Sir Simon Milton

Sir Simon Milton, deputy mayor and chief of staff, was appointed as deputy mayor for policy and planning to the mayor of London, Boris Johnson, in September 2008. He has oversight of the preparation of the mayor’s new London Plan and supports the mayor on strategic planning applications. As the mayor’s chief of staff, he also leads on the budgets and administration of the Greater London Authority.

Prior to joining Mayor Johnson’s administration, Milton had a twenty-year career as an elected councillor on the Westminster City Council, holding a number of senior posts. He became leader of the council in 2000 and served in that role for a record eight years, during which time the council won many awards. For two years running, he was voted the most respected leader in local government by his peers and in July 2007 was elected chairman of the Local Government Association, the national voice of local authorities. He received a knighthood for services to local government in the New Year’s Honours list in January 2006.

Milton also has a private sector background as the managing director from start-up of a successful public relations consultancy employing forty people and before that was a director of his family-owned business employing 200 people. He is a nonexecutive director of the Energy Savings Trust.

Source: University Programs and Events Planning Resources, September 2009