Chief Executive and the Executive Leadership Team

The Executive Leadership Team are responsible for the overall management of the council, for setting and monitoring overall direction, ensuring high performance and for overall risk and reputation management.

Stuart Love is our Chief Executive

Stuart Love is our Chief Executive. Previously he headed up the City Management and Communities department overseeing a range of teams to deliver joined-up solutions to complex community problems, informed by improved business intelligence and underpinned by the corporate values and behaviours.

Stuart previously worked at Westminster City Council, from 2003 to 2006, as the head of Road Management and has held previous roles at Isle of Wight Council, between 2006 and 2013, and at Southampton City Council where he was Director of Place.

Bernie Flaherty is our Deputy Chief Executive and Bi-Borough Executive Director of Adult Social Care

Bernie manages the Bi-borough Adult and Public Health department ensuring the safety and wellbeing of vulnerable people over 2 boroughs, in conjunction with other key strategic partners.

Bernie joined Westminster City Council from Harrow Council where she was the former Director of Adult Social Services for five years.

Prior to this role she was the Deputy Corporate Director of Community Health and Well-being covering Adults, Housing, Public Health, Libraries, Sport, Leisure and Culture.

Gerald Almeroth is our Executive Director of Finance and Resources

Gerald is responsible for the council’s finance, property investment, strategy and intelligence, procurement, IT and digital transformation services, legal services as well as the council’s corporate property department. His team drives innovations in technology and ensures robust financial management of the council’s services. 

Gerald has previously worked for other local authorities across London in a wide range of roles leading on finance, HR, procurement and asset management. Having previously worked for Westminster as Head of Finance and Business Services, Gerald returned to the council in 2019 to become Executive Director of Finance and Resources. 

Debbie Jackson is our Executive Director of Regeneration, Economy and Planning

Debbie Jackson joined Westminster Council as the Executive Director of Growth, Planning and Housing in July 2020.  She has responsibility for a wide range of outcomes including the delivery of high-quality housing, a vibrant economy with opportunities for all and places workers, visitors and residents can enjoy.

Debbie began her career at Westminster in 1997 and has over twenty years’ of experience in London’s public sector, building a breadth of experience in regeneration and economic development in particular. 

She was responsible for the regeneration of Lambeth’s key town centres including Clapham and Brixton in Lambeth. At the Greater London Authority, she led several high-profile Mayoral programmes including the Good Growth Fund, Crowdfund London, Skills for Londoners Capital Fund and Good Growth by Design.

Frances Martin is our Executive Director of Environment, Climate and Public Protection

Frances Martin joined Westminster City Council in June 2023 and is responsible for the environment, climate and public protection services within the council, which include city highways, parking, public protection and licensing, communities, waste and cleansing and the climate emergency team.

Frances has gained over twenty years’ experience in her career in the Public Sector working at both a strategic and operational level always with residents and people at the heart of it. Prior to joining Westminster, she was Executive Director for Economic Growth and Neighbourhood Services at Reading Borough Council, where she delivered a diverse range of complex services and programmes, focussing on place shaping and ensuring Reading maintained its economic performance as well as delivering key front-line services. 

With a 24/7 social scene, a thriving commercial heart and more than one million people passing through our streets every day, Frances and team are committed to providing exceptional key front-line services and assistance to Westminster’s residents, workers and visitors, along with the target to tackle the climate emergency by becoming a net zero council by 2030, and a net zero city by 2040.

Sarah Newman is our Bi-Borough Executive Director of Children's Services

Sarah leads the Children’s Services function for both Westminster City Council and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. In conjunction with other key strategic partners, Sarah leads the team responsible for improving the lives and life chances of children and young people across the two boroughs. Prior to her current role, Sarah joined the council in 2018 as the Director of Family Services in Westminster.

Sarah Warman is our Strategic Director for Housing and Commercial Partnerships

Sarah is the current Director of Commercial Partnerships and has already been leading the Corporate Housing Improvement Work. She will retain responsibility for her current service which will move into this new directorate.

Parveen Akhtar, Executive Director of Corporate Services

Parveen started her career in the private sector. She spent a number of years as a criminal defence advocate, subsequently establishing and leading a prison law and human rights department in Manchester.

Parveen joined local government over 14 years ago and has spent the last 11 years as a Chief Legal Officer and Monitoring Officer working at five large local authorities providing a wide range of services.

She is Westminster’s principal legal adviser and the council’s Monitoring Officer. She also oversees the Bi-Borough legal service with Kensington and Chelsea Council. Her responsibilities include Westminster’s HR and organisational development services, communications and policy functions, together with governance and member support, elections, land charges, mayoralty, coroner, and information services.