'Since 2019 Gillian Steward has been chair of the Lampton Group, the London borough of Hounslow's 'arms length' conglomerate, which runs a plethora of services on the council's behalf. Curiously, her tow-year stint at Hounslow has been scrubbed from her LinkedIn profile, although the mastersin public administration she never completed is still there. She arrived in Hounslow after a brief stint as interim chief exec. for the London Brough of Kingston. She had left as CEO of the L.B. Bexley in 2018 after a "change in her personal circumstances". She left behind a reputation for divisiveness and took with her a payoff of £94,000.
Under Steward, the Lampton Group at Hounslow went through a major and chaotic restructuring as more and more services were brought under its umbrella. Steward assured everyone that "residents, mebers and staff will be front and centre of any decisions...making a positive difference to people's lives".
Sections were rebranded. Hounslow's housing and maintenance division, which had become "Lampton Facilties Management 360", became Coalo (from the Latin for nurturing, not the fossil fuel). Staff got new t-shirts and resprayed vans, along with pronunciation advice. When Steward joined the board of Coalo on 1 January 2021, four non-executve directors resigned. One felt "behaviours have crossed the boundaries of inappropriateness and unprofessionalism" and complained of bullying. A recruitment drive for replacement directors promoted an organisation with a "warm and supportive culture. A company Group that has the feel of a Family Firm" - which was news to several departing directors. Now, with this massive restructuring still to bed in properly, Steward is off to help Cumbria with its "journey of transformation". Lucky Lakeland' |