Meet the team & associates

Manny Gatt has been a leader in the field of public sector partnership and collaborative working for over 20 years, first as chief executive of the Enterprise Agency in Derby and latterly as managing director for Business Link Nottinghamshire. Prior to that he was a director with Coats Viyella plc.

He is cofounder of Shared Service Architecture Ltd (SSA) a research and teaching company specialising in equipping individuals and public sector organisations with the skills and knowledge to successfully initiate innovative shared-service solutions. He has authored six books on collaborative leadership and shared services. He has taught over 1100 senior personnel from across the public and private sectors in the skills to manage in-house shared service projects. Manny has advised numerous public sector organisations on how to build their collaborative advantage working across local government, further and higher education, LEPs, housing associations, police and fire services and the NHS. He is a visiting lecturer at Canterbury Christ Church University on shared services, a Collaborative Transformation Architect (CTArcf), a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a member of the Institute of Directors.

Magda joined SSA in 2016 after graduating in Business Studies at the University of Derby.

Magda is the Business Development Director of Shared Service Architecture Ltd and has worked with over 100 public sector organisations (at senior level), supporting £multi-million transformation by: effective account management, ensuring oversight of existing clients through extensive interaction with key stakeholders; overseeing sales, planning and delivery of top team development/ facilitation and capacity-building sessions, while sustaining and enhancing client retention rates; shaping and implementing new product strategies.

Magda is a recognized CTPrac™ (Collaborative Transformation Practitioner™), highly experienced in developing multi-agency transformations and implementing shared service solutions across the public sector. She has extensive experience supporting the co-design and co-delivery of facilitative sessions, providing strategic leaders with ‘safe spaces’ where they can build trust, articulate their strategic vision and build consensus on how they lead change and transformations in a collaborative manner, be it within their organisation, inter-organisationally or at system-level.

David Weaver is an LGA Associate and senior partner of DWC, a leadership and strategic change organisation that works with individuals, organisations and communities to help them achieve their full potential.

With over 20 years’ experience in the field, his clients include large and small organisations, teams and individuals across the private, public and not for profit sectors. His work has focused on designing, co-creating and delivering interventions that build higher levels of organisational / personal performance to achieve outstanding results.

A former social worker, university lecturer and local authority senior manager, David’s work currently majors on interventions with top teams within public services including with local authority cabinets and senior leadership teams. He also works on leadership and organisational effectiveness issues within the education sector, NHS, government appointed bodies and large charitable organisations.  His work is complemented with significant experience as a life / career coach and mediator / conflict management facilitator.

David is a former political advisor to Home Office ministers including the Deputy Home Secretary and Home Secretary in the late 1990s. A key part of his remit was development of the government’s strategy for working with the Voluntary Sector, community cohesion and on creating the rationale for, and eventual establishment of the Macpherson Inquiry into the death of Stephen Lawrence. David represented the government on the Council of Europe body (European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia) during this period.

For over a decade, David has been part of a team commissioned by the Local Government Association (LGA) to facilitate the Leadership Academy for elected councillors in England and Wales.

In December 2016, David was appointed President of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) having previously served as a Governor / Trustee (2012 to 2016) and Vice President (from 2004 to 2009). David has played a key role in the drive to embed social justice as a core principle and aspect of BACP’s work as well as effecting strategies that demonstrate the relevance of the counselling professions for ‘ordinary diverse people and communities’.

David holds an MSc in Human Resources Management and qualifications relating to coaching, mediation and psychological profiling.

Kaye is passionate about people and bringing out the best in individuals, teams and organisations. She is a highly experienced trainer, facilitator and coach, working across all sectors, often supporting significant change programmes.  She is energised by supporting people to make a difference, to themselves, their organisations and wider communities.

Kaye has a strong track record in leadership development having delivered in-house and bespoke programmes for a range of clients, predominantly in the public sector. In particular, she has worked with clinical leaders in the NHS who are increasingly leading multidisciplinary teams with restricted resources, higher demands, and working across boundaries where the need for  personal resilience and collaboration is key. Kaye has designed and delivered major leadership and change programmes with diverse clients including NHS Trusts, local authorities, national charities, universities and international companies.

As a senior leader herself, Kaye also brings the latest thinking from real world challenges that require new ways of working and developing relationships. She began her career with one of the UK’s leading Human Resources organisations, has held senior leadership roles in the NHS and Police Service, and has been working independently for over 15 years.

Kaye has operated at a national level advising on policy development. She has held Board level posts in the NHS for over 17 years. She also has international experience delivering training and facilitating major change programmes within large public administrations in central Europe and Asia. She has a masters degree in Human Resources Development, is an associate of the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education, was a visiting lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University.

Alasdair is an experienced local government shared service practitioner with more than 15 years of experience in efficiency, change and improvement work. His work ranges from international assignments with multi-national corporations to in-depth shared service business case development and modelling across the UK public sector. His assignments typically involve both the soft aspects of change and advanced analytical approaches using mathematical modelling and simulations.

Alasdair has been an IDeA managing consultant, leading improvement teams in a wide range of councils across the country. He has also established a highly regarded business transformation team for the Mid Kent Improvement Partnership (comprising Maidstone, Tunbridge Wells, Ashford and Swale Borough Councils).

