Brad became Chief Executive of Southampton City Council in 2001. Previously he was Chief Executive of Carmarthenshire County Council, a unitary authority in West Wales, and Chief Executive of East Hampshire District Council. He had moved there from the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in 1988, where he had been in charge of Corporate Policy and Performance.

His origins are in Wimbledon where he was brought up under the shadow of the famous tennis courts. He went to Westminster College in London and from there he went into the NHS as an internal management adviser prior to joining local government.

Brad has a drive to use good management approaches to deliver better public services, which is particularly relevant to his role in Southampton, where he also lives.