GMCA Chief Executive announces plans to step down

Eamonn Boylan has announced he plans to retire as Chief Executive of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) and Chief Executive of Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM).

Eamonn has held the role as Chief Executive of GMCA (including the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service) since 2017, and took over at TfGM in 2019. He is also currently serving as Interim Chair of the Stockport Mayoral Development Corporation (MDC), overseeing ambitious regeneration plans to bring 3,500 new homes and 1,000,000 sq ft employment floorspace to the Town Centre West area, where he stepped in following the death of previous Chair, Lord Kerslake, earlier this year.

He has now announced he will retire from his roles after the May 2024 Mayoral elections.

His retirement brings to a close a 42 year career in public service which has included periods in local government in Manchester, Sheffield and London, as Deputy Chief Executive of the Homes and Communities Agency, and as Chief Executive of Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council.

Eamonn Boylan’s leadership at GMCA has seen him steer the city-region through rapid growth and transformation, as well as crises such as the Manchester Arena terrorist attack and the Covid-19 pandemic. He has also spearheaded the city-region’s Trailblazer devolution deal, agreed with government earlier this year, that has unlocked additional responsibilities and powers for the local administration in Greater Manchester to develop policies and programmes that work for the local context in skills, transport and housing.

As Chief Executive at TfGM, another key success is the realisation of the Mayor of Greater Manchester’s vision for an integrated London-style public transport system – the Bee Network – which saw the first buses roll out under public control last month.

Eamonn Boylan, Chief Executive of GMCA, said:

“The last six-and-a-half years leading the Combined Authority, and four years leading Transport for Greater Manchester, have been the most challenging but also the most enjoyable in my career, and I am grateful to have been given the opportunity to work with so many brilliant people inside these organisations and across our city-region.

“We have delivered on so many fronts. The Trailblazer deal is evidence that we remain at the forefront of the argument for devolution. The sheer determination and tenacity that everyone demonstrated across Greater Manchester during the pandemic shows how much stronger we are when we work together with one voice. We have also made significant progress in areas such as adult skills, public service reform, developing the digital ecosystem, moving on with our hugely ambitious Green agenda, and getting on with delivering Places for Everyone. I am immensely proud of what we have created together in Greater Manchester, and I hope that we continue to grow and prosper and make this city-region the best place to get on, grow up and get old.”

Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, said:

“This is a sad day for GMCA and TfGM and for me personally. Eamonn has been a great support to me since I first took office in May 2017, and I have always appreciated his strong counsel over the years. He has got us through some of our most challenging times and also our positive times, including overseeing the introduction of the Bee Network.

“He should be extremely proud of his legacy in our city-region and the difference his work has made to people’s lives. It is a testament to the man that he has committed his whole working life to public service, and he absolutely deserves to retire on his own terms on a high. We will miss him.”

The process to recruit a new Chief Executive will start with a report to be discussed at GMCA Resources Committee next week.