Chief executive of South East housing association to retire after 15 years

The landlord also delivers build-to-rent homes through its Thrive Places arm.

Ms Mackenzie’s career spanned four decades in property management, strategic planning, organisational development and the governance of housing associations.

She has also taken on several non-executive roles, such as vice-chair of Crown Housing Association and chair of Grange Housing, and she is on the local strategic partnership board at Three Rivers District Council in Hertfordshire.

Previously, Ms Mackenzie chaired the National Housing Federation East region leaders’ group and is a member of Hertfordshire County Council Homes’ Right Places working group.

Ms Mackenzie said: “It has been an absolute privilege to lead Thrive Homes for the past decade-and-a-half. As a leading housing association, we do vital work in providing homes for those the market fails to serve.

“I am very proud of what we have achieved in the time I have been chief executive. It has been a pleasure to work with such a talented group of people and I am confident that the organisation is in safe and capable hands.”

Thrive Homes said its board was “dedicated to ensuring” work continues as normal during the transition period.

Last month, Thrive appointed Kate Still as the new chair of its board. Ms Still was chief operating officer at Citizen Housing from 2017 to 2020.

Ms Still said she will “relish the challenge of helping the organisation to drive forward its mission of improving access to affordable housing in some of the least affordable parts of the UK”.