Michael Williams (*1948, Great Britain) has been Director of Leisure and Community Service for the city of Nottingham since 1992. He is the chairman of the EUROCITIES culture forum, Brussels. He began his career in various departments of Leicester City Council, until becoming Deputy Director of Recreation and Arts. In the early 1990’s he was Director of Leisure Services in Southend-on-Sea, where he was responsible for leisure facilities, museums, arts promotion and sport. The key areas of his Department of Leisure and Community Service at Nottingham City Council are the improvement and modernisation of the city’s leisure, heritage and arts facilities, e.g. the renovation of Wollaton Hall and Park as well as the construction of Centre for Contemporary Arts in Nottingham (CCAN). In recent changes Michael also leads the Council’s approach to neighbourhood management and customer focus across the City.