Nugent started her role as chief executive of Coventry City Council in June 2023. Over the past 20 years, she has shown a strong track record in attracting and delivering investment to support businesses, people and communities. Nugent has worked at a senior level across various organisations at a national, regional, and local level – including senior roles in government, the voluntary and education sectors. Most recently, Nugent was executive director for economy, skills, and communities at the West Midlands Combined Authority, where she was responsible for delivery across economic development, employment and skills, health and communities. She played a critical role in negotiating two devolution deals that resulted in more funding being released to the West Midlands region. This included leading the investment of more than £500m into training and employment support programmes that have helped thousands of local people get the skills and support they needed to secure jobs. Nugent has also led large-scale transformation programmes, overseeing the delivery of improved services to businesses and people.