The role of chief operating officer (COO) is long-established in the private sector – across fields as diverse as IT and telecommunications, fast-moving consumable goods, infrastructure and utilities. There has been a trend in recent years for local government to appoint its own chief operating officers. But within the last 12 months there has been an explosion in the number of local government COOs being recruited.

Delegates at The MJ/Penna round table discussed what the role of the local government COO was, or should be.