Introductory message from new Chief Executive, Laurence

Dear colleague,

I wanted to drop you a message on my first day to say how delighted I am to join East Lothian Council and how much I look forward to working with you all to continue delivering high-quality services for local residents.

One of my first acts was to walk around John Muir House this morning to say ‘hello’ to colleagues across a variety of different teams.  Their clear professionalism, expertise and commitment to East Lothian was hugely inspiring, as I begin to get to grips with my new role.

The breadth of responsibilities was a reminder too of just how many people rely on our services, day in day out.

There is no doubt that I join the council at an exciting time for both the county and the region.  I am excited about playing my role - working with partners across the public, private and third sectors - to ensure East Lothian has a successful and sustainable future, that everyone can benefit from.

As I start on day one, I wanted to say a huge thanks to Lesley for her strong leadership as interim Chief Executive over the last few months.  I have much to learn from Lesley and I am very grateful to her and the rest of the team for making me feel so welcome.

Wherever you are based, I look forward to meeting you over the coming weeks.  I am going to try and get out and about as much as I can to see the excellent work you do first hand, as well as to hear from you about how we make this an even better place to work and deliver services.

Thanks again for making me feel so welcome.

Laurence