Anthony Hunt was first elected as a Councillor in 2012, serving the Panteg ward.
Anthony graduated from Cardiff University with a law degree and spent time working in America before returning to Wales. As the son of a nurse and a police officer, Anthony cites his passion for front line public services, and a wish to safeguard those services, as his reason for getting into politics.
Before being elected to the Council, Anthony gained a wealth of experience at all levels of Government, spending time working in Torfaen, in Parliament, in Whitehall and in the National Assembly for Wales.
He worked with the former Torfaen Member of Parliament Paul Murphy, as a Researcher and then Special Advisor during Paul's time as Welsh Secretary and Northern Ireland Secretary, gaining an understanding of devolution and the relationship between the different levels of Government.
He also worked closely with Paul in the constituency, taking up issues on behalf of constituents and gaining an understanding of the local representational role of elected politicians.
On the Council, Anthony served as Executive Member for Resources before being elected as Deputy Leader in 2015 and Leader in December 2016.
On a regional and national basis, Anthony is Vice Chair of the Cardiff Capital Region Joint Cabinet, sits on the LGA City Regions Board and is the Welsh Local Government Association Spokesperson on Finance and Workforce.
Outside of politics, Anthony is a competitive cyclist with Pontypool Road Cycling Club and volunteers as a junior football coach with Griffithstown AFC. A keen fan of music (especially Bruce Springsteen) and the arts, he has also volunteered at events from Glastonbury Festival to the Congress Theatre in Cwmbran.
Anthony lives in Griffithstown with his wife Lizzie and their two sons and is passionate about promoting Wales and the valleys as a great place to visit.
Stephen became the CEO at Torfaen Council in July 2021.
Prior to that Stephen was Director for Adults and Communities and Director for Adult Social Services at Herefordshire Council and previously held senior roles in social care and safeguarding at Leicestershire County Council and Leicester City Council.
Stephen was a late entrant into social care and local government having trained as an engineer. At the start of his career Stephen worked in a number of different roles and industries including managing several hospitality businesses, plus stints in retail and the consultancy sectors. Stephen also travelled extensively and lived overseas for a number of years.
Stephen said: ‘I was drawn in to local government for very personal reasons due to the care of a close family member which was unfortunately so inadequate that it compelled me to embark on a new career in social care. I went back to university aged 29 to study and gain my degree in social work. Specialising in mental health, mental capacity and safeguarding as a social worker, I quickly moved into management roles and became the Director of Adults and Communities in Herefordshire before joining Torfaen Council.
‘Growing up as part of a family on a large council estate in one of the most deprived areas of Leicester, I know only too well how hard it can be to break away from ‘the norm’ and aspire and believe in something better. I really believe that anyone can reach their potential with determination, a goal and the right support, and we all deserve the opportunity. I’m looking forward to making Torfaen a place where children are inspired to achieve, where people can gain new skills to improve or change their lives for the better and to build new relationships with communities.
Steve was first elected to Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council in 1999 as a Tredegar Central and West Ward member. In 2004 he became an Executive member for housing and has since held a number of executive positions, including Leisure, Environment and Governance.
He first became the leader of Blaenau Gwent from December 2015 to May 2017. More recently, he was the leader of the opposition and Scrutiny Chair for Social services.
During the ‘austerity’ years, Steve was recognised as the political driving force behind Blaenau Gwent’s successful change transformation strategy, resulting from governance and education failures in 2011/12.
Before being elected to the Council, Steve worked in the steel industry and later in graphic design. He lives in Tredegar with his wife and daughter. His interests include theatre, sports and photography; he is also an avid reader.
Cllr. Elaine Forehead serves as Cabinet Member for Caerphilly County Borough Council, responsible for Social Care. She lives in Caerphilly where she serves as local ward member for Van.
She was educated in Bedwas High School and studied Social Work at Cardiff Metropolitan. Her working life has focussed around social care and protection of the most vulnerable people within the community.
She started her political career in 2000, when she was elected as a local ward member for St James (later becoming Van), and also serves as a Community Councillor on Van Community Council.
In her spare time Cllr. Forehead enjoys spending time with her 2 children and grandson and volunteering for the local food bank and community café.
Cllr Forehead is the delegated representative for Caerphilly County Borough Council, representing the Council’s Leader Cllr Sean Morgan.
Ed Edmunds is the Chief Executive of Caerphilly County Borough Council and was appointed to the role in January 2025.
Ed joined Caerphilly in 2018 as the Council’s Corporate Director of Education and Corporate Services. In his time as Corporate Director he has led the Councils Education Service towards and through a first class Estyn inspection in June 2024, as well as modernising the Council’s support services. More recently, Ed has led the development of a significant programme of whole Council transformation which is focused on improving the customer experience while significantly reducing spend.
