Ategi is delighted to announce the start of it's new CEO, Kate Allen. Read Kate's blog to mark her first week at Ategi.
By Kate Allen
Shwmae pawb/Hello everyone, it is lovely to finally be here.
It feels incredible that here we are in the full thrust of spring and yet I first saw Ategi was looking for a new Chief Executive before Christmas! As with each and every year, 2022 is flying by… but there is much to look forward to.
Firstly, my thanks to Andrew and Maxine, two people we support who assisted Ategi in the recruitment process. It was a comprehensive process with 3 interviews; with people we support, the senior leadership team and the Board of trustees, and a psychometric test. Having been put through my paces, I feel privileged to have been appointed.
Having been put through my paces, I feel privileged to have been appointed.
I have worked in adult social care for over 20 years and come to Ategi from an Autism specialist support provider in England where I was CEO for 7 years. With 300 staff providing frontline to support to more than 400 extremely vulnerable adults, the Covid pandemic made the last couple of years particularly hard, as it was for so many people. I have also been a charity trustee for more than 10 years, my current role is on the Board of ACEVO, a charity providing assistance to leaders in the Third Sector across the UK.
Frustrated at the lack of financial recognition for those who work so hard and care so much, I started the #betterpay4socialcare campaign in 2020 which concluded with a petition of more than 10,000 signatures going to HM Treasury autumn last year. I am a firm believer of speaking up and doing all I can when something needs to be done.
I’m keen to explore how we can reach more people who need us, but first and foremost, my priority will be on ensuring that we keep providing excellent support to the people we support right now.
My first few days and weeks will be spent meeting lots people and gathering as much information as I can to enable me to steer us through the next stage in Ategi’s life. We provide such valuable support services, that I’m keen to explore how we can reach more people who need us, but first and foremost, my priority will be on ensuring that we keep providing excellent support to the people we support right now – and I’m looking forward to meeting those people, their carers, relatives and staff and hearing feedback. Being Carmarthenshire based and a regular M4 user I’ll keep my podcasts topped up as I travel around!
I look forward to meeting everyone conntected to Ategi over the coming weeks and months and I’ll share with you another update at the end of my first 100 days.
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About the author
Kate Allen
Kate joined Ategi after seven years as Chief Executive at Autism at Kingswood, a charity and support provider of services to Autistic adults and young people in England.
Driving continuous improvement in the delivery of services is compulsory to Kate who says: “The service we provide directly affects the lives others, therefore every person working in social care has an enormous responsibility to do the absolute best they can to ensure people receiving our services get the highest quality of support possible.”