Meet the Town Deal board members and download their conflict of interests.
Chair of Workington Town Deal Board - John Coughlan
John Coughlan is an award-winning executive, board leader, and Doctor of Business Administration with over two decades of transformative leadership across manufacturing, engineering, healthcare, and public sector governance.
As former CEO of TSP Engineering and Global President of UpRight International, he has steered complex organisations through strategic realignment, operational excellence, and cultural transformation. John’s governance portfolio spans NHS Trusts, LEPs, and educational institutions, where he has served as Chair, NED, and Trustee, championing ethical leadership and values-driven strategy.
His academic foundation includes a Doctorate in Business, an MBA, LLM in Business Law, and advanced certification in disruptive strategy from Harvard. John's Doctorate in Business Administration focused on organisational culture and strategic alignment.
A Fellow of both the Institute of Directors and the Institute of Manufacturing, John combines rigorous academic insight with boardroom pragmatism. He now advises organisations on decoding and embedding culture to unlock strategic advantage and improved profitability, drawing on his research and lived experience to foster alignment, resilience, and purpose-led performance.
Anthony Wareing (Workington Heritage Group)
Anthony Wareing was born and has lived in Workington all his life, giving him valuable knowledge of the town’s areas, cultures and heritage.
After completing an apprenticeship as a design draughtsman at a large local engineering company, his career continued in local engineering. He became owner and Managing Director of West Cumberland Engineering Ltd and later served as Construction Director for Shepley Engineers Ltd.
Academically, Anthony was educated locally in engineering, ultimately earning an MSc from Cranfield Institute of Technology.
He has been actively involved in many community organisations, including serving as a governor of local education establishments, a member of the Rotary Club of Workington, and a member of the Workington Community Emergency Response Group. For the past 15 years, Anthony has chaired the Workington Heritage Group, which manages the Helena Thompson Museum. He is also a retired Justice of the Peace, having served in West Cumbria for almost 20 years.
David Taylor (Allerdale Investment Partnership)
Born and educated in the south of Scotland, David qualified as an architect and urban planner in the early 1970s. He has worked extensively across the private, public and voluntary sectors and was the founding CEO of Lancashire Enterprises, AMEC Developments and English Partnerships.
He has built, developed and sold several companies in the green and environmental sectors. His experience includes serving on the boards of the Manchester Commonwealth Games and London 2012, as well as acting as Deputy Chairman of Preston North End for 35 years.
From 2014 to 2023, he was Chairman of UCLan. He served as High Sheriff of Lancashire in 2023–24 and is currently Chairman of the Employment Advisory Board at HMP Kirkham.
Councillor Michael Heaslip (Workington Town Council)
Michael has chaired the Environment Committee of Workington Council since 2023. Previously, from 2011 to 2019, he served as Executive Member for Environmental Quality at Allerdale Council.
Since 2015, he has been Chair of Westlakes Research Ltd, part of the University of Lancashire group. The organisation funds research into social inclusion, health, culture and public policy governance at the West Cumberland campus near Whitehaven.
He spent 30 years working in local government in West Cumbria as a policy officer, focusing on employment, economic development and sustainable communities strategies and programmes.
A longtime company secretary of Workington RFC (Zebras), he attended school in Workington before graduating from Manchester University in 1973.
Mike Renouf (Christ Central Workington, Churches Together in Workington and District)
Mike Renouf is leader of Christ Central in Workington, which meets at the Bridge Centre in Central Square, a church of around 150 people of which about 70% are international and nearly half are under 18. Mike has been in leadership of charismatic and Pentecostal churches since the 1980s, while also in mostly full-time employment until retiring from professional work in 2021.
Mike was in radiation instruments R&D in physics and engineering for 20+ years, living in Reading, before joining Sellafield for 20+ years as a radiation protection specialist and advisor. He is Fellow of both The Institute of Physics and The Society for Radiological Protection.
Mike and his wife Fiona and family moved to Cumbria in 1998 and, from early on, always felt drawn to Workington. They moved to the town in 2007 and have been key members of Churches Together in Workington & District and have wanted to serve the town and its communities as best possible, eg Fiona has been manager of the North Lakes Foodbank distribution centre at the Bridge Centre for the last 13 years. Mike has been part of the Twinning Association for the last 10 years, particularly with links to our French twin, Val de Reuil, and part of the Carnegie Singers for the last 2+ years. He and Fiona want our town to prosper in every way.
Councillor Denise Rollo (Cumberland Council)
After leaving school, Denise began her career in local government. She has since built extensive experience in the public sector and now works as a consultant.
Denise helps public sector organisations navigate complex challenges and deliver effective solutions. She specialises in strategic infrastructure and regeneration projects that drive economic growth and sustainability.
Her role as a member of Cumberland Council has been focused on delivering projects that strengthen infrastructure and supports economic growth and connectivity for residents.
Councillor Barbara Cannon (Cumberland Council)
Josh Macalister (Member of Parliament)
Councillor Mark Fryer (Cumberland Council)