Appointments round-up: August 2024

Eastlight Community Homes

Essex-based housing association Eastlight Community Homes has appointed Alex Bowden to the newly created role of head of treasury and strategic finance.

He brings over two decades of experience in the affordable housing sector, working for both housing associations and lenders. This includes management roles at Nationwide, BPHA and, most recently, The Housing Finance Corporation, where he was relationship and portfolio manager.

At Eastlight, he will lead and develop the treasury team, increasing capacity in the areas of business planning, fundraising and investment appraisal.

Kingdom Housing Association

Scottish social landlord Kingdom Housing Association has promoted Leigh Grubb to the newly created role of group director of corporate services.

He joined Kingdom in November 2023 as executive director of finance. Before this, he was director of finance and governance at Caledonia Housing Association. The new role gives Mr Grubb responsibility for people, digital, performance risk and governance, as well as finance functions.

Chartered Institute of Housing

The Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) has elected Julie Haydon, who is director of corporate services at ALMO Wolverhampton Homes, as its next vice-president.

She will take up the role this October, when current CIH vice-president and chief operating officer of Peabody Elly Hoult replaces Jill Murray as president. Ms Haydon is then expected to become the group’s president the following year.

Anchor

Anchor has appointed Lyn Romeo to its board as a non-executive director.

She brings over 30 years of experience at a senior leadership level in commissioning, regulation, quality assurance and delivering social care, health and housing services for disabled adults and older people. Ms Romeo served as England’s chief social worker for adults for 10 years, until February 2024.

Stirling Council

Stirling Council has hired Caroline Sinclair as chief executive.

She joins from East Dunbartonshire Health and Social Care Partnership, where she spent the past six years, first as head of service before becoming chief officer in January 2020.

Before this, Ms Sinclair spent 15 years at the Orkney Islands Council, working in a wide variety of social care roles, including almost three years as chief officer of Orkney Health and Care Partnership.

Capsticks

Capsticks has appointed Gavinder Ryait as a partner to join the law firm’s national housing team.

The social housing lawyer, who has over 20 years of experience in the sector, will lead the firm’s housing management team in London.

Ms Ryait’s expertise is in housing management litigation, particularly injunctions, possession claims, closure orders and high-profile, complex anti-social behaviour matters. She joins from Birketts, where she was partner and assistant head of housing management for social housing.

Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation

Liz Pearce will step down from the board of Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation, one of the mayor of London’s development corporations, in November, after completing her second term. She spent seven years spearheading one of the capital’s largest regeneration projects.

Since she was appointed by the mayor as chair of the corporation in 2017, Ms Pearce has overseen the regeneration plans of the Old Oak and Park Royal Opportunity Area, where over 25,000 new homes are targeted.

Homeless Network Scotland

Homeless Network Scotland, a charity that works to bring together organisations, individuals and sectors that want to put an end to homelessness, has appointed Mhairi Snowden as head of policy and programmes.

Ms Snowden, who will take up the post in September, joins from the Human Rights Consortium Scotland, where she is director. She has a background in policy and research around children’s and disabled students’ rights and social work, and previously worked in government and for Scottish and international non-governmental organisations.