Will Tuckley, the Chief Executive of Tower Hamlets Council for the last seven and a half years, will leave the Council by mutual agreement on 2 March.
He is London’s longest serving current borough Chief Executive, having joined London Borough of Bexley in 2008 and London Borough of Tower Hamlets in 2015.
Will leaves having helped Mayor Lutfur Rahman and his Cabinet begin delivering an ambitious vision for the borough following last year’s local elections. He has also overseen the delivery of the council’s new Town Hall in the former Royal London Hospital building at Whitechapel which is due to open to the public at the end of February.
Will said: “It has been a privilege to serve the people of Tower Hamlets and work alongside many outstanding staff, members and partners. I shall greatly miss colleagues, the place and the role but as we move into our new Town Hall in the beautifully restored former Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel, this is the right moment for me to make way for the Council to recruit a new Chief Executive.
“I am proud of what we have achieved in Tower Hamlets, building more homes and creating more jobs than anywhere else in the country. The Census made us officially the fastest growing borough and, according to YouGov, one of only four where local people feel the area has improved and people want to move to.”
Lutfur Rahman, Mayor of Tower Hamlets, said: “I would like to thank Will for his seven years of service to the Council and to the residents of Tower Hamlets. I wish him every success in his future endeavours.”
Will was appointed in 2015. He oversaw many improvements, including the Children’s Services being awarded a ‘Good’ rating by Ofsted. As Returning Officer Will successfully presided over 10 different elections while at Tower Hamlets.
Other achievements include steering the borough through the covid pandemic and insourcing the waste service and IT. The borough has won numerous awards and in 2022 was shortlisted for both Council of the Year and most improved Council of the Year.
Notes to Editors
- The decision will need to be agreed at Tower Hamlets’ Full Council Meeting on 1 March, 2023.
- Will Tuckley Biog: Will began his career in 1983, working for the Greater London Council. He continued his London-wide work at the London Housing Unit and at the Association of London Government (now London Councils). In 1996 he joined LB Croydon rising to be Deputy Chief Executive. He left in 2008 to become Chief Executive of LB Bexley and was appointed Chief Executive of LB Tower Hamlets seven and a half years later. He is in his 40th year in local government and has been a borough chief executive for 15 years. Outside the Council, Will co-chairs the London Health Leaders Group, chairs the Thrive London Advisory Board, co-chairs the London Health Equity Group and has led on Health for London Chief Executives for a number of years advising London Councils and attending the London Health Board chaired by the Mayor of London in this capacity. He is the lead Chief Executive for Central London Forward and a former chair of The Chief Executive’s London Committee (CELC). He is a borough chief executive member of the Integrated Care Board for North East London. He has previously served as a non-executive member of the board of London Marathon Events Limited and as Chair of Amicus Housing Association.
Posted on Wednesday 1st February 2023