Deborah Ann Cadman

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(born 11 February 1963 in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, UK) was the Chief Executive of

Birmingham City Council Birmingham City Council is the local authority for the city of Birmingham in the West Midlands, England. Birmingham has had an elected local authority since 1838, which has been reformed several times. Since 1974 the council has been a metropo ...

from June 2021 to April 2024 and was the first permanent Chief Executive of the newly created West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA). Cadman's appointment was announced in June 2017 and she took on the role in September of the same year, before moving to the City Council on 14 June 2021. Cadman has a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in Social Administration and Politics from

Loughborough University Loughborough University (abbreviated as ''Lough'' or ''Lboro'' for Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a public university, public research university in the market town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, England. It has been a university sinc ...

and two

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

s in Urban and Regional Economics, and Management. Before joining WMCA, Cadman was Chief Executive of

Suffolk County Council Suffolk County Council is the upper-tier Local government in England, local authority for the county of Suffolk, England. It is run by 75 elected county councillors representing 63 divisions. It is a member of the East of England Local Governme ...

(2011–2017). She had previously been head of the

East of England Development Agency The East of England Development Agency (EEDA) was a non-departmental public body and the regional development agency for the East of England region of England. It came into operation on 1 April 1999 and assumed the regional powers of English Part ...

(and presided over its abolition) and before that Chief Executive of St Edmundsbury Borough Council in Suffolk. Cadman started her career in 1984 at the engineering department of the

London Borough of Newham The London Borough of Newham () is a London borough created in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963. It covers an area previously administered by the Essex county boroughs of West Ham and East Ham, authorities that were both abolished by ...

. Her next post was in

, managing a voluntary sector project in Handsworth and developing partnerships and community strategies. After joining

as an economic development officer, she worked on some of the largest urban regeneration projects in the country. During this period she also worked on major policy projects and public and private sector ventures while gaining her first master's degree in economics. In 1996 Cadman moved to

Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council is the Local government in England, local authority for Redcar and Cleveland, a non-metropolitan district, local government district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in the ceremonial ...

as Head of Policy. She was responsible for regeneration, social policy, partnerships and "best value". She was also a member of the National Charities Lotteries Board Advisory Committee in the North East. During this time she gained a second master's degree in management. Cadman then moved to the Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions as Local Government Advisor to the Ministerial Team. She worked with senior civil servants on local government legislation, advised ministers and provided direct support to councils in the East of England on the modernisation agenda. A move to the Audit Commission left Cadman responsible for inspections in the London region and management of corporate governance inspections in Walsall, Enfield and Hackney, working with local government to develop sustainable improvement plans. Cadman's first Chief Executive post was at St Edmundsbury Borough Council, which gained 'excellent' performing status in 2007 (having previously been 'fair'). She was also interim Chief Executive of

Waveney District Council Waveney may refer to: * River Waveney, a river that forms the boundary between Suffolk and Norfolk, England * Waveney District, a local government district in Suffolk, England * Waveney (UK Parliament constituency) * Waveney class lifeboat, a class ...

between January and March 2008. Cadman was appointed an OBE in 2006 for services to local government. She is married to Geoff Rivers, who also succeeded her as Chief Executive at St Edmundsbury Council. She was awarded an honorary degree by Loughborough University in 2023 for her success and services in urban regeneration and local government, as well as her work that has championed equality, diversity and inclusion.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cadman, Deborah Ann 1963 births Living people Alumni of Loughborough University Alumni of the University of Birmingham Alumni of Teesside University Officers of the Order of the British Empire