The HOST Board

Chief Executive, Salford City Council

Tom Stannard is Chief Executive of Salford City Council. He supports the directly elected City Mayor, delivering local public services and improving the lives of Salford’s fast growing and diverse 260,000 population, leading an organisation of over 3,000 staff, with a net revenue budget of £220M and a capital investment programme of £115M p/a. Salford is a major driver of the growth of Greater Manchester, a key member of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, and a partner in the £8BN+ GMCA devolution programme. He is a nationally recognised specialist in local government, public service reform and delivering inclusive economic growth.

Tom’s professional background is in regeneration, economic development and skills. He has extensive professional experience in political environments, supporting elected Members and politicians of all parties successfully at local, regional and national levels.

Statutory Deputy City Mayor

Tracy was elected in 2012 to represent the Irlam & Cadishead ward which is now the Higher Irlam & Peel Green ward following boundary changes.

Tracy chaired Children’s Scrutiny for two years before being appointed as the Lead Member for Adult Social Care, overseeing the newly formed Integrated Care Organisation in 2016/17. In 2018 Tracy was appointed the position of Lead Member for Housing overseeing Housing & Homelessness across the City.

In 2020 Tracy was appointed to the position of Statutory Deputy City Mayor, and has recently added the Property & Regeneration portfolio to her roles and responsibilities. Tracy is a Board Member of Dérive (Salford) Ltd and was instrumental in establishing the council’s wholly owned development housing company. Tracy also sits on GMCA Audit Committee.

Executive Director Strategic Investment and Growth – Peel L&P
Managing Director, MediaCityUK

Stephen has been a member of the Peel Group since 2006 and was appointed Managing Director of MediaCityUK in 2009. Since that time, he has been responsible for the strategic direction, growth and operations of this world class creative, tech and digital hub. He also works closely with public sector partners and education bodies in relation to the provision of skills and training to support its future success.

In 2019, Stephen was appointed Executive Director Strategic Investment and Growth for Peel L&P – a role he carries out alongside his responsibilities for MediaCityUK. MediaCityUK is a joint venture partnership between Peel L&P and Legal and General Capital.

Today, almost 8,000 people work within MediaCityUK and it is home to BBC North, ITV, the University of Salford, dock10 and innovation hub - HOST, as well as a number of blue-chip companies including BUPA, Ericsson, Kellogg’s and The Hut Group. It also hosts over 250 smaller creative and tech businesses.

Deputy City Mayor of Salford and Chair of Key Cities

Cllr John Merry has served as Deputy City Mayor of Salford since 2016 and has led the City’s Adult Services, Health and Wellbeing portfolio since May 2021. He was elected to represent Broughton Ward in 1990 and served as the Leader of Salford City Council from 2003 until the election of the first directly-elected City Mayor in 2012. He was awarded a CBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list in 2009.