Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs, Lesley Griffiths, has today [Thursday 15 August] announced Sir David Henshaw is the Welsh Government’s preferred candidate to become the chair of Natural Resources Wales (NRW).
This was published under the 2016 to 2021 administration of the Welsh Government
Sir David is currently NRW’s interim Chair and has been in post since 1 November 2018.
Before the chair of NRW is formally appointed, the National Assembly’s Climate Change, Environment and Rural Affairs Committee will hold a pre-appointment hearing on 26 September to take evidence from Sir David as the preferred candidate.
Sir David’s announcement as the preferred candidate follows a fair and open recruitment exercise regulated by the Commission for Public Appointments.
Natural Resources Wales is the largest Welsh Government Sponsored Body - employing 1,900 staff across Wales with a budget of £180 million.
Sir David Henshaw biography
After Higher education in Sheffield and Birmingham his major career has been in the public sector with Chief Executive roles at Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council and the City of Liverpool, leading a major review of Child Support and the Child Support Agency for central government and more recently senior Chair roles in the NHS including the North West Strategic Health Authority and Alder Hey Foundation Trust Children’s Hospital leading the Board in the building of the new hospital. He has also been drafted in to a number of challenged NHS Hospital Trusts as an interim Chair.
He was also involved in the Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit Capability Review programme of central government departments. He was the Chair of the Welsh First Ministers’ Advisory Board on the delivery of public services.
During his time at Liverpool he was part of the core team which won Capital of Culture 2008 and managed the Council in developing Liverpool 1, the arena and conference centre together with major radical reforms to the services provided, culminating in Liverpool being recognised as Council of the year. He retired from Liverpool in 2006.
Sir David is and has been also a Chair and Non-Executive Director for a number of other public and private organisations and retains a series of advisory roles.