Ed has over 32 years’ experience in local government having previously worked for Cardiff City Council, Gwent County Council and Torfaen County Borough Council before joining Caerphilly.
Ed entered local government in 1992 as an IT Operator, progressing through the ranks and a series of innovation and strategy roles before joining Torfaen’s Senior Leadership Team in 2009 where he stayed until moving to Caerphilly.
Ed grew up in Cwmbran and was educated at Fairwater High School, or Cwmbran High School as it is now known
Mary Ann is Leader of Monmouthshire County Council, elected in May 2022. She is a Welsh Local Government Association spokesperson on Climate Change and Social Justice and is Vice Chair of the Cardiff Capital Region Cabinet, where she holds the brief for Innovation and Research. Mary Ann was elected councillor for Llanelly, a rural ward in Monmouthshire in 2022.
Mary Ann is an expert in international development, gender and human rights. She has previously worked with the United Nations and International Aid agencies, the World Bank and Governments across Asia and Africa to strengthen the voices of marginalised people.
In Wales, she is Chair of the Women’s Equality Network Wales, a director of the Egni Coop responsible for £4m of Solar investment locally and a former chair of Awel Aman Tawe, Wales’s largest community energy group raising £7m to establish the first community wind farm in Wales.
Paul Matthews has been a public servant for most of their working life. Paul started out as a Governor at CWMBRAN HIGH SCHOOL, where they were responsible for finance, HR, technology, and forward planning. Paul then moved on to Cardiff University, where they served as a Non Executive Director. After that, they became the Chairman of the Monmouthshire Public Service Board. In their current role as Chief Executive of Monmouthshire County Council, Paul is responsible for the regeneration, community safety, and democratic services of the county.
Paul Matthews has a degree in accountancy from the University of South Wales and is a member of the Association of Accounting Technicians. Paul also has a diploma in executive leadership from Harvard Kennedy School and a diploma in executive leadership from Georgetown University.
Cllr Dimitri Batrouni became Leader of Newport Council in May 2024 and has served as a Councillor since May 2022 in Newport and previously as opposition Leader in another Council; also as Cabinet Member for a range of areas, including Organisational Transformation.
Dimitri is the Welsh Local Government Association lead for Digital Leadership.
As an IT graduate, Dimitri has an extensive working background and has worked at both UK and Welsh Parliaments in senior researcher roles and lectured politics at the University of Bristol.
Dimitri was a Senior Analyst for the Independent Monitoring Authority attached to the Ministry of Justice to monitor Brexit and citizens’ rights.
A Housing and Regeneration graduate, Beverly has over 20 years’ senior experience of local government across a variety of chief officer roles. Having led the development and delivery of a number of major economic and social regeneration programmes in South East Wales, Beverly was appointed as Newport City Council’s Chief Executive in July 2020.
With a passion for economic growth underpinned by sustainability and resilient communities, Beverly continues to oversee the Regeneration portfolio at Newport. Beverly was previously a founding Director of the Cardiff Capital Region’s Compound Semi-Conductor Foundry Board and is currently the Council’s appointed Director on the Newport Norse Joint Venture Property Company.
Tracy started as Executive Director for Public Health and Strategic Partnerships for the Health Board in April 2023.
Bringing more than 25 years’ experience working in health and social care across the NHS, Civil Service, Local Government and Voluntary Sector. Tracy has a track record in transformation, system change, and developing services to meet the needs of local people. Tracy was also the Director of Public Health for Wiltshire during the nerve agent poisonings in Salisbury, this deepened her interest in the role of public health in humanitarian recovery. This is the subject of her PhD research.
Tracy is also Vice President of Faculty of Public Health. A Visiting Professor at the University of West of England in Public Health where she also holds an Honorary Doctorate for contributions to Public Health, she holds a second from the Open University. She is a Visiting lecturer with Exeter University in Health Protection. She sits on the Board of Trustees for a local Domestic Abuse Charity.
“My passion is for reducing vulnerability and tackling inequalities. With Gwent becoming Wales’s first Marmot Region I am delighted to join the Health Board to lead the Public Health Team.
“The impact of low income, job instability, poor housing and isolation has on our health is immeasurable. My ambition for Gwent is for healthier, safer places, access to excellent education, warm homes, prosperity, and community connectedness. These key building blocks to a healthy and fairer life are everything that the Building a Fairer Gwent work promotes.
