Stephen Vickersis the Joint Chief Executive of two Welsh local authorities, providing system leadership across place, public services and partnerships with a strong focus on tackling health inequalities.
He plays a key leadership role in the development and translation of regional and national priorities ensuring councils across Wales act on the wider determinants of health through housing, early years, employment, community wellbeing and prevention‑led services.
Stephen is an active national contributor to Wales’s health equity agenda. He represents local government on the Health Equity Wales – Marmot Nation Delivery Board, for supporting the Welsh Government’s ambition for Wales to become the world’s first Marmot Nation, embedding Sir Michael Marmot’s principles into policy and practice at both national and local levels.
Stephen served as the SOLACE lead for Wales for Health and Social Care until May 2026. This role has since been replaced by the SOLACE lead for Wales for Inequalities and Public Health.
Through a federated leadership model, Stephen has championed place‑based, whole‑system approaches that bring together councils, health, police, housing, the voluntary sector and communities to reduce inequalities and shift demand away from crisis response towards early intervention and community resilience. He is a visible advocate for proportionate universalism, shared accountability and the use of data and lived experience to inform decisions that narrow health gaps and improve outcomes for the most disadvantaged communities.