Deborah Cadman

Deborah Cadman OBE was appointed Chief Executive of Suffolk County Council on 21st October 2011, following the departure of Andrea Hill several weeks before. Ms Cadman had previously been head of the East of England Development Agency (and presided over its abolition) and before that Chief Executive of St Edmundsbury Borough Council in Suffolk. Her salary is £150,000 with no bonuses nor increments^[1]; £65,592 less than her predecessor^[2].

Cadman gained her first degree in politics and started her career in the engineering department of the London Borough of Newham. Her next post in Birmingham was managing a voluntary sector project in Handsworth, developing partnerships and community strategies. After joining Birmingham City Council as an economic development officer, she worked on some of the biggest urban regeneration projects in the country. During this period she also worked on major policy projects and public and private sector ventures while gaining a masters degree in economics.

As head of corporate policy at Redcar and Cleveland Borough, Cadman was responsible for regeneration, social policy, partnerships and 'best value'. She was also a member of the National Charities Lotteries Board Advisory Committee in the North East. During this time she gained a second masters degree in management.

Cadman then transferred to central government on secondment. Whilst at the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions she worked with senior civil servants on local government legislation, advised ministers and provided direct support to councils in the East of England on the modernisation agenda.

A move to the Audit Commission left Cadman responsible for inspections in the London region and management of corporate governance inspections in Walsall, Enfield and Hackney, working with local government to develop sustainable improvement plans.

Cadman's first Chief Executive post was at St Edmundsbury Borough Council, which gained 'excellent' performing status in 2007 (having previously been 'fair'). She was also interim Chief Executive of Waveney District Council between January and March 2008^[3].

She was awarded an OBE in 2006 for services to local government. She is married to Geoff Rivers, who also succeeded her as Chief Executive at St Edmundsbury Councl^[4].

1. ^ Interview with Terry Baxter at 8.03 on BBC Radio Suffolk on Thursday 20th October 2011
2. ^ BBC [1]
3. ^ EEDA biography [2]
4. ^ Historic Towns Forum [3]