Paul Walker, who stepped down from his £170,000-a-year job as chief executive of Herefordshire Council in the summer, has upped his pay packet with a fresh move.
Councillors in Cheshire East this week voted to appoint him their interim chief executive – though not unanimously, and not before demanding to know how much he would be paid.
They were told he would be on a day rate of £1,500, which equates to a gross salary of £330,000. He starts on Monday.
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Welcoming him to the new role, council Leader Coun Nick Mannion said Mr Walker was “an experienced local government chief executive with a proven track record in a range of senior roles”.
“We look forward to working with Paul to further stabilise and strengthen leadership and maintain the pace of our improvement, ahead of appointment to the permanent chief executive role,” he said.
Cheshire East Council has said it expects to have a permanent top official in post “around spring 2027”.
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Mr Walker, who is 65, did not give a reason at the time for his departure from Herefordshire, first announced over a year ago, saying simply: “I feel that I am leaving the council in a strong place, with firm foundations and an exciting future.”
He is understood to have remained living in the Northwest during his five-year stint in the county.
He is also co-director of Paul Walker Executive Advisory Ltd, registered as a company in June.
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A previous company with the same directors, Paul Walker Consulting, was dissolved in 2018.
Following a lengthy recruitment process, Herefordshire Council appointed Paul Satoor in June to be Mr Walker’s successor.
He too has a Northwest connection, having previously served as chief executive of Wirral Council.
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