This paper examines the initial experience of directly-elected mayors in the new combined authorities established in England. Do they have an innovative strategic leadership role for sub-national areas and provide a vehicle for effective public engagement, representing a new start for the hitherto faltering progress of the elected mayoral initiative? Alternatively, are the combined authority mayors just another policy failure in the uneven process of local government reform? Central government has created the office of directly-elected mayor and local government has to live with the consequences for good or ill. This paper deals with the role of directly-elected mayors for the combined authorities, raising questions about the effective leadership of sub-national areas of England. The new mayors may require a 'boldness' to work across the boundaries of bureaucratic organizations and to engage with external partners and they enjoy some limited additional resources. Central government explicitly expects the combined authority mayor to exercise their greater powers more efficiently than traditional council leaders. Yet such mayors may lack public endorsement or any degree of active public interest and may ultimately reflect government obsession with structures rather than human agency in reforming local governance.