Senior management team
The LGA's Senior Management Team works with the Leadership Board to oversee the strategic operational objectives of the organisation.
Carolyn Downs, Chief Executive
Carolyn Downs has been Chief Executive of the LGA since November 2011.
Before this she was chief executive of the Legal Services Commission where her role was to drive performance and secure a stronger financial future.
She was also previously deputy permanent secretary and director general of corporate performance at the Ministry of Justice. She was responsible for all corporate services, including finance, estates, personnel, risk management, business planning and communications. From 2003 to 2009, Carolyn was Chief Executive of Shropshire County Council, where she was responsible for a budget of £500 million a year and a staff of 12,000.
Carolyn had worked for the same council as director of environment and community services since 1999 and before this, worked for a range of other councils including Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council, Stevenage Borough Council, and the London Borough of Haringey, where she started her working life as an assistant librarian.
Michael Coughlin, Executive Director
Michael Coughlin joined the LGA in May 2012 and is responsible for the LGA's Workforce, Pay, Productivity, Leadership and Improvement programmes.
He was most recently the chief executive of Reading Unitary Authority and has previously served as chief executive at Crawley Borough Council in West Sussex.
He has more than 30 years' experience of working in local government, and been responsible for a number of organisational and service improvement programmes, major regeneration and capital projects and, more recently, behaviour change, innovation and community engagement initiatives. He is a judge for both the 'Municipal Journal' and O2 Future Fund awards and mentor for individuals in both the public and private sector.
Daniel Goodwin, Executive Director of Finance and Policy
Daniel Goodwin is Executive Director of Finance and Policy at the LGA.
He leads a team of specialists, advising the LGA Executive, Boards and Panel, covering the full range of local government finance and policy issues. He was previously Chief Executive of St Albans City and District Council from 2006-2012 where he delivered significant organisational change and service improvements.
His experience prior to that was with Wealden District Council, Peterborough City Council, District Audit and the London Borough of Brent. Daniel is a regular contributor to the local government press, speaker at conferences and lecturer on public sector masters programmes.
David Holdstock, Director of Communications
David Holdstock joined the LGA in May 2012 as Director of Communications.
David comes with 20 years' experience of working in public sector communications, including local government and policing. He joined the LGA from the London Borough of Hillingdon and before that worked for Slough Borough Council and the Metropolitan Police Service. David has wide experience of crisis communications, working on high-profile events such as the Docklands bomb, Paddington rail disaster and funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales. He worked with the Foreign Office, helping develop police and Government communications in Bulgaria following the changes in Eastern Europe.
David is also judge for a number of professional communications awards and is a mentor on the Future Leaders programme. He was also UK Chairman of LGcommunications, the national body which represents council communicators between 2008 and 2012.
Claire Holloway, Head of Corporate Governance
Claire Holloway joined the LGA in April 2007. She is responsible for membership, for the association's governance arrangements and for our programme of support to elected members. Claire runs the annual Local Government Challenge – a national competition for aspiring chief executives.
Claire has 28 years' local government experience across a whole range of services from transportation planning and leisure to customer relations, finance and democratic services. She has led community and capital projects and a number of major organisational change programmes. Her most recent roles include assistant director of partnerships and head of democratic and local leadership at Surrey County Council.
Helen Platts, Head of Finance and Business Management
Helen Platts has worked for the LGA since 2011 and is responsible for the LGA's corporate finance, business planning and business management.
In 2003 Helen joined the IDeA where she was a Regional Associate supporting local authorities in the North West, working with councillors and senior managers on leadership and partnership programmes. Before this she worked for the Audit Commission, the Equal Opportunities Commission where she was Head of Corporate Services, and the National Development Team for people with learning disabilities.
After qualifying as a chartered accountant, Helen started her local government career with Kent County Council where she was closely involved in managing and developing services for people with learning disabilities.
