Tom Riordan

He was Chief Executive of Leeds City Council from August 2010 until September 2024,[1] and spent three months working part-time for the UK government from May 2020 leading the Contain strand within COVID-19 NHS Test and Trace programme, setting out the framework for managing local COVID-19 outbreaks.

[5] Due to his parents' mental health problems, Riordan spent periods in care before the age of four, thereafter returning home.

He then specialised in environmental policy and represented the UK in international negotiations on climate change and endangered species.

Riordan moved to Leeds in 1997 and helped set up Yorkshire Forward, the regional development agency for Yorkshire and Humber, becoming its chief executive in 2006,[4] supporting 10,000 businesses during the recession, completing award-winning regeneration developments and pioneering low carbon initiatives.

In September 2024, Riordan announced he was leaving his role at Leeds City Council after 14 years to take up a new position at the Department of Health and Social Care as a Permanent Secretary.