Council departments and the Corporate Leadership Team

Luton Council is divided into five departments:

• Chief Executive
• Airport
• Children, Families and Education Services
• Inclusive Economy
• Population Wellbeing

Each department is led by a corporate director. The corporate directors are part of the Corporate Leadership Team.

The Corporate Leadership Team (CLT)

We employ officers to give advice, implement decisions and manage the day to day delivery of our services. This is done under the leadership and direction of CLT.

CLT is formed of:

• the Chief Executive
• 4 corporate directors

CLT is responsible for managing council employees and for advising elected members on the potential implications of political decisions.  

Senior management structure chart

Mark Fowler – Chief Executive

Address: Town Hall
Upper George Street
Luton
LU1 2BQ
Email: chiefexec@luton.gov.uk
Telephone: 01582 546 025

Mark has worked in local government since 1991, operating at director level and above for the last 10 years. Prior to his move to Luton Council in February 2022 he was Director of Community Solutions at Barking and Dagenham Council where he supported communities, families and individuals to become more independent.

As the Corporate Director for Population Wellbeing in Luton, Mark oversees services including Housing, Adult Social Care, Public Health, Commissioning and Business Intelligence which are key to the Luton 2040 vision for the town to be healthy, fair and sustainable, where everyone can thrive and no-one has to live in poverty.

Luton 2040 is a town-wide vision built around a single-unifying mission for everyone in Luton.

Dheeraj Chibber – Corporate Director, Children, Families and Education

Address: Town Hall
Upper George Street
Luton
LU1 2BQ
Email: dheeraj.chibber@luton.gov.uk

Dheeraj Chibber was appointed Corporate Director for Children, Families and Education on 22 May 2023.

Dheeraj has worked in the caring profession in the UK for almost 20 years. His passion dates back to the late 90s where his first experiences of supporting communities on a voluntary basis in India spearheaded his trajectory into the profession.

Dheeraj oversees Children’s Social Care, Quality & Improvements and Education services all of which play a key role in the Luton 2040 vision to be a healthy, safe, sustainable child-friendly town and one where we provide exceptional services to children, young people and families.

Prior to this, Dheeraj’s roles included:

• Assistant Director for Children’s Social Care in London Borough of Merton, which achieved outstanding status in an Ofsted ILACS inspection
• head of service roles in Hertfordshire – developing bespoke and innovative services through systems leadership
• management roles in Central Bedfordshire where he developed a tailored ‘front door’ amongst other projects

Gerard McCleave – Corporate Director, Inclusive Economy

Address: Town Hall
Upper George Street
Luton
LU1 2BQ
Email: gerard.mccleave@luton.gov.uk

Nick Platts – Corporate Director and Managing Director, Luton Rising

Address: Luton Rising
Hart House Business Centre
Kimpton Road
Luton
LU2 0LA
Email: nick.platts@lutonrising.org.uk

Nick Platts was appointed Managing Director of Luton Rising, the Luton Council company that owns London Luton Airport and associated assets, in July 2023.

Prior to this, Nick had most recently lived and worked in Saudi Arabia for three years, initially as Director of Cargo at Riyadh Airport, and then leading development of the country’s first special logistics zone.

Previously Nick worked for Heathrow Airport Ltd, in roles as Head of Ground Handling and Head of Cargo, and for FedEx Express. Before that he migrated to the UK from Australia in 2004 after serving in the Royal Australian Air Force for 10 years as a pilot.

Nick is responsible for Luton Rising’s wide-ranging development and positive social impact programmes, including sustainability, Luton DART, and leading the application for long-term growth at the company’s largest asset, London Luton Airport.

Kate Robertson – Corporate Director, Population Wellbeing

Address: Town Hall
Upper George Street
Luton
LU1 2BQ
Email: kate.robertson@luton.gov.uk 

Kate is the Corporate Director for Population Wellbeing. 

She has some 30 years of local government experience, joined Luton almost two years ago as Director for Customer and Organisational Development, leading on customer services, financial resilience, HR and our People Strategy and Transformation programme.