Councillors set to approve new Chief Executive at St Helens Borough Council

Article date: February 28 2025

Mark Palethorpe, the current Executive Director for People's Services and NHS Place Lead for St Helens is set to be appointed the new Chief Executive when councillors vote for the appointment at a full council meeting on Wednesday.

He will take up the post formally from April following the retirement of outgoing Chief Executive Kath O'Dwyer.

Welcoming his appointment Kath O'Dwyer said: "Mark has a wealth of experience in leading for St Helens Borough on a local, regional and national footprint, and is passionate about working together with partners to deliver the best outcomes for the residents of this borough. He shows great care for the people who he works with and works for and I'm sure he will continue to build on the great foundations the council has set out over the last five years and drive the ambitious plans the council has for the borough going forward."

"The recruitment process was rigorous and testing with panels of partners, staff and politicians. I am delighted that the cross-party Appointments Committee has selected Mark to be proposed for appointment."

Mark has worked across a number of roles in local government, voluntary and private sector in Bath and North East Somerset, Wiltshire, Hampshire, Stoke-on-Trent, Cheshire West and Cheshire East.

He joined St Helens Borough Council in February 2021 as Executive Director for People's Services, combined with the role as Accountable Officer for NHS St Helens Clinical Commissioning Group.

He previously worked as Executive Director for People's Services at Cheshire East Council and led on public sector transformation across the sub region of Cheshire and Warrington.

Mark Palethorpe said: "I'm honoured to be taking up this role at a critical time in St Helens Borough's journey. I've been working here in St Helens for over 4 years now and I'm privileged to have met so many amazing people who have shown how much the borough has to give to its residents and I know first hand what a positive difference St Helens Borough Council makes for the borough. It's an exciting time to be taking up the reigns to oversee the once-in-a-lifetime regeneration of the borough as a whole, support our residents, partners and businesses to grow and succeed and provide a brighter future for future generations of Sintelliners."

The formal process of appointment will see councillors ratify the appointment with a vote at the council meeting at St Helens Town Hall on Wednesday 5th March at 6:15pm.