Appointments round-up: July 2024

Settle

 

Settle – which manages more than 10,000 homes across Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and South Cambridgeshire – has hired Iain Bacon as executive director of finance after he served in the role on an interim basis since March.

 

Mr Bacon has more than 12 years of experience in housing, including senior finance roles at several social landlords. These include Shepherds Bush Housing Group, Viridian Housing, Gateway Housing Association, GreenSquareAccord and Guinness South (now The Guinness Partnership).

 

Settle has also promoted Donna North from assistant director of people and engagement to the newly created role of executive director, central services.

 

Moat Homes

 

Moat Homes, which manages more than 22,000 homes across the South East, has appointed Gavin Cansfield as its new chief executive.

 

Mr Cansfield, who has 30 years of experience in housing, has served as chief executive of Settle in its various forms since 2015. He is also chair of HACT.

 

Steve Nunn, executive director of growth at Moat, has been serving as the acting chief executive since Mary Gibbons stepped down in February after less than two years in charge.

 

Two Rivers Housing

 

Two Rivers Housing has promoted Carol Dover from corporate director of resources to deputy chief executive. Ms Dover has served in the former role since 2019.

 

She has experience in both the commercial and social housing sectors and was head of finance at recruitment firm Connexus before joining Gloucestershire-based Two Rivers.

 

Prior to this, she was deputy director of finance at the University of Worcester and head of finance at Marches Housing Association in Herefordshire.

Beyond Housing

 

Beyond Housing, which manages around 15,000 homes across Teeside and North Yorkshire, is searching for a new chief finance officer.

 

This is to replace Kevin Hanlon after nearly five years in the role. It recently emerged that Mr Hanlon left in April this year, but the reason for his departure is not known.

 

Newbridge

 

Financial advisory firm Newbridge Advisors has appointed Gows Shugumaran as a director to join and help expand its treasury advisory practice, focused on housing and real estate clients.

 

The new hire has experience in treasury advisory, business-planning, mergers and acquisitions, fundraising, consultancy, and risk solutions. Mr Shugumaran joins from Chatham Financial and has also previously worked in analyst roles at One Housing and PA Housing.

 

FAHHA

 

FAHHA, a London-based for-profit owned by the UK affordable housing fund of Edmond de Rothschild Real Estate Investment Management, a major European investment group, has hired Richard McCarthy, who was chief executive of Peabody between 1999 and 2003.

 

Mr McCarthy, who was previously the firm’s vice-chair, has replaced Keith Jenkins, who has served as chair since 2015.

 

Thrive Homes

 

Thrive Homes, which manages 5,500 homes across Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire, has appointed Kate Still as chair.

 

Ms Still brings more than 15 years of experience to the role. She has worked in government; within housing associations, including as chief operating officer and managing director, and in other executive roles; and for private sector developers.

 

She has also served as a board advisor to the Homes and Communities Agency, where she focused on the role of intersectional economic inequality in housing policy.

 

Heylo Housing

 

For-profit Heylo Housing has hired two non-executive directors, Ebele Akojie (pictured), an experienced social housing finance boss, and Jason Green, a corporate finance advisor.

 

Ms Akojie has experience at several housing associations in executive and non-executive director roles. She has served as chief financial officer at One Housing, financial strategy and operations director at Notting Hill Genesis and executive director of finance and resources at Settle.