“In short, I believe all children should have the best start in life through to adulthood where everyone has a job, a home and a friend. Through our work with both the Public Health Team and together with our partners across Gwent, I look forward to supporting the people of Gwent to live well and live longer.”
Steve leads the SE Wales (Gwent local authorities area) operational teams at NRW which have a broad remit including conservation, biodiversity, land and water management, flood risk, forestry, industry regulation, monitoring and fisheries. He has a particular interest in ensuring that our environment is protected so that it can be enjoyed by all and help to improve the wellbeing of the people in Wales.
He has a degree in Zoology with Marine Zoology from Bangor University and is a Chartered Water and Environmental Manager and Chartered Environmentalist. He has over 30 years’ experience working in the public environmental sector (including National Rivers Authority and Environment Agency Wales) and also worked for a short time at the Marine Conservation Society.
Steve has a love of the outdoors and when he isn’t playing squash at his local club he will likely be found walking the mountains of Wales with his camera and tripod in hand.
Natural Resources Wales' purpose is to pursue sustainable management of natural resources in all of its work. This means looking after air, land, water, wildlife, plants and soil to improve Wales' well-being, and provide a better future for everyone.
Ann Lloyd has spent the majority of her career as a CEO of large health service organisations. Her career culminated in her appointment as Director General – Health and Social Care – Welsh Government and NHS Wales CEO, a post she occupied for 8 years.
Responsible for a budget of £5.8 billion and the oversight of all Welsh health and social care policies and health services, Ann developed the 10 year strategy for Wales, the health care standards and associated Inspectorate, and designed and led the restructuring of NHS Wales organisations in 2002/3 and 2008/9. She was the Accounting Officer responsible to the UK and Welsh Governments and Parliaments for all issues affecting the governance and financial management of the Welsh organisations.
She occupied the position of Health and Social Care Appointments Commissioner for London for 2 years, overseeing the competence of NHS Boards and their non-executives. She advised and supported the Chair and the CEO of NHS London on the governance and leadership criteria required for the reorganisation of the London NHS bodies.
Ann has been operating as an independent advisor and coach since 2012, specialising in Board effectiveness and governance reviews, skills audits and Board Development and special investigations.
She has recently completed an independent review for the Welsh Health Minister into service planning engagement and consultation systems in Wales to recommend any changes that should be made and has led the targeted intervention review for Welsh Government into the North Wales Health Services and Board. She evaluates, assesses and coaches executives, chairs and non-executives in the public and not for profit sectors and is a qualified mentor and trained coach.
She was a senior associate with the Good Governance Institute between 2011 and 2018. Ann has also been a trustee of a number of charities, including the Shaw Trust and she was chair of Mind Cymru until 2017, when she was appointed as Chair of Aneurin Bevan University Health Board.
Nicola started working in the NHS in 1991 as a finance management trainee. Since qualifying in 1995 as a Chartered Accountant with CIPFA she has held a number of senior finance roles across South Wales, including 16 years working for Cardiff and Vale University Health Board.
After joining Aneurin Bevan University Health Board in 2014, initially as an Assistant Finance Director, Nicola quickly progressed to be appointed to the role of Executive Director of Planning, Digital and IT in 2015 and more recently she took on the role of Deputy Chief Executive.
Nicola led the Clinical Futures Programme across the Health Board area and the opening of The Grange University Hospital in 2020. She is passionate about the continuous improvement of services and ensuring patients and the public are at the heart of our planning.
Nicola is also a strong advocate of personal development and training to ensure staff are well equipped and motivated to deliver the challenges of working for the NHS.
Nicola was appointed as Chief Executive of the Health Board in September 2022.
Proud to work and live in Wales, Nicola enjoys spending time with her family and friends.
Fin Monahan joined East Lowlands University Air Squadron in 1987 and went on to join the Regular RAF in 199 at the Royal Air Force College Cranwell. He has just finished his RAF service as the Director of the UK Defence think tank and has been recruited as the Chief Fire Officer for South Wales to lead the organisation through a major modernisation and change programme. .
Fin has extensive operational experience flying and commanding operations. He flew missions over the Balkans and was decorated with a Distinguished Flying Cross for a mission in Afghanistan. He was a Deployed Operating Base Commander supporting operations in Mali and also set up the NATO Rapid Reaction Deployed Operating Base in 2013. More recently, he took part in the NATO response to the invasion of Ukraine as an augmentee Director of the NATO Joint Force Air Component directing the air operations of the 32 NATO+ nations across Europe from the arctic to the Black Sea.
