Dame Mary Ney (born 30 August 1949) is a British public servant who served as chief executive of the

Royal Borough of Greenwich The Royal Borough of Greenwich (, , or ) is a London borough in southeast Greater London. The London Borough of Greenwich was formed in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963. The new borough covered the former area of the Metropolitan Borough ...

from 2000 and 2014.

Early life and education

Mary Ney was born to parents John Ney and Lena Ney on 30 August 1949. She studied at Notre Dame High School in

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

before studying mathematics at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

, graduating in 1970 and completing a

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in the same subject in 1971. She completed a

postgraduate diploma A postgraduate diploma (PgD, PgDip, PGDip, PG Dip., PGD, Dipl. PG, PDE) is a postgraduate qualification awarded after a university degree, which supplements the original degree and awards them with a graduate diploma. Countries that award postg ...

in management studies at the

Regent Street Polytechnic The University of Westminster is a public university based in London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1838 as the Royal Polytechnic Institution, it was the first polytechnic to open in London. The Polytechnic formally received a Royal charter in Aug ...

in 1975.

Career

Ney worked at

London Borough of Southwark The London Borough of Southwark ( ) in South London forms part of Inner London and is connected by bridges across the River Thames to the City of London and London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It was created in 1965 when three smaller council areas ...

from 1979 until she became director of social services and housing at the

London Borough of Harrow The London Borough of Harrow () is a London borough in northwest London, England; it forms part of Outer London. It borders four other London boroughs Barnet to the east of ancient Watling Street (now the A5 road), Brent to the southeast, Ea ...

in 1992. She became chief executive of

in 2000, a role she continued to hold for fourteen years, ending with a salary of £185,000. The council was awarded Council of the Year in 2013.

Later work

She was brought in as a supporting commissioner at

Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council is the local authority of the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham in South Yorkshire, England. It is a metropolitan district council, one of four in South Yorkshire and one of 36 in the metropolitan countie ...

in February 2015 following scandals around child sexual exploitation, as one of five commissioners including

Stella Manzie Dame Stella Gordon Manzie (born 13 June 1960) is a British public servant. Early life Manzie was born on 13 June 1960 to senior civil servant Gordon Manzie and Rosalind Manzie. She was educated at The Hertfordshire and Essex High School, H ...

. She succeeded David Meyers as the lead commissioner in March 2017. As commissioner, she "helped to improve performance and rebuild the trust of local residents" including suspending the licences of forty taxi drivers. She served as a non-executive director for the

Department of Communities and Local Government The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), formerly the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for housing, communities, local government in ...

from 2016 to 2018. Ney produced a review in October 2017 for the

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), formerly the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, department of Government of the United King ...

called "Review of the Governance and Transparency of Local Enterprise Partnerships". In August 2019, she was appointed to lead a review into financial oversight of further education colleges, and in August 2020 led a rapid review into the management of local

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

outbreaks. She is a trustee of

CAFOD The Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD) is an international development charity and the official aid agency of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. It aims to tackle poverty globally. Through local Catholic Church and secular pa ...

and the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Southwark The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Southwark (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Southvarcensis'') is a Latin Church archdiocese of the Catholic Church in England. It is headed by the Archbishop of Southwark. The archdiocese is part of the Metropolitan Pr ...

Honours

Ney was made a

Dame Commander of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(DBE) for services to local government.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ney, Mary 1949 births Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Living people Alumni of the University of London