Mary Harpley has been appointed as chief executive of the London Borough of Hounslow.

Harpley, who is currently chief executive of Cherwell District Council, replaces interim chief executive Michael Frater.

Prior to joining Cherwell, Mary was a director of regional development agency Advantage West Midlands and before that, a senior consultant with McKinsey.

Jagdish Sharma, leader of the council, said: “We are confident that in Mary we have found the right person to lead the council during the most challenging time in its history.”

Harpley said: “Like all other local authorities, Hounslow is facing a challenging time in terms of its funding from central government and all the change which is going on in many of the organisations with which the council works very closely.

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