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The Government's Interim Chief is set to continue in the top job for at least another six months, and has been given permission to take on a second job while in post – despite this being the unraveling of a previous CEO.
It was confirmed today that Dr Andrew McLaughlin will be employed on a new contract from 1 July 2024 with a six-month review period.
Dr McLaughlin was appointed Interim Government CEO in September last year on secondment from NatWest bank, where he co-led its ‘Commercial and Institutional’ division.
His intial nine-month contract came to end in May 2024. Since then, Assistant CEO Tom Walker has been leading the public sector on a temporary basis as Acting CEO.
The States Employment Board has granted permission for Dr McLaughlin to honour a previous commitment to undertake a non-executive role as Chair of the Board of the Bank of Gibraltar.
In October 2020 it emerged that then-Government CEO Charlie Parker had accepted a £50,000 non-executive role with New River, having received verbal consent from Chief Minister John Le Fondré.
But this consent was overruled by other members of the Council of Ministers, who instructed him to tell Mr Parker that his NED role was "not compatible" with his local duties. Mr Parker declined to voluntarily resign from the second job.
The saga prompted several Ministerial resignations and an unsuccessful vote of no confidence in Deputy Le Fondré – just hours after which Mr Parker agreed to resign.
It later emerged that Mr Parker had received a pay-off of £500,000.
Chief Minister Deputy Lyndon Farnham, Chair of the States Employment Board, said: ‘‘I am pleased to be able to confirm that Andrew has agreed to continue in his role.
“Since starting with the Government last September, Andrew has provided clear leadership across the public service, ensuring good governance, sound financial control and a collaborative approach to management. As a long-standing Jersey resident, he also has in-depth knowledge of the local economy and community.
“Retaining Andrew as our Chief Executive Officer will provide much-needed stability and continuity across the public sector.”
Dr McLaughlin added: “I am delighted to have the opportunity to extend my time as CEO. It is a privilege to do this job and I will do all I can to help the Government deliver the best outcomes for islanders.”
Dr McLaughlin holds a first-class degree in Economics and Politics and a PhD in Public Policy.
He is known for his leadership roles as CEO of Commercial and Institutional, Non-Ring-Fenced Bank at NatWest, and his tenure as CEO of Royal Bank of Scotland International in Jersey.
Dr McLaughlin has also held several advisory and non-executive roles, including Chair of Prince’s Trust Scotland, member of the CBI Economics and Tax Committee, member of the Fiscal Policy Panel for the States of Guernsey, and Visiting Professor at the Centre for Globalisation at the University of Nottingham.
Several contractual details remain unclear, however. Express has asked the Government to confirm:
Is Dr McLaughlin still Interim CEO? Is the new contract fixed-term, permanent or a different type of contract? If it is fixed-term, how long is the contract is for?
Why has the States Employment Board granted permission for Dr McLaughlin to undertake a non-executive role as Chair of the Board of the Bank of Gibraltar after what happened with Charlie Parker? Why is this situation different?
How many other advisory and non-executive roles does Dr McLaughlin currently also hold?
What salary and additional benefits will Dr McLaughlin receive?
How will his performance be assessed?
More to follow...
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