Kersten England

Kersten arrived as Chief Executive in York in 2009. Against the backdrop of turbulence in the global economy and major change in the policy and fiscal environment for local government, Kersten's priority has been to keep the organisation focussed on its core purpose - supporting locally elected members to secure prosperity for the city now and for the future. Central to this is full deployment of the asset base of the city; public, private, voluntary and community, investment in infrastructure and repositioning York on the world stage to increase access to markets and inward investment. 

In addition to leading the authority's leadership team and the management of 7,000 staff and £500 million annual turnover budget Kersten has lead roles as: a Director of Science City York, chair of Higher York, a member of the Court of the University of York, chair of the York and North Yorkshire Preventing Violent Extremism Board, lead Chief Executive for Innovation and Growth in the Leeds City Region and lead Chief Executive for local government workforce issues in Yorkshire and the Humber.

Kersten's career has included work in the voluntary sector, higher education, central government as well as 21 years in local government. She is passionate about community capacity building, diversity and equality, supporting civic leadership and sustainable urban growth. In 2005, she was invited to Buckingham Palace to lunch with the Queen in recognition of her work to rebuild community relations in Bradford in the aftermath of the riots of 2001.

In her personal life, Kersten has 3 children and 2 stepchildren, and is a keen runner, cyclist, hillwalker, local historian and keeper of hens.