We’re pleased to announce that Russell Ashman has been appointed to the post of Chief Executive of the Council of the Isles of Scilly. He will take up this role on 12 January 2024, following the planned departure of the current Chief Executive, Paul Masters at the end of December 2023.
Russell has been the Chief Finance Officer (Section 151) for the Council of the Isles of Scilly since 1 April 2018. He has performed this role in addition to his Head of Pensions and Treasury role at Cornwall Council, where he has worked in a variety of accountancy positions for the past 30 years. Russell will continue to be based on the mainland, but will spend 10 days per month working on the islands.
Chairman of Council, Robert Francis, said: “Russell has shown substantial capability in his role as our Council’s Chief Finance Officer over recent years, guiding us out of the Section 24 notice we received in the financial year 2015/16 to the strong financial governance position we’re in today. He has a deep understanding of the islands as a result of this work and his handling of the Council’s risks and challenges across all services in this time puts him in extremely good stead to meet the requirements of the Chief Executive role. I’m sure many of you will be pleased to hear that he is prepared to commit substantial amounts of his time to being on the islands and I hope that he will become a familiar face to anyone who has not yet had the opportunity to meet him. We very much look forward to continuing to work with him in his new role.
I’d also like to extend my sincere thanks to Paul Masters for his contribution as Chief Executive over the past 3 years, during some very turbulent times. Upon his retirement in December, Paul will be leaving behind a stable foundation on which the Council can build. The Council will be preparing for his departure and handover to Russell in the coming months and we wish him all the best for his retirement.”
Russell Ashman said: “I’m delighted to be taking up the role of Chief Executive of the Isles of Scilly. I’d like to thank Councillors for placing their faith in me to tackle the challenges of the years ahead. I look forward to rising to these challenges and working closely with Councillors, officers and stakeholders to deliver the services the community expects and deserves.”