Richard has served as Chief Executive in North Yorkshire for more than 16 years, first leading North Yorkshire County Council for 12 years and, more recently, the new unitary North Yorkshire Council. Covering the largest geographical area in England, North Yorkshire Council serves around 640,000 residents and is the third-largest unitary authority in the country, widely recognised as one of the highest performing councils in England.

During his tenure, he led the council through the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and local government reorganisation, while also playing a key role in securing the devolution deal for North Yorkshire and York, which resulted in the establishment of the Mayoral Combined Authority in 2024.

He chairs the North Yorkshire Chief Executives Group, the North Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum and the North Yorkshire Locality Health Board. He is also Honorary Secretary of the Association of County Chief Executives, Chair of the Yorkshire and Humber Children’s Services Improvement Board, and a member of the National Lead Chief Executives Board for Children’s Services.

In addition, Richard is a member of the College of Fellows for Trading Standards and was recently made Vice President of the Chartered Trading Standards Institute.