Dudley Council is set to have a new Deputy Chief Executive with Balvinder Heran set to join the authority later this month to take up the senior role.

The Deputy Chief Executive is a relatively new post for the authority, created in October 2019. Reporting to the Chief Executive, the post oversees four directorates – regeneration and enterprise, housing, public realm, commercial and customer services all of which play to Balvinder’s strengths and experience.

Balvinder is currently the Joint Strategic Director of Information Assets and Digital Development across Buckinghamshire (Council, CCG and Healthcare NHS Trust) as well as the Senior Responsible Officer for the Berkshire West, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Integrated Care System. 

As a non-Executive Director for NHS Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Trust and before that a Strategic Director at London Borough of Hounslow and non-Executive Director at Bromford Housing Group, health, digital, integration, housing and regeneration are a real focus for her. Balvinder said:

"I am delighted to be joining Dudley. I’m really looking forward to being part of the team that delivers the ambition to grow Dudley as ‘the historic capital of the Black Country’ internationally and helping showcase the rich industrial and pioneering past and future on a global stage.

"I am excited to be able to drive the regeneration of our town centres and support on-going prosperity of our communities. Key to this is the improvement of public transport links across the Black Country, the wider region and nationally through the rail and motorway networks, while developing plans to promote healthier lifestyles – increased walking, cycling and access to leisure facilities.

"I look forward to building on the ambition to encourage innovation and support business to attract inwards investment, improve skills attainment and career prospects. Post-pandemic, the role of modern public services is to lead everyone to work in partnership, to reset our economy, and accelerate plans to take us quickly from recovery to prosperity. It is vital to ensure we take our communities and business with us and enable their full participation."

Balvinder’s recent experience of using digital technology during the pandemic gives her real insight into its critical role in connecting people and enabling people to work safely. She added:

"The use of digital during the pandemic has been critical for connecting people and enabling people to work safely and I look forward to building on this and developing opportunities which use digital to support a better work life balance whilst, importantly, continuing to build on that strong sense of place which supports local centres, health, wellbeing and prosperity."

Balvinder is no stranger to the borough. She has family in Dudley and Wolverhampton and a regular visitor since she was a child. Councillor Patrick Harley, leader of Dudley Council said:

"We’re really keen to welcome Balvinder to the senior leadership team at Dudley Council. She brings a wealth of experience from the public sector, with expertise in the fields of health, housing, technology and integrating services.

"We’re incredibly ambitious here in Dudley and also passionate about delivering the best possible services for residents, putting them at the heart of everything we do, and we think Balvinder will be a real asset to the team and the borough."

Balvinder, who will start at Dudley Council on March 29, has held posts at Cherwell, South Northamptonshire, South Staffordshire and Stratford-on-Avon Councils as Joint Strategic Lead for Joint ICT and Business Development, and Head of Customer Access and as Head of E-Government and Head of Change and Performance also at Stratford on Avon.