McKenzie-Folan lands top job at Wigan

Deputy chief executive Alison McKenzie-Folan is to take over from Donna Hall as Wigan Council’s chief executive, following a recommendation from the council’s employment committee.

The appointment will go before Wigan’s next full council in March for final approval. Hall announced her intention to retire in October 2018, after eight years in the job.

McKenzie-Folan has 28 years’ experience in various roles in local government, the civil service and NHS. She has been with Wigan for a decade, initially joining as a manager in HR.

As well as serving as deputy chief executive, her current brief includes the role of director for customer transformation a role with direct responsibility for 800 staff covering services including corporate policy, transformation, revenues, benefits and rent collections, as well as ICT, HR and others.

The council said that McKenzie-Folan had developed Wigan’s Deal for the Future strategy, and had been instrumental in making £135m in savings since 2010 through improving the delivery of council services.

The leader of Wigan Council, Cllr David Molyneux, chaired the selection panel. He said: “We are very lucky to have someone of Alison’s calibre to promote from within the council and I’m delighted to announce her as our new chief executive.

“Alison is an inspirational and well-known officer, who has many outstanding qualities that she will bring to the role. It is as crucial as ever that we have leadership to deliver services in partnership with our residents on a reduced budget and Alison has the skill and track record to do that.”

McKenzie-Folan said: “My time at Wigan has seen the best years of my career. It will be a tough task to follow in Donna’s footsteps, however I have an amazing staff and a brilliant cabinet team.”

In addition to her council duties, McKenzie-Folan sits on the boards of Unify Credit Union and Open Data Manchester and is a digital spokesperson for the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives.