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All Speakers Kate Joseph CB Chief Executive, Sheffield City Council Kate Josephs CB joined Sheffield City Council as Chief Executive in January 2021, having spent 20 years as a senior leader in national government in the UK and United States. Since arriving in Sheffield Kate has overseen the creation of ambitious, outcome focussed plans to guide the city’s recovery from COVID, respond to the cost-of-living crisis and drive the city’s long-term prosperity, enabling the people of Sheffield to achieve their potential and aiming to be a global leader in the climate transition. Kate has initiated a wide-ranging programme of self-reflection and culture change in the Council; and partnered with leaders across the city to support an innovative project to reimagine Sheffield’s future, engaging a diverse range of citizens. As Chief Executive she leads a diverse organisation of over 8000 staff, delivering critical services for our city and supporting the cross-party political administration to deliver on their priorities. Kate is the Chief Executive Chair of Core Cities UK and co-chair of the advisory board for 3Ci, The UK Cities Commission for Climate Investment. Kate is a trustee of the Resolution Foundation, the independent national think-tank focused on improving living standards for those on low to middle incomes. Kate’s career as a senior leader in the UK civil service included positions in HM Treasury; the Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit; and the Department for Education (DfE).  Kate joined Sheffield from the Number 10 / Cabinet Office COVID 19 Taskforce where she was Director General; in June 2021 she was awarded Companion status, The Most Honourable Order of the Bath, in HM the Queen’s birthday honours in recognition of exemplary public service during her civil service career. Kate also spent time living in Washington D.C. working for the US Federal Government during the Obama Administration, including as Executive Director of the White House Performance Improvement Council, working across US Government Agencies – on priorities from veterans’ affairs to STEM education – with a mission to advance and expand the practice of performance analytics and improvement. Kate grew up in and went to comprehensive school in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, was educated at Oxford University and the London School of Economics & Political Science, and lives in Sheffield with her husband and two children.

Saba HussainPrincipal Partnerships Policy & Commissioning Lead < Speakers < Previous Next > Saba Hussain Principal Partnerships Policy & Commissioning Lead Surrey County Council Saba is a dedicated and passionate local government Officer with over 20 years of experience working with partners to ensure residents live their best lives and striving to create access to opportunities for all. As well as being the front door for charities in Surrey, leading key commissions and improvements, Saba has delivered some major, sustainable, innovative, high-impact change programmes and projects including making Surrey the first county to eradicate period poverty by providing free period products to anyone who… Show More

BECOME A SPEAKER Share your expertise Session submissions for this year’s Summit are now closed. Thank you to everyone who contributed their ideas.

Day One Day Two Previous Next Thursday 16 October 2025 Main Stage, New Dock Hall 11:25–11:35 Finding Home in Halifax: Stella's Story Delivered by

< All sponsors MHR Stand 7 mhrglobal.com MHR is a specialist provider of HR, payroll and finance software. Through its People and Finance platform, MHR enables sustainable high performance – for organisations and for the people working within them – by making work flow. MHR powers better real-time decision-making across the core business functions of finance, HR, payroll and learning, helping organisations to be more effective and efficient. Proudly independent and family-owned since its founding in 1984, MHR’s 850 employees, based in Nottingham, serve over 1,400 customers across the UK and Ireland.

Jon McGintyDeputy at Solace, Managing Director, Gloucester City Council & Digital Leadership < Speakers < Previous Next > Jon McGinty Deputy at Solace, Managing Director, Gloucester City Council & Digital Leadership Gloucester City Council I am currently Managing Director at Gloucester City Council and have been in this role since 2015. Before this year, I was jointly employed in this role and as an Executive Director at Gloucestershire County Council, an interesting role designed to improve collaborative working between two tiers of local government. I am also a trustee of Active Gloucestershire (the County Sports and Active Partnership). Prior to this, I was deputy chief executive at Aylesbury Vale District Council, responsible for all… Show More

Sara ToddChief Executive < Speakers < Previous Next > Sara Todd Chief Executive Trafford Council Sara is the Chief Executive of Trafford Council, a role she took up in 2019. She is a Mancunian and a planner by trade having studied at the University of Manchester. She is also the NHS Greater Manchester (GM) Place Lead for Trafford as part of GM’s Integrated Care System arrangements, as well as being Lead Chief Executive for the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) portfolio for Education, Work and Skills. Sara has over 30 years of local government… Show More

All Speakers Andrew Ferrier Chief Executive, Test Valley Borough Council Thursday 16 October 2025 15:45-16:25 Test, Learn and Grow: How Do We Build a Movement? Hotot Suite, Royal Armouries Go to session

Ste SharplesAssistant Director - People Management, ICT and Digital < Speakers < Previous Next > Ste Sharples Assistant Director - People Management, ICT and Digital St Helens Borough Council Ste has worked at the Council for almost 40 years, and spent many years in the Councils Development section designing and implementing a wide range of in-house systems, as well as supporting most of the package systems that the Council operates. A developer by background, Ste moved on from Development to become Head of IT, and then to his current role of Assistant Director for ICT & Digital, where he has recently delivered the Councils new ICT, Digital, and Data… Show More

Emma MarinosLeadership Coach < Speakers < Previous Next > Emma Marinos Leadership Coach Solace Associate Emma has provided strategic leadership for a range of corporate services across five London Boroughs, for 30 years (half of that at director level). Emma is also an experienced leadership coach and facilitator working with a diverse range of individuals and teams. She is a qualified and accredited Professional Certified Coach (ICF), running her own coaching and facilitation business since 2021 and is an associate with Solace.

Work With Solace Partner with us Partner with us at the Solace Summit to connect with the senior leaders shaping local government, join focused discussions on the issues that matter, and build meaningful relationships with decision-makers across the UK. Get In Touch Download the Working With Solace Brochure

Stand TBC < Back GCA www.crowncommercial.gov.uk CCS connects public and private sectors to achieve the best commercial and procurement outcomes for the UK and its citizens. We are the UK’s central commercial and procurement organisation. Our customers are government departments, public and third sector organisations. We place our customers at the heart of everything we do. Combining our expertise with data helps us understand their unique challenges. By creating a simpler, better procurement experience, we empower them to redirect valuable resources towards essential public services. We use our deep commercial expertise to guide over 20,000 customers to best value – from locum doctors and laptops, to emergency service vehicles and electricity. Our extensive industry knowledge ensures we maintain resilient, diverse supply chains that strengthen our economy and society. For suppliers, CCS is a gateway to the UK public sector. Businesses of all sizes are vital to our economy. By harnessing supplier expertise, we create innovative solutions that benefit communities across the nation and support government missions and policy objectives. Our ambition is to be a world class, national commercial and procurement organisation and the preferred choice for customers and suppliers. We are motivated by the opportunity to make a positive difference and set the standard for quality and integrity in public procurement. Using our scale and unique position, we create meaningful impact across the UK. We call this value for the nation .