Socitm has chosen a new president elect after Steve Hopson, who
was to become president in April, announced he is leaving Cheshire
County Council as CIO.
Steve Palmer, CIO at the London Borough of Hillingdon, will
take over as president next month.
Cheshire County Council, along with six district authorities in
the area, is about to be dissolved and restructured as two new
unitary councils.
Hopson is leaving on 31 March when the new councils will be
formed. He is setting up a private company and will retain links
with Socitm by becoming a director.
He said the move is a "great opportunity" for him. He said,
"When I left the private sector I intended to stay at Cheshire for
two years. It ended up being 20 years, so it is probably time I
moved on. I have set up my own IT company and will be continuing my
strong links with Socitm."
New president Steve Palmer said Socitm "would have benefitted"
from Hopson's leadership.
"All of us in Socitm regret the circumstances that have meant
that Steve Hopson is unable to become president of the society at
this time. It is an honour that he has earned and the society would
have benefited from his leadership, but the timing of local
government restructuring in Cheshire has not worked in his favour.
We will all continue to enjoy working with Steve as the society
moves forwards and he remains an important and senior figure within
it. It is my hope that the opportunity for him to become president
occurs again the future, it would be richly deserved."