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 Hertfordshire and Essex Girls' High School and

Fettes College Fettes College () is a co-educational independent boarding and day school in Edinburgh, Scotland, with over two-thirds of its pupils in residence on campus. The school was originally a boarding school for boys only and became co-ed in 1983. In ...

before studying for an English degree at

Newnham College, Cambridge Newnham College is a women's Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1871 by a group organising Lectures for Ladies, members of which included philosopher Henry Sid ...

. She completed postgraduate study at the

Polytechnic of Central London , mottoeng = The Lord is our Strength , type = Public , established = 1838: Royal Polytechnic Institution 1891: Polytechnic-Regent Street 1970: Polytechnic of Central London 1992: University of Westminster , endowment = £5.1 million ...

and

University of Birmingham , mottoeng = Through efforts to heights , established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...

, the latter in Local Government and Health in 1992.

Career

Manzie became an administrative assistant for the Association of County Councils in 1982, before becoming an administrative officer for the

Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and Senior Managers The Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and Senior Managers (Solace) is a representative body for senior strategic managers working in the public sector in the United Kingdom. Legally ''The Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and S ...

in 1984. She worked as a team leader in

Birmingham City Council Birmingham City Council is the local government body responsible for the governance of the City of Birmingham in England, which has been a metropolitan district since 1974. It is the most populated local council area in the United Kingdom (e ...

1987-1988 before becoming a management consultant in Price Waterhouse Management Consultants in 1988, a role she held before returning to local government in 1992, when she worked as borough director for

Redditch Borough Council Redditch Borough Council is the local authority covering the non-metropolitan district centred on the town of Redditch. History The town of Redditch was governed by a local board of health from 1858 until 1894, when such local boards were ref ...

, where she was the youngest council chief executive in the country. During her time at Redditch Borough Council, she "oversaw a 25 per cent cut in spending and cull of senior management". In 1997 she became chief executive of

West Berkshire Council West Berkshire Council is the local authority of West Berkshire in Berkshire, England. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. West Berkshire is divided into 30 wards, electing 52 c ...

before moving onto Coventry City Council in 2001. In her seven years as chief executive of Coventry City Council, she oversaw its improvement from a start as one of the worst-performing local authorities in the country. She worked as a senior civil servant in the Scottish Government from 2008 to 2011, first as Director General for Finance and Corporate Services, then as Director General for Justice and Communities. After that, she returned to local government, serving as Chief Executive of Barking and Dagenham London Borough Council 2011-2012 in the run-up to the 2012 Summer Olympics. She was brought in as one of five commissioners including Mary Ney for Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council in 2015 following scandals around child sexual exploitation, in which role she "steered it through its recovery". She served as interim Chief Executive for

from 2017 to 2018, which had also previously been struggling with child protection and a range of other issues . During her time running Birmingham City Council, Unite the Union leader Len McCluskey accused her of "taking a hard line" with striking bin workers, opposing the union's proposed deal, and a local Unite the Union leader called for her resignation, which council leader Ian Ward described as "wholly inappropriate".

Other offices

Manzie has been a visiting fellow at the Open University since 2013. She served as chair of Cambridge Literary Festival from 2013 to 2015, and has been a trustee of the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation from 2017. She has served as a non-executive director of HM Treasury.

Honours

Manzie was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 2001, and a Commander in 2007. She was made a Dame of the Order of the British Empire in 2018 for services to local government.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Manzie, Stella 1960 births Alumni of Newnham College, Cambridge Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Living people