£129k Welsh council top boss decided after two behind closed doors meetings

A north Wales council’s new chief executive, with a salary of at least £129,195, has been appointed following two behind closed doors meetings this week.

Conwy council chief executive Iwan Davies is set to step down and retire after 11 years at the helm, with his replacement taking over next month.

Conwy’s senior employment committee met on 24 October to discuss his replacement. The press and public were excluded from attending the discussions.

A special council meeting also took place this morning, 27 October, when the matter was again discussed away from the public eye.

Rhun ap Gareth, currently Head of Law and Governance, has been appointed to the chief executive role. He will succeed Iwan Davies, who will retire at the end of November.

Leader of the Council, Cllr Charlie McCoubrey, said: “It’s been a rigorous selection process for this demanding role, and we were pleased to attract a number of strong candidates, who all performed to an extremely high standard.”

“I’d like to congratulate Rhun on his appointment and I look forward to working with him to deliver the Council’s priorities to make meaningful improvements to the lives of our residents, especially the most vulnerable.”

According to council figures, the chief executive’s salary is between £129,195 and £137,103, taking into account yearly increments, with pension contributions of around £27K.