Tom Bryant has been formally confirmed as the new chief executive of Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA).
TVCA Cabinet approved the recommendation to appoint Mr Bryant, following a multi-stage recruitment process. He is already somewhat accustomed to the role, having served as the interim chief executive since March of this year. Now in the role permanently, the 44-year-old will earn the same £160,000 annual salary as he did while serving as an interim.
Mr Bryant has a career in local government spanning more than 20 years. He was director of infrastructure at TVCA – overseeing transport, digital and investment development, taking up the role about 18 months ago. He joined the combined authority in 2019 as head of transport, with more than a decade of experience at North Yorkshire County Council.
Following his confirmation by TVCA Cabinet, Mr Bryant sat down with the Local Democracy Reporting Service. He was asked if he thought being an internal hire posed risks in terms of separating himself from any TVCA negativity such as the Tees Valley Review, concerns from auditors EY, or the Best Value Notice.
Mr Bryant said: “I actually see it as the opposite, I think it’s a real strength because I understand the organisational context, I also understand and am under no illusion about what we need to do to improve and I’ve looked at this with an absolutely fresh pair of eyes.”
And as for continuing on from former group chief executive Julie Gilhespie, Mr Bryant said she had achieved some “incredible” things for the organisation, highlighting the regeneration of the Teesworks site. He added: “I think going forward, we’re obviously different people, different leaders, I guess at the heart of what I want to do is, which is the same as Julie really, is deliver for the Tees Valley.”
Integrated settlement
During the Cabinet meeting, there was discussion about TVCA gaining an integrated settlement – which comes as part of becoming an established mayoral authority.
However, the devolution white paper says to upgrade, a combined authority must not have been the subject of a Best Value Notice in the previous 18 months.
As TVCA’s current Best Value Notice is set to be reviewed after a year, in spring 2026, it would mean the earliest opportunity for an integrated settlement (and all the benefits that come with it) would not arrive until the tail end of 2027.
Mr Bryant was asked about the potential of gaining an integrated settlement in less than two and a half years. “I think if you put the Best Value Notice to one side, I think we still recognise that we needed to make improvements, like any organisation does,” he outlined, adding that in the current situation, TVCA will not stop receiving funding, rather there may be some opportunities that are missed.
“Ultimately, I can’t control when we get out of the Best Value Notice, what I can control is driving this organisation forward, and making sure that we embed and deliver that Organisational Improvement Plan,” he said.
Meetings accessibility
The new chief executive was also asked about the accessibility of public meetings and whether they could be moved away from the airport.
He clarified that “we’re going to stay here for the foreseeable future as a combined authority”, but when it comes to the practicality of moving meetings around, “it’s not off the table”.
He added: “We’ve made a commitment to the development corporations at Hartlepool and Middlesbrough, will always now meet within those towns and we’ll actually move those around venues in those two towns.”
On a wider scale, Mr Bryant said: “I think one of the things I want to make sure of is that we are a lot more visible as a combined authority and a lot of my focus in the coming months is going to be on building relationships, reaching out to MPs, business community, education colleagues, NHS colleagues.”
As for his relationship with MPs, he said: “If we can talk as a single voice as a Tees Valley, and that’s both politically but also across the wider stakeholder community, that’s going to be a lot stronger. Putting politics to one side, I recognise that I think the combined authority can help deliver some of the MPs’ agendas and I think they can reciprocally help us drive our agenda.”
19 applications received
At a TVCA Cabinet meeting, on Friday 27 June, Sarah Brackenborough, director of operations, explained the lengthy process that had been undertaken to get to the point where Mr Bryant was recommended as the candidate of choice. There was an external recruitment process involving an extensive range of stakeholders and a national recruitment search overseen by recruitment agency Penna.
19 applications were received, with five taken to the next stage, all engaging in technical interviews, as well as submitting candidate testimonial videos and having one-to-one conversations with Tees Valley Conservative Mayor Ben Houchen.
Three candidates were then recommended to progress to the short-listing stage. One candidate withdrew from the process, and a final assessment day took place on 4 June. Several individuals, who sat on different panels, were named as part of the process. Mr Bryant was selected as the preferred candidate, following an appointments panel meeting held on 8 June.
His appointment comes as part of a revised senior management structure for TVCA Group, which has seen the removal of the group chief executive role and creation of separate leadership for TVCA and the South Tees Development Corporation (STDC). John Barnes was recently confirmed as chief executive of STDC.
‘Tom is the right person’
Mayor Houchen said: “We’ve some absolutely vital projects coming in the next few years – from Net Zero Teesside, making sure we deliver our brilliant £1bn transport programme, and making the right skills and opportunities available for our young people to stay here and go far.
“Tom is the right person to have in place to deliver the improvements needed and drive our organisation forward. We’ve had a very rigorous process – with input and involvement from across the political spectrum, and from organisations and people from all parts of our region. Again, I’d like to thank everyone who took part and worked together with us.”
Another appointment was made during the Cabinet meeting, as former TVCA head of marketing and communications Craig Peacock was confirmed to the new role of director of inward investment and marketing. His appointment was subject to a similar external multi-stage recruitment process involving key stakeholders. He will receive an annual salary of £129,103, as publicly advertised.