Fin has a lot of international experience including a A4K Skyhawk flying on an exchange tour in New Zealand, instructor at the Tactical Leadership Programme in Belgium and Staff College in India. He has also examined air forces across the world as the Commandant of the Central Flying School. In that role he was also the Commanding Officer of the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team, The Red Arrows.
Fin has served twice at US European Command in Stuttgart specialising in Russia and Ukraine in addition to the broader dynamics across Europe, the Atlantic, Mediterranean and Arctic. In that post, in 2015, he identified an opportunity for the UK to train Ukrainian forces with the US and Canada. Thus, he set up a training programme that would become the highly successful Operation ORBITAL that had trained thousands of Ukrainians prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Fin has pursued a parallel academic career exploring the philosophies of warfare, air power and doctrine and has a PhD in Military History and Military Organisational Culture and was also the Head of Doctrine, Air Space and Cyber at the Development, Concepts and Doctrine Centre (DCDC) and then later its Director.
Fin has now retired from the RAF and is the Chief Fire Officer of South Wales Fire and Rescue Service leading the organisation through a major operational and cultural change.
Married with three children, Fin enjoys skiing, mountaineering, sailing, diving and fly fishing and is a bi-lingual French speaker.
Chief Constable Mark Hobrough joined Gwent Police in 2020 as the chief superintendent in charge of local policing for Caerphilly, Torfaen and Blaenau Gwent, before becoming assistant chief constable in January 2022.
With more than 28 years of service, his varied policing career has included planning and implementing high-profile events and operations, leading organisational reform programmes along with community and partnership roles.
Mark gained a BA honours degree in financial economics before he joined South Wales Police in 1995. He’s previously worked as police dog handler and is a trained tactical firearms commander and hostage negotiator. He developed those skills to become a specialist strategic firearms commander, gold public order commander, gold CBRN commander and the Welsh regions’ lead counter terrorism security co-ordinator.
His policing career has taken him around the globe; he’s worked overseas for the Kenyan Police in Nairobi, as well as the Queensland Police in Australia to support the policing of the Commonwealth Games in 2018.
In 2020, during a challenging time for all in our communities, Mark was responsible for the force’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic as gold lead.
During his time in Gwent, Mark has led the development of the roads policing and specialist operations (RPSO) department, as well as the review of our uniformed policing operating model.
He is the National Police Chief’s Council’s (NPCC) lead on animal diseases, an important area of risk linked to wider civil contingencies. Mark is also the NPCC lead for dangerous dogs, providing national operational perspectives on crime and policing issues relating to this and more recently has become the NPCC lead for Public Order and Public Safety.
Mark feels passionately about improving public confidence through improving performance, and is keen to drive crime prevention and reduction, ethical and prompt crime recording and thoroughness of investigations by a professional and positive workforce.
Jane Mudd is the elected Police and Crime Commissioner for Gwent. First elected to this role in May 2024, Jane is a member of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC) and represents Gwent OPCC on the Policing in Wales board. She is the Policing in Wales PCC lead for partnerships and community safety and the joint lead for substance misuse. Jane is the Co-chair of the Wales Safer Communities Board and is also a national APCC deputy lead for substance misuse.
Prior to her election to the role of Police and Crime Commissioner Jane served as the elected Leader of Newport City Council where she was portfolio holder for Strategic Finance and Economic Growth. A proud Newportonian Jane has always been committed to working in partnership for the benefit of Newport, the wider Gwent and Cardiff Capital Regions. Jane represented Newport on Cardiff Capital Region Cabinet and was CCR portfolio holder for Data driven Economy and Skills. Jane is also a Vice Chair of the Cardiff Capital Region cabinet. She also served as Deputy Chair of the cross border Western Gateway economic partnership; of which Newport was a founding member and she was also a member and vice chair of the Key Cities Executive board.
During her political career Jane was also the Deputy Presiding Officer of the Welsh Local Government Association and served as a WLGA Social Justice spokesperson. Jane has been a key contributor to the WLGA/LGA Civility in Public Life and Diversity in Democracy campaigns. She was also the WLGA co-chair of the Wales Safer Communities Board also representing Gwent local authorities on this partnership. Jane was also the lead WLGA Spokesperson for Digital and Innovation, Chair of the WLGA Digital Leadership Board and a member of the Local Government Association Improvement Board.
With over 20 years’ experience in higher education and research, Jane has a background in Housing and Regeneration. She was formerly the Head of the Department of Social Policy at Cardiff Metropolitan University and is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. A fully qualified Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Housing and former Chair of CIH Cymru, Jane is also a former Board Chair of Newport City Homes and previously served as an Independent Member of the Regulatory Board for Wales.
