Tom Riordan

Thomas Messenger Riordan CBE is an English civil servant. He was Chief Executive of Leeds City Council from August 2010 until September 2024, and spent three months working part-time for the UK government from May 2020 leading the Contain strand within COVID-19 NHS Test and Trace programme, setting out the framework for managing local COVID-19 outbreaks.

Early life and education Riordan was born and educated in Northallerton, North Yorkshire. He graduated in Modern History from Trinity College, Oxford in 1989. He gained an MBA at Imperial College in 1997. Due to his parents' mental health problems, Riordan spent periods in care before the age of four, thereafter returning home.

In September 2024, Riordan announced he was leaving his role at Leeds City Council after 14 years to take up a new position at the Department of Health and Social Care as Second Permanent Secretary.

Coronavirus

In May 2020 Riordan agreed to spend three months, part-time, leading the UK government COVID-19 tracing system. He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2020 New Year Honours for services to local government.