Lewisham Council announces new Acting Chief Executive
Jennifer is currently Lewisham Council’s Executive Director for Housing, Regeneration and Public Realm. Under her leadership, the Council has delivered high quality social homes for residents as part of its Building for Lewisham programme; secured £19 million of funding from the Levelling Up Fund for Lewisham Town Centre; and continued the rollout of the Council’s award-winning Schools Streets programme so that Lewisham now has more School Streets than any other London Borough.
Before joining Lewisham, Jennifer held a number of director roles at Waltham Forest Council which all involved working as part of the senior leadership team to improve housing delivery, strategy and development. Jennifer has worked across the fields of housing, regeneration and environment since she entered public service as a Greater London Authority trainee, including roles at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and Southwark Council.
Jennifer Daothong, Acting Chief Executive at Lewisham Council, said: “I am really excited to be taking on this role as Acting Chief Executive. Kim has been a wonderful role model and delivered some excellent results for the borough in her time as Chief Executive. Lewisham is a Council with ambition and a borough full of opportunity and talent. I am looking forward to working with our partners to continue building on our success to make Lewisham the best place to live, work and invest, for our residents.
Mayor of Lewisham, Damien Egan said: “We’re all delighted that Jennifer will be stepping-up into the role of acting chief executive. Jennifer is a deeply respected officer who is well regarded by members and officers alike. Jennifer will be supported by a strong executive management team and together with my Cabinet and our councillors, we’re looking forward to working together to build on Lewisham’s recent successes and addressing the new and emerging challenges faced by our residents.”
Jennifer will start her new post on 4 March 2023 following the departure of Kim Wright, who has been Lewisham’s Chief Executive since 2019. Kim is set to leave the Council to become Chief Executive at the London Borough of Brent.