General Secretary Richard Gough to stand down in the summer

At the January Bishop’s Council meeting Richard Gough, the Diocesan General Secretary, shared that he will stand down in the summer, after nine years working in the Diocese. Bishop Sarah led the tributes and outlined the recruitment process that will begin over the next few months, in order to recruit a successor.

Richard Gough said,

“Being the General Secretary in London, has been a tremendous role to have, as it has given me the opportunity to work with some terrific people and great churches. There is much that we have achieved together, ranging from building new churches, to developing youth ministry, to enhancing our safeguarding services, to investing in double glazing in our vicarages, to helping parishes fundraise millions of pounds, to significantly increasing the income from our investment property – to name but a few.  However we also now need to look to the future and the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead. And for a range of reasons 2023 seemed like the right time for me to hand on the baton to my successor.”

“I am extremely grateful to Bishop Sarah, to the whole staff team at the London Diocesan Fund and to everyone across the diocese for all your assistance and friendship over the last decade as we have sought to do everything we can to support the mission and growth of the church in London.”

The Bishop of London, Dame Sarah Mullally, said:

“On behalf of the whole Diocese, I want to express my deep gratitude for all Richard has given to the church in London over this long period. Not only has he showed exemplary leadership to the LDF team, he has acted as a great servant to our parishes. I am grateful that we will continue to benefit from his wisdom in the coming months, to ensure a smooth transition.”

The Bishop’s Council also heard that Will Hagger, Director of Housing and Investment Property for the past three years – having spent five years prior to this as Head of Investment Property – has accepted the role of Diocesan Secretary for Derby. He will leave the LDF at Easter. The Bishop’s Council had previously been informed that Suzie Long, Director of HR and Safeguarding, has announced her departure at the end of February, after six years with the Diocese.

Commenting on both departures, Richard Gough added,

“This has been an excellent senior management team to serve alongside. I would like to add my gratitude for Suzie’s and Will’s many contributions over the years – and wish them the very best for the future.  After no changes to the senior management team for almost three years a key priority over the next few months will be the recruitment of new members of the team to set the LDF up well for the future. ”