Carolyn Downs became Chief Executive of the London Borough of Brent in September 2015. Before this she served as Chief Executive of the Local Government Association from 2011-15. From 2009 -11 Carolyn was Deputy Permanent Secretary at the MOJ and during this period was also seconded to the Legal Services Commission as its Chief Executive. Before this, Carolyn was Chief Executive of Shropshire County Council for nearly 6 years. She started her career in the public library services of first Bolton Metropolitan Borough and then the London Borough of Haringey.