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Former Citizen COO appointed chair of South East housing association
The former chief operating officer of Citizen has been appointed chair of a South East landlord.
Kate Still has taken up the role as chair of the board at Thrive Homes, which owns 5,500 homes across Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire.
Ms Still has over 15 years of experience working for the government, housing associations and private developers.
She was group chief operating officer at later living developer Castleoak from 2020 to 2021 and chief operating officer at Citizen from 2017 to 2020.
Before that, Ms Still spent six years at housing association Sanctuary, rising to national housing operations director in England.
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She has also held roles at the South East England Development Agency and London Borough of Hounslow, as well as advised the Homes and Communities Agency board on intersectional economic inequality in housing policy.
Ms Still grew up on the Highfield Estate in Hemel Hempstead and lived in social housing for 25 years, which she said allowed her to maintain a tenant-focused perspective throughout her career.
She holds an MSc in urban and regional planning from the London School of Economics, where she focused her research on the impact of social housing on mental health and educational outcomes.
As chair, Ms Still will lead Thrive Homes’ board and chairs’ group, helping the housing association to increase housing availability and affordability across the South East of England.
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”.
She added: “Thrive Homes is well known for its commitment to quality and innovation – and it is the organisation’s clarity of product, commitment to community and vision for the future that made me want to take up this role.
“High-quality homes provide the foundation for good lives and thriving families, so I am looking forward to supporting the organisation as it continues to evolve and grow.”
Elspeth Mackenzie, chief executive of Thrive Homes, said: “We are delighted to welcome Kate as our new chair. Her career history speaks for itself, and her blend of professional expertise and lived experience means that she is a great addition to Thrive’s board.”
Earlier this month, the former chair of a Belfast-based housing association was awarded an OBE in the King’s Birthday Honours List.
Joy Scott, who was chair of Clanmil Housing Group between 2018 and 2021, received a gong for services to social housing in Northern Ireland.
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