Graham Garbutt - Former Chief Executive, Commission for Rural Communities
Graham was regional director at the Government Office for the West Midlands for about 5 years from 2001, during a period that saw the rise and fall of national debate about elected regional assemblies but also substantial development of GO roles. He represented the GO network on issues such as communications, higher education and the Treasury’s regional budget statements, and also on the programme board that created local area agreements. He was centrally involved in responding to the collapse of MG Rover, securing European funds and working to create new career and training opportunities as well as wider regeneration.
He was appointed CEO of the Countryside Agency in 2005 to manage the transition to new national agencies: Natural England, and the Commission of Rural Communities of which he was chief executive until his retirement from the post in March this year. Previous jobs included 11 years as chief executive with Gloucester city council and 15 years in London local government.
Since April he has worked with the OECD on its recently published territorial review of Chile, with the Ecole Nationale d’Administration (l’ENA) in Strasbourg on regional governance; and he has been appointed expert adviser to the European grouping of regional prefects and equivalents, of which he is a former president. He is also actively involved in regeneration issues in Gloucestershire where he lives.
Graham has also begun to realise a long held ambition to be a sculptor, or has at least grown a beard.
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