Croydon has announced this week that chief executive Jo Negrini is to leave the council.
Jo joined the local authority in 2014 as executive director of place, in charge of safety, streets, regeneration and planning, before becoming the first woman to take the helm as chief executive in 2016.
During her tenure she has overseen the borough’s growth and regeneration agenda, from negotiating the arrival of BOXPARK and London South Bank University through to the appointment of the borough’s first chief digital officer and the establishment of Croydon Digital. Jo established the council’s development company, Brick by Brick, negotiated the Croydon Growth Zone Tax Incremental Financing (TIF) initiative with central government and led Croydon’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic and the tram crash.
She also led the council’s improvement of children’s services from an inadequate Ofsted rating in 2017 to good in 2020 and her commitment to supporting residents in their own communities helped shape the council’s localities and total place approach with the NHS and voluntary sector.
“I want to thank Jo for her dedicated service to Croydon. She has led the council through some really challenging times; her work delivering the council response to the tram crash was exceptional, as was her role in supporting our journey to a good Ofsted rating for our children’s services, and more recently heading up the council’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic. I would like to wish her all the best for the future.”
Leader of the council, Councillor Tony Newman
Jo Negrini said: “Croydon is a fantastic place and I’ve been proud to serve its residents over the past six and a half years. I’ve always been impressed by the borough’s resilience, ambition and can-do attitude and I’ve been fortunate to work with some really talented people who are passionate about Croydon. I’ve no doubt that their drive, hard work and determination to support the borough will help to make Croydon stronger for the future. This is a challenging time for local government and I am leaving with all the structures and the team in place to navigate through this post-Covid period and see the council through the next stage in its journey. I loved working for the people of Croydon. It’s an amazing place to work.”
Shifa Mustafa, Croydon’s executive director of place, will be covering the chief executive role while future arrangements are put in place.
