Welcome to Lambeth?

We noted earlier, the remarkable turnover of Chief Execs in Newham; five chief execs in six years.

News has come to Open Newham that Abi Gbago, Newham’s latest chief executive, is now on the search for a way out. 

She’s been at Newham for over a year now, which is somewhat better than her previous posts which seemed to last between 3-6 months. Appointed in September 2023, we are told that she’s applied for the top job over in Lambeth. Yes, the London Borough of Lambeth is hunting for a new CEO, and word on the street is that Gbago might just be it.

Of course, this is only conjecture, but it seems that so many chief execs in such a short space of time suggests that there might just be a problem at the very top. Just why would so many of them want to give up a job paying circa £210,000 pa?

The mayor has an unenviable reputation for bullying, and her ability to alienate friends and colleagues, and it might just be that Lambeth, ‘London’s newest borough of sanctuary’ can offer refuge to an embattled chief exec.