Derrick has a long history of working in the public sector and came to Wolverhampton in 1991 to work as Director of Leisure Services at Wolverhampton Council, he became Chief Executive in 1996 and then moved to be Chief executive of London Borough of Lambeth in 2006, stepping down in 2014.
He was a non-executive director of Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games and a founding trustee of Commonwealth Games Legacy Trust 2022. He is also an Independent member of the Strategic Boards of the World Blind Games 2023 and is a director of Wave Trust.
Awarded CBE in 2003 for services to Local Government