e-mpirical

Phil Dolan, Associate

Until recently Phil was chief executive at South Somerset District Council. Phil spent 28 years in local government; 10 of which were at CEO level. Under his leadership South Somerset was identified by the Audit Commission as the highest performing district council in the South West in the first organisational assessment under CAA in late 2009.

In early 2009 the Audit Commission listed South Somerset as the 2nd fastest improving council in the country. As a qualified strategist Phil has a particular interest in the role of leaders in organisational culture change and the optimisation of district council resources through joint working and mergers.

Phil led the project to bring South Somerset and East Devon councils together under a joint chief executive in the staggeringly short time scale of just 7 months. This arrangement remains the biggest district partnership in England.