This included a secondment period working as a shared service manager across two of the authorities. In this role he has undertaken efficiency and shared service reviews, in planning and other areas, leading to net savings of over 20% while also improving service outcomes.
Alasdair is the co-author of the ‘Shared Service Architect’s Business Case Toolbox’ and lectures on the Canterbury Christ Church University Postgraduate Certificate in Collaborative Transformation.

Rob Milford is Director of Milford Research & Consultancy Ltd and an academic practitioner working in the field of collaborative assurance, governance, risk and control. He lectures at Coventry and Worcester Universities and works with public sector clients to develop their internal and collaborative audit services. Rob has been an internal auditor for over 18 years, including 8 years as the head of an internal audit. He also designed, built and operated his own internal audit shared service in local government for 7 partners, and advised on many other programmes for collaborative transformation. He is vastly experienced in the assurance, governance and risk problems encountered in collaborative working. He is completing a PhD in “The evolution and devolution within shared internal audit services in Local Government” which includes real life action based research.

Liz has been a councillor in Kingston since 2002, holding a variety of positions over the last 17 years. She is the first female leader of Kingston Council and is running one of only a handful of councils with a female majority administration.

Liz has been a group leader, both in control and opposition, for 6 years and an accredited LGA peer for over 10 years. She has previously delivered Leadership Academy, Leadership essentials: effective scrutiny and Women councillor weekender courses.

Throughout her 5 years as LGA facilitator of the Leadership Academy, Liz has been fully involved in all sessions and has directly delivered some modules. Her cross-party experience through the LGA, particularly as deputy chair of the children’s board mean that she is able and happy to work with councillors of any political party or independent. She has experience of presenting and running workshops, and she knows how to ensure that all participants are fully engaged and get the most out of the course.

Liz brings a new and fresh dynamic to the team as she uses the techniques and tools of the Leadership Academy programme – Meyer Briggs type indicator, 5 leadership styles, ‘other people’s shoes’ – in a practical, hands on, way in her councillor and leader roles. Her leadership style is one of collaboration, utilising the skills different team members bring to make the whole greater than the sum of the parts.

Ian has over 25 years’ experience in designing and delivering financial management training for local authorities and other public service organisations, from both a practical and academic perspective.

He has worked with the Local Government Association on their Leadership programme for the past four years and has recently co-designed and delivered a new programme on risk management for councillors. He is a regular contributor to wider LGA training programmes, such as the Young Councillors weekend seminar.

Ian also provides in-house training to elected members, service managers and finance professionals and has worked with a wide variety of individual councils and other public sector bodies to enhance their financial management understanding and skills. He is also an experienced meeting facilitator and has worked with councils to facilitate workshops and away-days.

He co-authored the Centre for Public Scrutiny publications On the Money, considering effective financial and budget scrutiny methods and also Treasure Your Assets, considering local government treasury management activities.

Ian is CIPFA qualified and, prior to running his own training company, worked as an accountant in local government, in external audit for local government and health bodies and as a university lecturer. He has also served as the Independent Advisor to the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham’s Audit

Having worked directly for a high-profile London Leader in the heady days of the 1990’s, I found myself expecting my third son and, needing a career nearer to him, his brothers and the house, stood for election to Suffolk County Council in May 1997. I thought it might be much the same as London. It wasn’t. That didn’t stop me from developing a deep and lasting affection for the role of local councillor in all its rich variety.

I held various positions on Suffolk County Council, including Leader, until I stood down in 2017. In 2008 I was elected to Ipswich Borough Council and am currently Deputy Leader. I am a member of the Congress of the Council of Europe, representing UK local government at international level. I am currently Chair of European Local Democracy week. All these roles have brought challenge and reward.

I’ve worked on sector-led improvement for over a decade now, starting with the IDeA, and believe passionately in the need for training and development opportunities for councillors. I have a Masters in Policy and Leadership from INLGOV at the University of Birmingham and am now studying for a PhD. Going on the Leadership Academy was life changing for me and I’m delighted to be working with the New Leadership Foundation to offer the same chance for others.

Shama Tatler has been a Councillor for the London Borough of Brent since 2014 and became a member of the cabinet in 2016 with responsibility for Regeneration, Highways and Planning, overseeing some of London’s largest regeneration schemes.

Whilst being a Local Government Association Peer, Shama has facilitated sessions for the Leadership Academy as well as sessions on Community Leadership, Equalities and Getting Your Message Across.

In addition, Shama has led and facilitated training sessions for prospective council candidates through Training Labour Ltd with the LGIU.

Previous to being a Councillor, Shama was a secondary school teacher for 10 years, holding positions such as Head of Humanities and Gifted and Talented Co-ordinator. Shama has taught History in schools in Stoke-on-Trent, Birmingham and London. In addition, she has developed peer observation schemes for her teams for deeper reflective practice in their pedagogy. This teaching experience and work in Local Government as a Peer and facilitator has given Shama the ability to organise, lead and manage groups of different backgrounds. She knows how to ensure sessions are engaging, productive and that participants are able to get the most of their work.

Shama brings experience, energy and passion as well as the ability to work collaboratively in a team to deliver successful outcomes.