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Interim chief executive at large landlord given top job on permanent basis
Sunderland-based Gentoo has given Louise Bassett the top job on a permanent basis with immediate effect.
Ms Bassett took on the interim position in January, after joining the 30,000-home landlord around seven years ago as executive director of corporate services.
She took on the chief executive role following the sudden departure of Nigel Wilson, who stepped aside after almost four years as boss.
Following his departure, local politicians in Sunderland said they would be looking for answers as to why he left his post so suddenly.
The news was a “big surprise” to the Conservative group at Sunderland City Council, according to councillor Michael Dixon, who had organised a meeting with the housing association chief last year.
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Speaking about her recent appointment, Ms Bassett said: “I am delighted to take on the role of chief executive officer permanently. I feel very proud to be leading such a purposeful and dedicated organisation.
“Together we commit to putting our tenants at the heart of business decision-making and to creating better working lives for everyone at Gentoo. I look forward to working with colleagues and stakeholders as we continue to improve our services to tenants.”
Emily Cox, group chair at Gentoo, said the board was delighted with Ms Bassett’s decision as she had “shown great leadership during her short time as interim”.
She added: “The board is confident she is the right person to lead the organisation to deliver our vision and core purpose of creating safe and decent homes for our tenants.”
Ms Cox started her position as chair in September after Gentoo announced that her predecessor, who oversaw the association’s transformation from being non-compliant to achieving the highest governance rating, would leave the board.
Previous chair Keith Loraine joined the landlord as chair in 2017, just before it was downgraded to a G3 for governance by the Regulator of Social Housing.
Gentoo was deemed non-compliant by the English regulator in 2017 after concerns were raised regarding excessive pay-offs to those leaving the landlord.
These were made before Mr Loraine joined, and included paying departing assistant chief executive, Steve Lanaghan, early pension funds and double the three months’ salary he was contractually owed.
Mr Loraine would later reveal at the National Housing Summit that the regulator came close to arranging a takeover of the landlord and appointing board members during the fall-out.
However, a turnaround of fortunes and management shake-up, with Mr Wilson at the helm, saw Gentoo return to a G1 – the top rating – for governance in November 2020, with the RSH stating that the association continued to make “positive progress in developing and improving its governance”.
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