Leeds City Council confirms new interim chief executive

Leeds City Council has confirmed the appointment of Mariana Pexton as interim chief executive in a unanimous vote of its full council.

Mariana, the council’s director of strategy and resources, will take up the position when current chief executive Tom Riordan leaves later this month.
She will be the first ever woman to take up the role, heading the second-biggest local authority in the country and bringing a strong track record of driving the council’s ambitions for both itself and the city.

Councillor James Lewis, Leader of Leeds City Council, said: “Mariana will be an excellent interim chief executive and I’m very pleased that full council has agreed her appointment. We have strong representation from women across our senior political and officer leadership and this is an important milestone for us to now also have our first female head of paid service.

“She has been leading many of our key frontline services over the past couple of years and has been driving the council expertly and efficiently through the considerable financial challenges we have been experiencing and continue to face, in common with other councils.

“Mariana is also held in high regard across the city for her work with partner organisations and the sports sector and is a passionate champion of our city and council ambitions and values.”

During her career at the council, she has worked closely over the years with Tom, who is leaving for a new job leading national health and social care reforms as a permanent secretary with the Department of Health and Social Care.

Mariana said: “It’s a great privilege to have this opportunity and I’m completely committed to the council and to Leeds. Here we do things together, working with residents and partners to achieve the best for the city and its people.

“I will be focused on consolidating all the ongoing efforts to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the council, while working towards delivering a balanced budget. I am also determined that alongside this work we continue to operate as a team, both within the council and more broadly, to make the most of opportunities to help improve lives across the city.”

As the council’s current director of strategy and resources, Mariana leads a large directorate with key corporate services including finance, human resources and many other areas, along with Civic Enterprise Leeds, which provides frontline services such as catering, cleaning, school crossing patrols, passenger transport and building repairs.

Mariana joined the council in 2000 and has held senior roles in strategy, customer services and children’s services. Before then she had a career in leadership and management in the Civil Service and an inspectorate. She studied sports studies in Newcastle, has a master’s in business administration from the University of Leeds, and has recently been awarded a professional doctorate at Leeds Beckett University, researching leadership and strategy in local government.

Married, with two children, Mariana is also chair of the Leeds Rhinos Foundation and a director at Leeds Rhinos Netball as a volunteer. She completed the inaugural Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon in 2023.
She will formally take up the interim chief executive post on the 23 September and will continue in this until the recruitment process for a permanent chief executive is completed.