NEWS: Cate McLaurin to head up Public Digital’s work with Local Government

Our senior director, Cate McLaurin, has been appointed our first  Head of Local Government. This new role, which follows Cate’s recent promotion, sees her leading on growing our work with local authorities, as well as managing a team of consultants working across the UK.

Cate joined PD in 2021 after holding senior roles in local government, most recently as Head of Delivery at the London Borough of Hackney. There, she led the council’s agile delivery function through both the COVID-19 pandemic and a major cyber attack, working closely with security services and central government to restore services and protect public data.

At PD, we apply the same agile principles, user focus, and commitment to long-term capability to our work with local government as we do to our work across central government and international institutions. Since joining PD, Cate has led complex transformation programmes across health, housing, and local services — working with organisations including the NHS, Arup, Greenwich Council, and Surrey Council.

Emma Gawen, Public Digital’s Managing Director said:

“Cate’s leadership in local government has been quietly transformational. She brings the same discipline, ambition, and clarity of thought to local government that we’ve long applied in all our work. Her ability to lead delivery, develop strong client relationships, and think strategically about the sector’s future makes this recognition very well deserved."

Cate McLaurin said:

“The challenges facing local government today are acute — and the opportunities for meaningful change are just as real. Councils are under pressure, but they’re also full of talented people determined to do things differently. At PD, we work alongside those people — supporting brave leadership, practical action, and digital change that sticks. I’m excited to grow our team and build on what we’ve started.”