Mark Ash, the council’s executive director of organisational change and local government reorganisation, and Andrew Cook, executive director of growth highways and infrastructure, would become Suffolk County Council’s first joint chief executives. They will be charged with leading the council through the challenges of delivering local government reorganisation, devolution, maintaining essential public services and financial sustainability in the next two years.
Specifically, Mark would be responsible for local government reorganisation, devolution, transformation and change programmes. Andrew will be responsible for delivering safe, high-quality and reliable services to residents, robust financial controls and ensuring the council meets all its statutory duties and requirements following independent inspections. The joint chief executives would each lead on their own areas of responsibility but work together to ensure focus is maintained across the council’s duties and priorities.
The decision, which will be taken formally by all county councillors when they meet on 19 March, follows a recommendation from the council’s Staff Appointments Committee which met earlier today.
The county council’s chief executive of eight years, Nicola Beach, is to leave her post at the end of March 2026, with Mark and Andrew set to take on their new roles from 1 April 2026 following a structured handover.
Councillor Matthew Hicks, Suffolk County Council’s leader, said:
“Mark and Andrew are very experienced and well-respected senior officers in local government, and both have a wealth of knowledge that will be invaluable to the county council and wider local government partners in Suffolk.
“I very much welcome their appointment, especially as Suffolk County Council is facing a critical time over the next two years.
“Local government reorganisation, devolution, managing spending and rising demand, and ensuring we deliver on our duties to provide quality services to the people of Suffolk, will require strong and strategic leadership. I am confident that Mark and Andrew will play critical roles.
“I have said it before, and I will say it again; Nicola Beach has been a fantastic and dedicated chief executive throughout the past eight years. Her expertise and love of Suffolk will be missed, but I am confident this new approach will build on that success.”
Tens of thousands of pounds would be saved because Mark and Andrew’s existing posts would not be recruited into. The number of the most senior staff would therefore reduce by one and save up to £92,000 a year. Recruiting internally will therefore save time, money on salaries and recruitment, and make use of existing, well-developed relationships with partner organisations and knowledge of Suffolk.
The council’s constitution requires it to have a designated head of paid service, responsible for leading the council’s employees as they deliver services to residents. Significant uncertainty in the local authority chief executive recruitment market has led to many county councils, including Leicestershire, Lancashire, Lincolnshire, Essex and Hampshire all making internal appointments in recent months, having advertised the roles externally.
