Housing Moves: our round-up of senior sector appointments in January 2025

Wayne Gethings has been appointed as group chief executive at Housing Plus Group, following its merger with The Wrekin Housing Group. Mr Gethings was group chief executive at Wrekin. Jan Lycett (pictured, top) has been appointed as executive director of integration and change; David Wells as executive director of customer experience; Jon Lamb as executive director of finance; Les Clarke as executive director of care and support; and Andrew Kenny as executive director of property.

Michelle Reynolds, chief customer officer at Clarion, has announced she will step down, leaving the sector after a 35-year career. Ms Reynolds is expected to leave the organisation in late summer after a transitory hand-over period with her successor.

Caroline Wallace has been appointed as chief finance officer at Beyond Housing, replacing Steve Rawson, who was undertaking the role on an interim basis in addition to his chief operating officer duties. Ms Wallace was director of finance at Bernicia Homes.

Jon McMahon has been appointed as chief finance officer at Alliance Homes. Mr McMahon was finance director at PG Group.

Mark Dilley has been appointed as chief financial officer at Keepmoat. Previously, Mr Dilley was chief financial officer at Tilia Homes, group finance director at Town Centre Securities, and vice-president of retail and property finance at Asda.

Lincolnshire Housing Partnership has appointed four new executive directors: David Smith as executive director of finance, Charlotte Johnson as executive director of property, and Nicola Ebdon as executive director of governance and regulation, while Tony Blewitt has been appointed as interim executive director of finance, following the retirement of Kathryn Price, until Mr Smith joins as the permanent director.

Yorkshire Housing has made two high-level promotions. Sian Webster has been promoted to executive director of growth and assets, from her role as director of development, assets and sustainability. Rob Parkes has been promoted to executive director of finance and governance, from his role as director of finance.

Chris Morris (pictured, above) has started as executive director of customer, communities and homes at Plus Dane. Mr Morris was director of property services at Progress Housing Group.

Paul Howes has been appointed as executive director of corporate services at Southway Housing Trust. Mr Howes was assistant director – business growth and transformation at Stockport Homes.

Platform Housing Group has appointed Lianne Taylor as director of sustainability. Ms Taylor was head of environmental sustainability at Graham Group.

Samantha England has been promoted to director of people at Gentoo, from her role as head of HR.

Lisa Olsen has been appointed as director of customer services at Livv Housing Group. Ms Olsen was director of customer experience at Halton Housing.

Andrew Bannister has been appointed as assistant director of repairs at Two Rivers Housing. Mr Bannister was land, development and regeneration manager at Connexus Homes.

Orbit has appointed two new customer board members. Maxwell Doku is finance business partner at the Nursing and Midwifery Council, and Sayo Ogundayo has been appointed as a non-executive director. Mr Ogundayo has experience in technology, sales and client relationship management, working with organisations such as Amazon Web Services, Atos IT Services and Worldline.

B3Living has appointed Andy Walder as board member and chair designate, succeeding current chair David Biggs, who will reach the end of his term in September 2025. Previously, Mr Walder held senior roles at Grand Metropolitan Retailing, Whitbread and Allied Domecq. Amanda Tomlinson, chief executive at Black Country Housing Group, also joins the B3Living board.

Golden Lane Housing has appointed two new members to the board. Steve Secker, previously managing director at McCarthy Stone, has been appointed as chair of the board, while Jason Ridley has been appointed as chair of the risk and audit committee.

Trent & Dove has appointed two new board members: Colum Goodchild and Grant Mitchell. Mr Goodchild is director of strategic advisory services at Aqua Consultants, and Mr Mitchell has a development and community regeneration background.

Magna Housing has appointed two new board members: Jens Gemmel von Döllinger and Linda Page. Mr Gemmel von Döllinger’s background is in public sector transformation, while Ms Page founded an architectural design practice.

Bournville Village Trust has recruited four new board members. Adem Mahmoud is head of communities (central region) at Places for People and Kate Foley recently retired as housing and customer services director at The Pioneer Group. Mark Cadbury and George Woods have been appointed as Cadbury-family trustees. Mr Cadbury is the acting chief marketing officer of charity Bath Recreation, and Mr Woods is a barrister specialising in commercial, construction and insurance law, working at South West London Law Centres.