Chief executive to step down from council role

After six years as Chief Executive of Bridgend County Borough Council, Mark Shephard has confirmed that he intends to step down from the role and retire in 2025.

Prior to accepting the position back in May 2019, Mark served as the council’s interim chief executive. Before that, he spent 30 years undertaking increasingly senior local government roles, the most recent of which was acting as a Corporate Director for Communities.

By May 2025, I will have spent more than six years at the helm of the authority, and almost four decades working within local government, including both Bridgend County Borough Council and its predecessor, Ogwr Borough Council.

During this time and with the able support of directors, senior officers and all other colleagues, it has been my absolute honour to help guide and lead the organisation not only during several high-profile challenges, but also through the hugely important day-to-day provision of essential services which make a real difference to people’s lives.

While I do not think that there is ever just one reason for choosing the best time to retire, this does feel like the right moment for me to pass the baton on, and to stand aside in order to spend more time with my family, who have been enormously supportive throughout my career. The process of appointing a new chief executive is unlikely to begin until the New Year. I have agreed to plan my final working date at the council around this, to do all that I can to help ensure the local authority can recruit the best candidate possible, and to make a seamless transition.

Mark Shephard, Chief Executive of Bridgend County Borough Council