues across health and care. And ultimately, improved outcomes.

Dawn held several roles for Cumbria County Council, including Monitoring Officer and also Corporate Director for Resources and Transformation.  Prior to Cumbria, Dawn was a head of service for Hull City Council leading significant areas of improvement and strategy.  She has a background in academic research, however her local government career began in 1996 in the coalfields of South Yorkshire, facilitating and supporting regeneration through action research and engagement with local communities and community organisations.

Dr Mark Brett, Professor of Cyber Security Policy & Governance, SOCITM

Mark holds a portfolio of part time and pro-bono roles, which includes Director of Policy, Programme and Research for CTAG, the UK Cyber Technical Advisory Group for Local Public Services. Mark also runs several Cyber Security Community of practice WARP groups, (Warning, Advice & Reporting Points).

Mark has a number of published papers covering Open Source Intelligence, Information Governance, Resilience and Artificial Intelligence. Previously Mark has worked part-time in the LGA, Cabinet Office, Ministry of Justice, MHCLG and recently Cyber Advisor to the Welsh Government Local Authority Cyber Programme.

Mark is an Honorary Life member, and Associate Director of Socitm and a Research Fellow in Cyber Security at London Metropolitan University, where he recently completed his PhD in Cyber Security Policy & Governance. He has recently been appointed by DeMontfort University as a visiting Associate Professor of practice, in Cyber Security & Resilience.

Emma Varnam, Assistant Director, Tameside MBC+

Accomplished local government professional with over 30 years experience gained in a range of roles.
I am a passionate and creative senior leader with extensive experience of developing and leading highly effective local authority services. My practice has resulted in the transformation of the operational and financial performance of several major service areas.
As a strategic thinker with an impressive track record of delivery spanning operational delivery, public sector reform, transformation, commissioning, strategic partnership working, neighbourhood working, community empowerment and leading a complex range of high profile front-line services.
An engaging and authentic leader and communicator, skilled at delivering change working at the highest levels with partners from the public, private and voluntary sector and local communities.
As a committed public servant, I passionately believe in keeping the resident, their experience and service delivery at the centre of the services I provide. I model behaviours which align with my values of serving the public with honesty and integrity. My reason to get up in the morning and come to work is to #bethedifference

John Lamb, Chair, UKRLG ABC Board

John has held Public Sector Directorships including Manchester City Council, Calderdale, Thurrock, Trafford, Buckinghamshire and Essex.  Prior to that John led major engineering projects and operations at Heathrow and Stansted Airports.

As Chief Officer in Calderdale he witnessed first-hand the massive impact of the Boxing Day floods in 2015. Since then, he has championed the need to better understand Resilience and Response across the Civil Resilience community. With DfT he co led the influential 2021 Deeming report. A key element of this is world leading approaches to Rapid Impact Assessment which has won UK awards and Ministerial accolades.

John now Chairs the UK Adaptation, Biodiversity and Climate Board, part of UKRLG, ensuring a reach across 200+ Highway Authorities. John is also the UK representative to the World Disaster Management Committee of PIARC.  A message is how to prepare for the worst day, rather than an average day, and alongside excellence in ‘winter’ maintenance to consider how the sector moves to multi hazard, 24/7 365 response