Siân Curley has been Chief Executive since January 2016. Siân is responsible for the day to day management of the Office of Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) and its staff. She provides leadership and effective, high quality guidance, advice and support to the Commissioner to ensure he meets his statutory duties, strategic objectives and the needs of the public. She also provides an essential link between the OPCC and Gwent Police including the Chief Constable, as well as partner organisations. As Chief Executive, Siân also holds the statutory roles of Head of Paid Service and Monitoring Officer.
Siân has an Master’s degree in Leadership in Public Service and a Bachelor’s degree in French, Spanish and Legal Studies.
Siân has previously worked for Gwent Police Authority, Newport City Council and the University of Wales College Newport (now part of the University of South Wales). Her background is in corporate governance, democratic services, complaints and conduct matters and change management.
Siân is currently a Vice Chair of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners Chief Executives, the professional body which represents Chief Executives of PCC’s offices in England and Wales.
Victoria Harris is an Assistant Chief Probation Officer working as Head of Gwent Probation Delivery Unit. With almost 25 years working for the Probation Service, she qualified as a Probation officer in 2003 and has worked in local Courts, sentence management locations and outreach hubs. Victoria has experience of working with those involved in the Criminal Justice Service, prioritising protecting the public and keeping people safe. She has worked in partnership with local stakeholders across Wales, and has focused on strategic planning for services to women and young people through a lead role in Blueprints for Women, Youth Justice and VAWDASV. Now based across Gwent, Victoria is committed to building positive relationships and partnerships in Gwent communities to support rehabilitation and public protection, and strengthen public confidence in criminal justice.
Stephen is the Chief Executive Officer for the Gwent Association of Voluntary Organisations (GAVO). GAVO is the largest County Voluntary Council (CVC) in Wales.
In 2014 Stephen began working for Caerphilly County Borough Council. During his 17 years working for the Council, Stephen worked predominantly for Social Services Finance. After becoming a registered Accountant through the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, he joined GAVO as a Finance Manager.
In 2016, Stephen progressed from this Finance role to the post of Deputy Chief Executive Officer in which he helped embed the GAVO strategy and Third Sector voice, into the Public Service initiatives across the regions of Blaenau Gwent and Caerphilly.
In April 2020 Stephen was appointed as the GAVO Chief Executive Officer and in doing so, has expanded on the previous responsibilities, to drive the Organisation and its strategy forward. As CEO of a CVC it is important, to ensure full integration of the Organisation, and the voice of the Third Sector into the Public Service landscape and structures across all GAVO regions within Gwent.
Stephen is passionate about Communities and the Third Sector, and ensures that the voice of the Sector is heard, with a specific key aim and desire to work in collaboration and with integration of all partners.
Being a strong advocate for personal training and self-development, since becoming a qualified Accountant, Stephen has moved onto becoming a Fellow of the Institute of Leadership and Management through achieving the Level 5 and Level 7 accreditation.
Stephen lives in the Caerphilly Borough with his wife and 2 children and in his spare time enjoys travelling, volunteering as a football coach, walking, sport and cycling.
While previously seconded to the Welsh Government Louise undertook a study on how the Government might work with Welsh Universities to increase the levels of Research Council income. The outcomes of the study formed the basis for a Ministerial approved report with policy implications. During her secondment she was also responsible for drafting a proposal to establish a National Science Academy for Wales. This was approved and Louise went on to work with Welsh Government on a consultancy basis including projects on the delivery of the National Science Academy and Welsh Government’s Innovation Policy.
Louise was the Associate Director of the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education with responsibility for Wales. This role built on her experience of developing research students and academics to become effective researchers.
Louise is a peer reviewer for the HR Excellence in Research Award and was a member of the Chief Science Advisor for Wales Task and Finish Group which informed a report on women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Medicine in Wales. Louise also leads the Wales Women in STEM Network and is a member of Welsh Government’s Equality in STEM Board.
Scottish by nationality, Diane first came to Wales to attend Cardiff University to study Law. After qualification Diane worked in the City of London in private practice in the field of regulatory law, undertaking prosecutions in professional conduct matters primarily involving the medical profession and senior police officers.
Moving into the public sector, Diane returned to Wales to join what was at the time the legal department of the National Assembly for Wales. Diane has advised the Welsh Government for the last 20 years across the broad range of the Government’s responsibilities.
Diane holds a senior leadership position within the Welsh Government, with responsibility for leading legal services staff and for the delivery of a high quality service.
Outside of her legal role, Diane has been engaged for a number of years as a school governor with additional responsibility for safeguarding and additional learning needs.
Diane is also a committee member of Public Law Wales and has taught legal subjects to part time students at college in the evenings.
