Mr. Richard Shakespeare:

There are the policy and operational pieces. The chief executive almost ends up becoming a chief of staff who might be appointed as part of an external process, as is the case at the moment, or the case may be that mayor brings a chief of staff with him or her. It is probably better that such a person comes from within the sector because trying to get things done in large organisations is difficult enough if you do not know where you are going. It is in the area of the operational stuff, the day-to-day piece, the rudimentary management and leadership of the workforce and policy direction. There is also the voice. We should not underestimate the power of the voice of the mayor on policy. He or she can set out an agenda and it would then be up to the executive to deliver. It is a bit like the development plan, which, as we know, is an iterative process. There would probably be a tighter focus than in a city-wide development plan.