When it come to diverse councils, Lambeth LBC must be near the top of the list. Perhaps best known, historically, for the Brixton riots in the early 1980s, this corner of south London has also made a name for itself by spawning inspirational leaders. Police commander Brian Paddick championed a liberal approach to drugs in the borough a few years ago, and back in the 1990s, Heather Rabbatts became one of the most high-profile council chief executives in the country when she took on the ‘worst job in local government’. Now, the latest person to take the top job at the council promises to be just as memorable. Derrick Anderson brings more than a career in local government with him to Lambeth. Born in east London, he moved to Birmingham in 1968 as an 11-year-old, when his parents split up, and went on to study psychology and physical education at the local university. ‘I have always been a bit of an amateur psychiatrist,’ he explains. ‘But I didn’t realise the difference between psychology and psychiatry at the time.’ An MA in social work followed an early career in the voluntary sector with crime-reduction charity NACRO, but frustration with the probation system led Mr Anderson to more inspirational ways of tackling youth crime. Having been inspired after listening to a speech on transferable skills – engaging people in something they are interested in, such as music – the 25-year-old found himself in charge of 400 staff at an organisation with this ethos at its centre. As well as a passion for music, Mr Anderson is something of an acclaimed amateur poet. His literary efforts were even the subject of a 1982 TV documentary, England their England. So what has he written poems about? ‘Give me a subject and I’ll write you a poem in 10 minutes,’ he says confidently. ‘I never did it for public consumption, it’s just a way of expressing myself. It helps me climb out of the day-to-day routine.’ The future council chief executive’s next career move saw him become deputy director of Arts Yorkshire, with the brief to help develop its work in the community. Next came a spell with Wakefield DC, developing its cultural and creative industries. ‘That led me to taking on libraries and sport,’ he says. By 1994, and still only 34 years old, Mr Anderson became Wakefield’s director of leisure, and two years later, he was chief executive of Wolverhampton City Council – one of only two Afro-Caribbean officers in the top post of a local authority. How significant is his ethnicity? ‘I can’t get away from the fact I am a black man,’ he says. ‘It’s affected the way I am today. It’s driven me and that is born of my experiences.’ And what of his experiences at Wolverhampton? ‘It’s a great place to work,’ he says. ‘And there’s a good member/officer interface.’ With a strong management team around him, Mr Anderson was able to increase the city’s influence, becoming a non-executive director at the Home Office, where he remains a diversity champion. ‘I was able to pilot a lot of innovative work in Wolverhampton,’ he says. ‘Such as single pot funding.’ He leaves Wolverhampton with a three-star CPA rating. ‘Improving well’ according to the Audit Commission. As well as the arts, sport is close to the heart of Lambeth’s new chief. He competed in national athletic events as a youngster, as well as making it to county level for cricket, rugby and basketball. Making it to that level in one sport would please most people, but Mr Anderson prefers to concentrate on other achievements. ‘I have always been mindful of the stereotype of black people in athletics,’ he explains. ‘It’s made me prouder about my academic achievements.’ These include a CBE, and an honorary degree from Staffordshire University. But with all this under his belt Mr Anderson is now taking on, arguably, his toughest challenge, although he is confident Lambeth – awarded two stars by the Audit Commission in December – is heading in the right direction. ‘There is some excellent work being done in Lambeth,’ he argues. ‘The inspections do not match the reality when one looks at the quality of leadership in schools. In children’s services, it’s as good as it gets.’ The turnaround in finance he describes as ‘astounding’, so the new chief’s energies are set to be deployed in changing the perception of the borough in government and nationally. But he still has plans to improve things internally too. Departments, says Mr Anderson, are working well, but the council is not working so well as a single unit. ‘It can’t punch its weight until it is,’ he warns. But, despite the mountain of work facing him at Lambeth, expect to see Derrick Anderson’s name connected with much more than just the council. On top of all his other activities he was asked by the UK Local Government Network in 1999 to work with the chief executive of a district of Johannesburg, South African, which included the township of Soweto. And he has even developed ‘micro networks’ in Mozambique to work with NGOs. ‘It’s my way of paying back for being fortunate enough to be on a good salary.’ n